Family Fun

This weekend was the first one in a long time that we have gotten to do something as a collective family! John is only off every 3rd weekend so we don't always have Shelby and Ian with us. Thanks to GOD and the beautiful day HE gave us on Sunday. Saturday was a hectic run here run there kind of day. I would have loved to take some pictures of Shelby in her recital outfits and getting ready and all the fun, but a little mishap with her dance bag threw us off our game. Her dance bag contained her shoes for all 3 classes...which was in my mom's car. Had I found this out earlier in the day, I could have gone to my mother's work and retrieved said bag. However, I had the fortunate experience of discovering this at the point we were getting ready to leave. Not enough time in schedule to permit extra stop out of way. So we made due. When we got to the studio and sorted this issue out it left no time for extra fun. I had to do her make-up and help her through 3 costume changes and also get myself ready for our picture together. Ian was at the ball field helping with a clean-up day and then his baseball pictures in the afternoon. We met for dinner at 6pm with John's mom at Olive Garden. I had a repeat of Easter Sunday lunch. Yummy! Afterwards we headed to Dairy Queen so the kids (and John) could get a Blizzard. Madi and I shared a Banana Split. So this was our Saturday. No pictures to show for it- sorry. :-(

On to Sunday. We all got up early. Well, early as in Madison got up at her normal time of 7:30 and the rest of us got up too. Sometimes we try and get her to sleep just a little bit longer so we too can take advantage of the weekend mornings. Up and on the go we had breakfast, then worked as a collective to clean a few rooms of the house. No need in going over board and cleaning the whole house... :-) Cleaning done, Madi down for nap, and time for a small break. Timing all worked out as we were able to enjoy the park and not in the heat of the day. The boys wanted to play basketball which left the girls to "hang-out" on the playground. I'm a terrible playground mom. I'm overly cautious of tripping, falling, scraping, scuffing, and germs. Parks are hard for me. Shelby was off on the merry-go-round and Madi and I stuck to the swings. After a while, Madison caught sight of the boys on the BB court and wanted to be with them. Shelby and I loaded up like pack mules and away we went across the park. Luckily the boys had already played one round and were just getting ready to start on the second when the girls invaded. We had set our cooler and snacks on a table under the shelter that was near the BB court. The kids kept wanting stuff from our stash, so I decided to move it. Madison went walking with Shelby and I once again to be the mules. Apparently there had been a cook-out or party or another family there before us.... Don't know-don't care, just know that if you have any trash... THROW IT AWAY! Before I could even blink, Madison had helped herself to a cup that was left on the seat of the picnic table. It was full of something (which I now know was Diet Coke) and when I shrieked, she spilled. She was already moving the cup toward her mouth before I could get to her. My shrieking just caused her to move a little faster. The substance went all down the front of her! **sigh** Shelby and I finished gathering our stuff and walked the now soaked Madi back to the BB court so I could change her. John scoffs at my over planning, but thanks to my obsession Madi had clean dry clothes and we had her wet ones in a plastic sack. HA. By some miracle, her shoes were not touched. Dry as the day they came out of the box. The rest of our afternoon was uneventful and I managed to take some pictures of them all enjoying the day.

For Nana and Grandpa Steve

This post is especially for John's Dad and Step-Mom who live in Florida and are missing Madison growing up. I put together a collage of recent pictures that I have taken so far this Spring. I hope this brightens their day and brings a smile to their face. We love you both and hope to see you soon!

The Laughter of A Child...

I absolutely love when Madison laughs. I love to hear any child laugh. It warms the heart and makes me smile. So turn up your sound and get ready to smile!

Madi and Daddy

Enjoying Signs of Spring

My Girls

I love my camera...

Share and Share Alike

No matter what time of day, no matter if she has just finished a meal, if you have food or drink Madison wants to have some too. John's weight gain shake was no exception. In an effort to maintain his calorie intake for the day, John drinks a high calorie, high vitamin milkshake. There isn't anything in it that would be harmful so who was Daddy to deny his little girl from a sip or two or twenty?

Having a seat...

I'm ready to share!

Maybe I should stand for this...

