6th folder, 6th picture

If I take what my friend, Tracy, says to be true, a challenge on the blogsphere lately is to post the sixth picture of the sixth folder on your harddrive. Well, here it is.... This is Madelyn on May 1, 2006 at a local Chinese buffet trying on a lab tech's glasses. I couldn't help but post it!

School Pictures

Aren't my little ones cute?!?!? The picture of Madelyn is right on! The picture of Greyson isn't his best but still good (especially with the digger overalls!). Enjoy!


I ordered them on a CD so I can print them as necessary. If you are interested in a home printed pic, comment or email me. Otherwise, you can order pro prints directly from the company (comment or email me and I'll give you the order info).

Book Club Report

I keep this log of what books we've read in our book club for mostly a selfish reason - so I can remember what I read and what it was about! However, if you get something out of it too, that's great! This time I had to go back into my emails to remember what we read in the last four months. I guess that means that it has been too long!

August Book/Julie's Pick:
The Last Lecture by (the late) Randy Pausch
Reading this book was surreal for me knowing that he had JUST passed away. It was like reading advice on life's priorities from someone that had to figure it out quick! Randy Pausch seemed like a quirky guy but had his heart and head in the ultimate right places.

September Book / Korrie's Pick:
The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman
This book was an interesting read. It is about a family where the women have special powers unveiled to them on their 13th birthday. I also thought it was about protecting the relationships that you probably take most for granted. I did have trouble with the "happily ever after" relationships though.

October Book / Melissa's Pick:
The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
I picked this book because I was in the mood to read a classic. I found it very intriguing as it referenced topics like marriage, divorce, adultery, loyalty, religion, deception.... all set in the early 1900's. I loved reading it!

November Book / Beth P's Pick:
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Great read! I loved this book! It is written with the young reader in mind so it was an easy read too. Fictional but eye-opening about Native American culture and hardships.


Upcoming Books
Beth M's Pick: Strong at the Broken Places by Richard M. Cohen
Candy's Pick: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

PS - Julie and Kathy, come back to us when you can!

Wordless Wed: First Snow and Hot Chocolate

a no good, very bad day

I have to say that today has been a total stinker.... This morning I slam my elbow HARD into something and it hurt so much that my body decided to shut-down (read pass out) at which time I fell into a can of mineral spirits that left a large bump on my head. I woke up to Greyson saying "UP, Mama!" I think I was only out for about a minute. I felt bad for about an hour after that but was trying hard to shake it off. So, when Madelyn got home from preschool, I suggested to our neighbor friends that we go to the park and have a picnic (since it is gorgeous outside!). They agreed so we packed lunches and I grabbed my phone and camera too. Lunch was good and being outside was great. However, as we were going to leave, I couldn't find my camera. We scoured the place for about 30 minutes before I had to give up. I know I had it and I know that I put it down when I was catching Greyson from falling on his head. I remember thinking that I should put it with the wagon. Then I didn't and now it is gone. I don't want to leap to saying someone stole it, but I can't come up with another explanation. It isn't there anymore. I know it is just a thing and luckily I downloaded pictures just a few days ago, so I didn't lose but a few (really cute) pictures of the kids at a nearby lake. I'm more upset about the fact that I wasn't more careful. Things usually find their way back to me, but I don't think this one will.....

UPDATE!!! Ben found my camera!!! Woo-Hooo!!!! He stopped by the park on his way home and FOUND IT!! It was right by the picnic bench we sat at..... That is typical though. Ben teases me that I "couldn't find my butt with both hands"!

Happy Birthday, Greyson!!

Today Greyson is 2! I can't believe it.....

I love you, babycakes!

More birthday pictures and stories to follow soon!

Two Peas in a Pod

Well, Greyson has now joined the first stitches club along with Madelyn. He split open his chin today while..... I actually don't know. All I know is that there was a big crash in the dining room and I turned around to see (pantless) Greyson chin-down on the floor looking dazed before he started wailing. I thought he might have hurt his teeth so that was the first thing I went to look at but then I realized that this chin was bleeding. I took a look and was in disbelief as I realized that he had a GAPING HOLE in his chin! We were supposed to be on our way out the door to take Madelyn to gymnastics (Ben wasn't home yet). So I cuddled a distraught Greyson for a minute, tried to stopped the bleeding, put a bandaid on it, got everyone's jackets/hats on, grabbed my purse and Greyson's diaper bag, locked the front door and closed it behind us. The plan at the moment was to drop Madelyn at gymnastics (Ben could pick her up afterward) and I would take Greyson to urgent care to get stitches. However, as I reached into my purse to get the keys, I realized that my keys were in my other coat located inside the house and no extra key anywhere..... AGGHH!!! I tried to call Ben at his desk, no answer, on his cell phone, no answer.... call back and leave messages.... then walk down to a neighbor's/close friend's house to get help. When I got there my friend was just getting home. She leant me her car to get Greyson to urgent care and took Madelyn to gymnastics for me. (Thank you, Beth!!)


