Freeze Pops, Sunshine, and Mommy & Maddox

What do you do on hot day (finally)? Well, enjoy a nice cold freeze pop of course!!! Maddox loves them but unfortunately for him it is an outside only treat. Just don't trust him inside quite yet. :)

 



Even without a smile I love this picture. Not many of just the 2 of us.



Rockin' Horse

Lately Maddox has really gotten in to riding his rocking horse. We found it when we were Christmas shopping right after he was born and just fell in love. I really hoped he would like it and it seems that he does!

It's definitely fun for us just watching him have so much fun! Nothing seems to phase him but why would that surprise me!? 



Man overboard!

Mr. Sandman

Over the weekend my mom and I hit up a TON of garage sales during our citywide garage sales. We had some luck despite the weather and Maddox walked away with some pretty great stuff if I do say so myself!

 We found a really cute table and chairs that Maddox just loves. He has sat still longer in the past 3 days since he got this than he has in the past year!

He also got a sweet tool bench for only $1 that he has been playing with non-stop as well. It's been fun to see how well he knows how to do some things. In some ways he is just like his daddy, especially when it comes to working at his tool bench! :)
 
The other big find from our shopping extravaganza was this sweet steal of a deal for a sand box. Make sure you check out the video below for more fun looks at how much Maddox loves his sand box.

Since it was such a successful weekend we are looking forward to our next outing for garage sale steals! Thanks again Mom for suggestion to go shopping, it was tons of fun!

Meeting Etiquette

In the past week I have had the luxury of spending some time in meetings. During these I have been reminded how disrespectful people can be.....

I think my biggest pet peeve is when people don't silence or shut off their cell phones. I was sitting in a full day conference full of 125+ nonprofit leaders and within the first 20 minutes there were 4 (4!!!!!) cell phones that rang (and they didn't ring quietly). SO frustrating! How difficult is it shut your darn phone off.

Today I was on a conference call but couldn't hear the presenter for the first 5 minutes. People were chattering in the background and that was all I could hear. Finally the presenter muted us all but when he opened it up for questions, we were right back to the people chatting it up again. Can we say use the MUTE button people! So frustrating.

So my advice to you.... at your next meeting take the time to shut off your darn ringer! Because if you don't and I am there I may just say something! :)

mud puddles, why not?!

While Ali was home Maddox and I spent Saturday night with her at my mom and dads. Poor Justin was enjoying a Twins game in a box at Target Field- boo hoo!  When I was getting ready to head home Sunday morning I was alone with Maddox. Suddenly it got eerily quiet..........

I snuck out to see what he was up to when I found the front door wide open! Here is what I found.

Always my little dare devil. Glad I was able to capture his little escape.

Surprise!

On Thursday night my sister flew in from DC and COMPLETELY surprised April and me. We were playing a game with some of April's roommates and all the sudden the back door flew open. My mom walked in and at the same moment we saw Ali. To say we were shocked is probably an understatement!

 As I have mentioned in the past few months, my grandma hasn't been well since the end of January. She has been in and out of Assisted Living/ hospitals and hasn't been home since her open heart surgery. My grandma asked Ali to come home since she hadn't seen her since Christmas and she was missing her. So she decided Thursday morning she was coming and she arrived around 9:30 Thursday night.

Though she wasn't here to spend time with us, we did get some quality bonding done. It was so great to see her and I know Maddox loved being spoiled!

Couldn't resist this picture, he looks so good and innocent. Don't let the picture fool you! He had already run all the halls, jumped on Great Grandma's bed, climbed the wall (literally), and opened and closed every door/cabinet. Thank goodness for goldfish crackers!

Oh and to all you Facebook friends that wondered what my "big"surprise was...... It was Ali coming to town- I wasn't being coy about being pregnant! Sorry to leave you all in suspense but she asked us not to say anything on FB till she was gone since she wouldn't get to see anyone but family in her quick trip home.

Wedding Whirlwind- Part 2

Saturday morning I headed off to get beautified with the ladies. We all got our hair done and then headed to the church to get ready for the big event.

One of the coolest things that day was this gorgeous memorial bouquet. The church was dark except for one ray of light eluminating just the vase. It was pretty neat to see.