Mommy! Put the camera down!

Bitten Once Shame on You... Bitten 3 times Shame on Me!

Well, as I have previously posted our little Madison was bitten at daycare back at the first of February. This past Thursday she was bitten again. Friday... she was bitten again. After her bite on Thursday John and I discussed finding a new place for her to go. Friday morning before he headed in to work he went to 2 more centers and checked things out. He called me with his report. He had found a place that we think would suit us much better. The security is A LOT better both inside and out. As you know if you've read along... car broken into back in February too. If you missed the big post, you can read it here. We moved Miss Madison to her new day care on Monday. I must say that I could not be happier! She is loving it. The teachers there are super nice, along with the directors. They have made every effort to see how she is adjusting and how we feel she is doing. The write the coolest notes home everyday. Its not the boring Xerox sheet that is distributed to each kid. It is a personal hand-written note from her teacher letting us know exactly what they did each day and how she is doing. We do get the basics too (what she ate/how long she napped/diapers...) but it is separate from her "notebook". Another awesome thing for us is the curriculum that is actually taught. Starting from the age group she is in now, they actually have a lesson plan for the week. It is also a Christian based child care center so she will get to learn about Jesus too!

Poor Madi the evening of the first bite. Her face is so grubby because she wouldn't let us hardly touch her to clean it.

These are the scratches that accompanied the bite. This is her right cheek, she has matching set on her left cheek as well. I was absolutely furious. A quick bite is one thing, but the child that did this was latched on pretty tight if they couldn't break the contact.

Birthday Wishes from around the Globe!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY
Madison Brooke

Hope you have a birthday to be remembered for life.
Love, Aunt Vicki and Manfred

In posting about Madison's 1st birthday, I failed to add the wishes from her Great-Aunt Vick and Great-Uncle Manfred who live in Germany! I received the e-mail and let life take over and my brain shut off and forgot to include her wishes in my Madison Birthday post. Aunt Vick is very special to me and I would not want to leave her out of recognition due. She cares for our family and knows that Grandma Jane made all holidays and birthdays very special. She has tried very diligently to follow in those footsteps.

I hope that someday soon Madison will get to meet her Great Aunt and Uncle! It has been so many years since she has been to "home". Germany is her home now after living there since 1993.

We love you Aunt Vick and Manfred!

It's been a while...

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything. There is a good reason behind that. Our lives went upside down shortly after my last post. This one is going to be a long one so grab a drink, maybe a bag of chips and have a seat. It began on January 14th 2009. I lost my job that day. Come home to your spouse and tell him/her that you lost your job in the middle of the worst economic crisis and see how that goes over. Not well as one could imagine. Thankfully with God's all knowing power and His timing I am yet again employed and start tomorrow morning.

Fast forward a couple of weeks to the Ice Storm of 2009. Thank you Mother Nature. As if the Windstorm of 2008 was not enough you had to unleash all your glory on us yet again. Our power went out Wednesday morning at 2am. It was restored around 8pm Saturday evening. We took up residence with Judy (aka John's mom) at her condo. Her sister and brother-in-law were also there due to their power being out. So let's count shall we? Judy, John, Rhonda, Mary, Brad, and Madison. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In a 2 bedroom condo... thankfully we did have 2 bathrooms and even though the space was limited we did not kill each other nor did we get in each others way. It was nice to have a sit down meal each night around the table. I did gain 5 pounds... but it went away when I went back to my normal eating habits.

Monday following the Ice Storm still several places without power we took Madison to her daycare which she hadn't been at for a week. It was her first day in her new toddler room. How exciting! No more high chairs to sit in. No more crib to take a nap in. No more little babies. Nope, now we are on to toddlers with teeth! Teeth that bite. On her first day I guess she was initiated into the room by the older kids (ages 1-2) and was severely bitten on her face and scratched. The worst feeling in the world is to pick up your child from a place they are supposed to be safe and to see this. Granted, biting will happen- but this was really bad.