So here's Greyson playing while his chin was being numbed up. Before the doctor came in, Ben came with Madelyn and a Burger King dinner to visit. He left with Madelyn when the doctor came in to do the stitches. Greyson did wonderfully while getting the stitches! I thought that he might freak out but he laid there very quietly and still while the doctor put them in. I am soooo proud! Just like with Madelyn, the doctor and the nurse were amazed with how he did. Greyson got four stitches, although, I am not as happy with these stitches as I was with Madelyn's. Oh well.... I just didn't feel right telling him to take them out and try again. :)

What peace?

So my kids are full swing into squabbling these days.... it does a number on my nerves, too. I'm embarrased to say that you might even catch me getting in on the act sometimes. Yesterday though, I couldn't help but laugh. Let me set the stage - I was cooking dinner and, as usual, Madelyn and Greyson are playing with their toys in the living room. Madelyn was playing with something and put it down for a second, when the mischievious Greyson snatches it up. (I sincerely think he does this for effect!) Here's what was said:

Madelyn: GREYSON!!! GIVE THAT TO ME!!
Greyson: no.
Madelyn: GREYSON, I HAD THAT FIRST!
Greyson: no.
Madelyn: (starting to cry, get frustrated, and pulling at the toy) Greyson, give that to me NOW!
Greyson: (screaming now) NO! NO! NO!
Me: That is enough! Madelyn, I know that he took your toy when you didn't want him to, but your response is not okay. You are older and you need to keep the peace.
Madelyn: What peace? (or did she mean "piece")
Me: (laughing) Nevermind... Greyson give the toy back to your sister.

Here are a couple of recent pics for you to enjoy!

Here we go again!

Disclaimer: this is a monologue on potty-training... read on at your own risk!

Well, it has officially started I think. I can't believe it is here already! Greyson is potty-training! I guess I should modify that - Greyson is potty-training us. He has decided that it is fun to say that he has to go poop and/or pee and that we will stop everything and take him. Before a couple of days ago, Greyson would grab his bottom and say "oop" and then run with glee to the bathroom, sit on his little toilet, and immediately "say" (through signs, not words) that he was all done, usually followed by peeing or pooping in his diaper 5 minutes later. He even started using it as a bedtime stall tactic. I even got the point that I was only paying attention to his requests about a fourth of the time. However, a few days ago, he actually started sitting on his little potty like he is waiting for something to happen. And today I'm super excited because.... today, Greyson told me he needed to go poop, I sat him down (after undoing his overalls and onesie), and he sat there until he went poop! WOW! I'm pumped! Not because I think he is wonder boy (which I do :) or that this will be easy (pretty sure that it won't be) but because poop-training Madelyn was such a pain! I said after all our exasperated months of poop-training Madelyn, that I would not even try to start potty-training our following kids until some poop-training was in place. I know this is a long, arduous process but I'm excited that it has started without fussing, frustration, tears, or any expectations. With Greyson being a boy, I didn't and don't expect to be done potty-training for years!

Hmmm, I guess this also means that I need to stop putting Greyson in onesies.... Here is a cute pic of him trying out his little toilet a couple weeks ago.

Aunt Mel

A month ago, I was given a new name - Aunt Mel!! I'm so excited to be a new aunt! Ben's sister, Stephanie, gave birth to a little boy on August 25th, 2008. His name is Samuel Keith and he was born measuring at 21.75 inches long and a whopping 10 lbs 5 oz! Congratulations Stephanie and Mike!!

Since we don't live near them, we won't be able to meet Sam for the first time until Thanksgiving. But I can't wait!

Cribless in Minneapolis

I don't watch soap operas (at least, anymore). I do keep up with General Hospital but that only requires watching about two episodes a year. I had this weird thought to name this post with a soap opera type name. I thought "The Beds of Our Lives", "As the Sleeping Turn", "The Young and the Rest-Less".... I couldn't decide. So, I went with a spin on a movie instead.