My love and I waiting for pictures 

a full view of our get up!

Maddox was cute in his tux but he wasn't diggin it too much. I don't have many pictures of him in it at all because 1. it was really hot and 2. he was cranky. My biggest fear didn't come true exactly, he was good during the ceremony but he didn't walk down the aisle. 

After the ceremony the wedding party jumped on a party bus and headed off for some more photos. When we arrived at the reception hall we were all informed that we were supposed to talk (I thought I got out of it since Jamie was the Matron of Honor but no such luck!). It was pretty cool to hear how everyone knew the couple and some quick stories about them as well. The reception and dance were tons of fun and we were so happy we could be part of the day!  Congrats again to the bride and groom!

Wedding Whirlwind- Part 1

Over the weekend Justin's younger sister got hitched!! All 3 of us were part of the ceremony so it was a busy weekend for many reasons. Friday was our big day of decorating and rehearsal that evening.
Maddox and Brody were spending a lot of time together and we got a glimpse of what life will be like in 10-15 years and we have teenagers. What one didn't think of, the other did.

Later that night we got ready to for our trips down the aisle. I will admit I was TERRIFIED by the thought of Maddox being a ring bearer. I just knew he would somehow throw a tantrum at the most inconvient time BUT thankfully that didn't happen. He did however, sprint down the aisle and almost faceplant in to the alter during rehersal. :)

While we were getting ready for the rehersal Maddox made a new friend, Neveah. They were pretty cute together.

You know you want the nuk!

Rough Night

Tonight was a fundraiser for LEEP and since JR was working, I took Maddox along with me. I have realized that as time has gone on and he is getting older, taking him places on my own is really not a great option. He used to be SO good, easy to contain (you know, a newborn!) and now he just isn't. It isn't really that he is naughty (cuz to be fair, he isn't) he is just BUSY. Not kinda busy, SUPER busy.

One of the best things about my little boy though is the fact that he is a lover. He LOVES to give hugs and kisses which Mommy definitely adores. On the other hand, he doesn't quite realize how much stronger and sometimes how much bigger he is than other kids.

I tell you this because if you see him running crazy in public you can think back to this and hopefully remember what I am talking about. :)

So tonight he was doing his typical Maddox thing running circles, playing with video game buttons, and jumping around. He was getting a little too wound up I tried to calm him down. He just gets mad and of course I get embarrassed. Sometimes I would just much rather crawl in a hole than deal with his outbursts.

Anyway, a friend of mine was there with his little girl who is about a month younger than Maddox. Earlier Maddox had given the little girl a really nice hug (he even laid his head on her shoulder) and then they went their separate ways. When he came back around he was still coming full speed when he went in for a hug and he knocked her over, fell on top of her, and they both were crying. Poor little girl hit her head pretty hard and I felt awful!

Situations like that are so awkward. I really didn't know what to say besides apologizing profusely! I waited for about 10 minutes to figure out if the little girl was ok (and the parent's said she is) but I still felt terrible. It took everything in me not to cry.

I guess I have to chaulk it up to a learning experience but I hate that it happened. I worry about it because I hate the feeling that people are constantly judging me and my parenting style. I am keenly aware that when things happen in public, I am very sensitive to what people are thinking. I don't want to be known as the mom with the kid that is a bully!

I guess what I can try to take away from this is to remember that everyone parents differently. Though I may not agree, kids'll be kids.

Competitive

I am not sure where this came from but Mr. Maddox is pretty competitive. He LOVES his "baket- ball" and can't get enough of shooting the ball. When he is bored of doing it himself, he will come give either Justin or myself for us too "shoooot". Not to worry though, he is a great cheerleader yelling "OHHHHHHHHH" affectionately IF you make it. If not, he just runs, gets the ball and brings it back to you for another shot.

As you can probably imagine.... I am not the one that gets a lot of "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh's" at our house. :)

Relief, for now

..."I've never wished a man dead, but I have read some obituaries with great pleasure." Mark Twain



The Pentagon Memorial in Washington D.C.

 Osama Bin Laden.... died May 1, 2011. May those that have suffered by his hand finally rest in peace.