Let's trek along to Thursday of this same week. Our movers were scheduled to complete our move from Mt.Washington to Crestwood. This move had actually been scheduled the week prior but kind of hard to do when you have 3-6 inches of ice compacted with snow and no power. So they arrive at our house in Mt.Washington and within an hour John called to let me know that they were heading my way to unload. Perfect! We are doing good on time and this shouldn't take long at all. We are paying by the hour so time is everything. I hear John pull in the drive way and before either one of us could do anything the driver of the moving truck tried to follow John up our drive way. This normally would not pose a problem. Today was not a normal circumstance though. The driveway was passable, you just couldn't see the edges due to the snow. Mr. Driver drove the rear-wheels off the side of the drive and got the truck stuck. This would not have been a terrible deal if for the fact the truck was a Rear-Wheel Drive vehicle! So 2 hours, a tow truck, and some arguing later the truck is out of our yard and on our street. No chance it is making it to the house. The movers then carry everything from the bottom of our drive to our garage. The young truck driver/mover made a poor decision when he drove off the drive, however, it wasn't his fault his boss was a jerk. I made the movers sandwiches with some chips and a drink on the side since this all took place during lunch time and they didn't get to eat before unloading us.

So on to Friday. Should have known this day was not going to be much better. I awoke to the sound of my cell phone alarm going off. This would not have been strange except for the fact that I had not set it the night previous. I had actually taken the time to reset our regular clock that had been blinking since the power outage. I turn off the alarm and go over to our alarm clock to inspect it and see why it did not go off. Here's a good reason- because it was DEAD. There was no electricity being provided to it. Hmmm. Are we without power again? I tried the lamp on the dresser that shares the same plug. Nothing. I look over to our electric blanket that is on a different wall and a different plug. It is off too. Okay so this is strange because the wall that has the computer on it is working. The power light on the monitor is orange which lets me know it is in "sleep" mode. I get up and get the kids ready for school. Thank goodness the alarm on my phone went off. We are a little late, but no big deal. I drop the kids off at school and proceed to Madison's day care. I go in and punch Madi in at 8:15. They use a time clock system so that the center knows when the kids arrive and when they leave. I am in Madison's room hanging up her jacket and backpack when the director comes to me and ask if I drive a blue Chrysler. I told her I did. Her next question was, "Was your back window already broken when you got here today?" Ummm, let me think about that for a minute... NO! What a question. Anyway, I race down the hallway and out the emergency door (because this is after all an emergency) to find that my car has been broken into. The passenger side window in the rear was smashed in. Glass is everywhere and my purse is gone. Another parent who logged in at 8:21 notified them that there was a car in the parking lot with glass broken out. 6 minutes. That's all it took. What's worse is that someone was watching us and knew how long I'd be and where in the building I was going. The car has privacy tinted glass. This person had to walk up to the window and press their nose against it to see anything inside. What a terrible feeling. I was hysterical.

Tuesday of the following week, took Madison to the doctor because she had been having some goopy eyes and a runny nose. Looked just the same as any other cold she's had before. Dr. Al walks in the exam room and within seconds diagnosis her with Pink Eye. She has no pink eye, she has no red eye. She has blue eyes with green goop coming from them. Apparently pink eye can take on many forms... Yippee. Along with the pink eye in BOTH eyes, she has a double ear infection. Mother of the year goes to.... she had been playful, no fever, great appetite, not tugging at ears- how are we supposed to know! Thanks to antibiotic she is much better now and doing lovely. Though the medicine causes other potty problems (YUCK) she is fine.

So with that, we have had an eventful 4 weeks that I will not soon forget. It is with God's wisdom that these obstacles were put in our path to test us. There is no easy road when your path is with the Lord. Satan will try everything to try and pull us away. We are blessed and continue to be blessed. My faith has grown from this trial and I know more than before where my heart lies.