Last month, Ben and I were noticing that Greyson was giving lots of cues that he wanted to sleep in a "big boy bed". He would race from the bathroom after bath to Madelyn's bed and lay down (naked, of course). He would sit on Madelyn's bed for 15 minutes at a time to just flip through books. When I put a pillow in his crib, he was ecstatic!! So, first I took one of the siderails of Greyson's crib off to see how well he would do staying in bed. He did REALLY well staying in bed, except that because it is so narrow he fell out a couple of times.


Then, we saw some pretty good deals on beds in the Labor Day circulars. So, we spent part of Ben's day off going out and finding a Labor Day deal on a twin bed and setting it up for Greyson in his room! He had so much fun trying them out in the store, watching us shoving them inside our van, moving them to his room, and then putting sheets on! He could wait to sleep on them! Actually first, he couldn't wait to JUMP on them!!

At first Greyson was doing a great job of going right to sleep when we put him to bed. However, now we are having to fight two different battles. 1. Staying in bed and going to sleep. It has been about two weeks of putting him back in bed consistently and it still isn't getting better. He is like a stubborn mule! (Where did he get that trait from? Mom AND Dad maybe?) 2. Getting up way too early and coming out of his room! Okay, some may not think that 6:15am isn't "way too early" but in my house we don't roll out of bed until at least 7:30am! He is in the process of learning that he has to stay in his room and play until then.

And our other bed change in our house:
If you remember back to shortly after Madelyn's 2nd birthday, you'll remember that she gave up her crib for a "big girl bed". Since then, she has been sleeping with her box spring and mattress on the floor to make it easier for her to get into bed and if she were to fall out (and she did a few times), it wouldn't be far to the floor. Well, Ben and I decided that on the day she turned four, she was old enough to move everything up onto a bedframe. She was so excited about this change and it made her feel so big to have a "really big bed"!

Sidenote: Yes, that IS Ben with shorts, a white tshirt, and BLACK socks!

Madelyn's 4!!

About a month ago, Madelyn turned 4 years old!! She had decided she wanted a butterfly tea party to celebrate, so we invited 5 of her best friends over the day before her birthday. We were sad that one friend ended up being sick and couldn't make it, but it was a lot of fun having Madelyn's four other friends over to visit.

Here is the setup for the tea party.

Singing/teaching "I'm a Little Teapot"

a spontaneous game of ring-around-the-rosies

Joseph getting ready to help read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"

An enacted version of the book (the child has something the handpuppet catepillar eats)

Opening presents (with friend Jack)

The birthday girl and her guests

The birthday caterpillars eaten at the tea part of the party with ice cream shaped like butterflies that they decorated themselves. It was SO cute, but unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the tea party...

After the party, Madelyn took a LONG nap (she was exhausted) and while she was asleep, we got a call from some good friends from church asking if we'd like ot meet them at a nearby mini-amusement park. We had never been there so we decided to go. Madelyn and Greyson had a blast!!! I think it went especially well since our friends have an older girl and boy that wanted to take her on the rides. Here you can see Madelyn on a couple of rides having a great time!

July 4th week: Grandad's Plane

Madelyn goes on her first trip in Grandad's plane.

Grandmomma's and Grandad's house

coming in for a landing

July 4th week: Be careful with the fireworks!

I have always been very wary of fireworks.... maybe it came from having a nurse for a mother. She always had a couple of horror stories about firework mishaps. But this year, I decided to jump on the band wagon and try to enjoy it. And it was fun! I actually think I had more fun watching and take cool pictures than I did playing with the fireworks, but that is cool with me. Madelyn had a great time playing with a few sparklers and then she and Grandmomma went in search of lightening bugs while the rest of continued to play. She so enjoyed that special search time with Grandmomma and they came back with a couple in a bottle!

Ben writing "Melissa" with his sparkler.

Ben trying to write "Ben + Mel" in a heart. I can see it, can you?

It is too bad this turned out so fuzzy, I think it still a cute picture.

One last "Hurray"

And the clean-up.... notice Buddy is doing all the work!

July 4th week: Grandad Rex

While we were gone to the park, Momma Susan's last surprise arrived. Her dad, Grandad Rex, came in from Arkansas to spend the weekend with us!! We weren't sure if he was going to be able to join us until the last minute and we were so glad he did!

Adults are zonked and kids are watching VeggieTales.

Great-Grandad Rex leaves to go backhome but gets one last "lovin'" in with Madelyn.

July 4th week: Impromptu Photo Session

We had some beautiful days, although hot by MN standards, while we were in Oklahoma. On July 4th, the guys, the kids, and me decided to go to a nearby park to walk. It was a good idea because it was wonderful place to get some great pictures! Even my camera-shy daughter took part!

Oh and this was just the funniest duck I've ever seen! I couldn't help but name James Brown.