Happy 1st Birthday Madison

While this is a bittersweet moment for your Daddy & me, we are so excited to be celebrating your 1st birthday! This was a moment we never expected. Watching you grow over the past year has been truly amazing. You quickly developed your own personality and made it very clear! You have been such a blessing in our lives. We thank GOD each and every day for you! It's bittersweet simply because we know that you are our first, last, and only child. For that we are thankful and grateful and are enjoying every moment. Your brother and sister love you very much! Your first birthday party was a success. The day could not have gone any better. Though your birthday was really on Friday, we celebrated on Sunday so everyone could be together. Thank you for all the cards from our family who were thinking about Madison on her special day. Grandpa Steve and Nana JoAnn for my new clothes! Grammy Theresa for my new horse scooter. I haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'm working on it. Uncle Tom and Aunt Sue for my cell phone and car keys. I can talk and drive just like mommy now. Grandma Judy for my Sesame Street Phone so I can talk to Elmo and Cookie Monster. Aunt Mary and Uncle Brad for the $ so I can save for something in the future. Dalton for my very first Webkinz! My mommy will have to help me with that. And last but not least, Mommy thank you for my wonderful cake!

Of course that is what Madison would say to everyone if she was able to talk!

Happy New Year 2009

Not much to report here! We hope everyone had a wonderful start to the New Year. John had to work so Madison and I stayed at home and did nothing! Well, Madison did a little more than nothing. She kept me busy all day. She is really practicing to walk. I have some video to post once I get them in the right format. She spent the day pushing her shopping cart around the house. She is becoming more brave in the distances she will travel on her own without assistance. She also trust me enough to walk to me if I reach out my hands for her to come to. That was an exciting moment for me. She was at the couch and I was on the living room floor about 3 feet away. I said to her, "Come see momma Madi." She turned away from the couch, got her balance and started to walk toward me. She took each step very carefully and had her arms out to reach for me and for balance. Our little girl is growing up so fast. In 7 days she will be 1. Again **sigh**.

Christmas Eve 2008

Madison Brooke Christmas Eve 2008







Trouble with the pants!

Madi & Daddy

Grandma Judy & Madison

Action News Live at 5

Good things happen when bad things happen. Bad thing was the lovely ice we had this afternoon at 4:30 when it was time to leave work. I actually get off at 5 and at quarter of I was going to go out and defrost the car so it would be nice and toasty when it was time to leave. I was also going to move it closer to the building. This is completely safe in our parking lot because we can see our cars from the large drive-thru window we have. The building is an old bank and still has the drive-thru because we still use it. Kind of neat. Anway, I knew it was icy outside so I was going to walk extra cautious across the parking lot. I never made it. I took one step off the sidewalk and the next thing I know I'm staring at the side of our building laying on the ground. I fell pretty hard. Hard enough to cry, but I didn't. I laid there a minute to catch my breath and make sure I was okay. If the fall wasn't bad enough, our building faces the main road through town. 2 cars stopped to see if I was okay and one of them actually pulled in our lot to help me out. It was a very nice man and his 9 month pregnant wife. He helped me up, took my keys and pulled my car to the building for me and started it up. During this process his wife had rolled the window down and asked if I was alright and began telling me she was 9 months pregnant and had a doctor appointment today and her husband helped her along the way. So I went back inside after they parted and proceeded to check my self out. Pulled up my sleeve and was like WOW. I have a pretty nasty bruise and my elbow was bleeding a little. I thought for sure I would have a bruise on my hip which took a part of the fall, but nothing. So 5 o'clock rolls around and I head to the car. I called John (my hubby) to advise him of the dangerous conditions and tell him about my fall. He decides that he is going to meet me at Madison's daycare so that I don't have to worry about the icy parking lot there and carrying her across in the heels I already fell in. I got to her room and started packing her stuff up. I sat down in a rocking chair while she played on the floor. She stood up next to a toy bin, holding on the side and digging for a toy. Then it happened. She turned away from the tub and let go. She's been doing this bravery trick for a week or so. Nothing could have prepared me for what took place next. She took a step, then another, then another, and then one more! I was in tears of joy! My baby girl is starting to walk. Once she lost her balance and sat down I headed over to pick her up, but before I got to her she got plowed by a toddler and started screaming. Her nursery worker picked her up and calmed her down. Shortly after Daddy arrived and it was all better. So had I not fallen and decided to hang out at daycare waiting on John, I may not have seen my baby take her first steps. I can't believe how fast she is growing. **sigh**