Madelyn Takes the Stage at the Book Festival

After church this morning we went to the Baltimore Book Festival. It helps that it is a perfect weather day but we had such a great time. Jason and Kelly joined us also. We (hesitantly in Madelyn's case) met Clifford and looked at all kinds of books. Kevin helped Madelyn make a shiny pink Harry Potter hat. She wore it proudly with the lightening bolt tattoo on her hand even though she has no idea about Harry Potter or anything related to the series. I helped her make a beaded poetry. Hers says "cute"---how appropriate!

The big excitement was at the Storyteller's Stage where Pam the Kindersinger was doing her thing. Madelyn and Abigail LOVED it!!! Madelyn even rushed the stage and much to our surprise sang into the microphone. I guess Itsy Bitsy Spider is her favorite so she had to sing along. As corny as it is just seeing her do that and hearing her sweet little voice echoing all throughout the tent, brought tears to my eyes.
We all got into the dancing but Abby was especially excited about this circle dance to "Oh Susannah"
Unfortunately the fun had to end early because we had to get back for naps. But not before a photo with the crafty crab.......
The troops are rising from their naps and we are off to have Sunday Night Dinner with Nana, Pop, Uncle Jason and Aunt Kelly before Nana and Pop set off on the Holy Land trip. Glamma and Grandpa are going too! So that will be a lot of fun for them and hopefully very safe. We will be with them in spirit. At this point I cannot even fathom a 12 hour flight with two little kids! But the trip sounds absolutely amazing.

The best part about today: Family time!

School Days

I'm glad I am doing the "Mommy and Me" school thing with Madelyn. It is a lot of fun to have 2 whole hours devoted to playing with just her. I sometimes get 'jealous' of people who only have one child. I think that is the single hardest thing about having more than one child: I cannot give them both my undivided attention. But this is the perfect scenario. She certainly seems better for it also. It is so fun to play games, sit in the circle, paint, etc. along right along side her. It really is a pretty unique thing because as they get older it really looks bad if you are too involved (ie. Helicopter Mom!)

Madelyn played pretty nicely. The kids were a bit more comfortable today so there were a few scuffles, nothing major. Madelyn really wants to get in the "triplet" group. I cannot remember if I mentioned them last week. There is a set of triplet girls that are just adorable. I think Madelyn thinks she may get in their club since she also has fair skin and longish, blonde hair (always clipped with a pretty bow!) She really could be the fourth sister. (A side note about this family: They have a brother that is just 18 months older than them---yep, a 4-year-old and THREE two-year-olds. God Bless Them.)

The program is very nice---the right blend of structure and free time. I am not loving the teacher's style per say but she is new so it might take her a while to warm up. I mean, hello!?, it's not Harvard but there are a few basic preschool teacher things that could be ramped up a bit (like the singing). She is very gentle and kind though and knows the kids. Madelyn can finally say her whole name.

Today Kelly stayed with Abigail and that was such a huge help. I think they had fun too. Thankfully despite a few crocodile tears as we left it sounds like she was pretty calm.

We went to our favorite, Chick-Fil-a, for lunch and that was big fun for Madelyn. A couple of her "friends" were there also so she was right in there with the big kids. She is such a hands-on girl and that is not always cool with the other kids. I mean she really just likes to hold hands or reach out and touch everyone. It's not necessarily a bad thing. Just a thing. It is so interesting to watch them play and listen in on their conversations.

When she grabbed my bag and walked toward the door (unfortunately I did not notice until she was at the door!) I knew it was time to go.

I am off to play Bunco with the girls and then on to a fun, busy weekend.

The best part about today: TGIF!

Reflections on Abby Girl

Our little Abigail is so funny. She has had a rough time lately with the teeth and she has always had it rough being the younger sister (Madelyn can be quite rough and tumble!) But I realized today if I do not write (type) some of these things down I will forget them. So here are a few funny things Abby does lately.

The head shake: One thing she has been doing lately that is so adorable is shaking her head "no". She is in to absolutely everything so she sees me give her this gesture quite often. I guess she has picked it up and is making it her own. It is just too cute how she shakes her head with this sweet little grin. Almost like a little, fuzzy-headed bobble head. Even if you look at her, smile and nod "yes" she will shake her head "no." For everything....say Mama, say Dada, say Madelyn, walk, etc.---No. No. No.

Finding her voice: She doesn't really talk yet. I am not sure if I could say she has had a first word yet....she does say "hi" sort of.....and she signs and really sounds like she says "all done"...."uh-duh" is what she says.

Oooo baby: But she says "Ooooo" a lot. Lips perfectly rounded and all. Me: "Do you want lunch?" Abby: "Oooo" Me: "Do you want to wear this outfit today?" Abby: "Oooo" She is very impressed you can tell.

The kiss blower: Another cute Abigail move is blowing kisses. She has gotten really good at it.....and uses it like someone from Hawaii uses "Aloha." Blowing a kiss for Abby can say hello, goodbye, goodnight, I love you.... Watch out it will melt your heart.

Eternal crawler: She is taking a complete hiatus from walking. Those few days she walked and that was it. She has not walked since. Very strange. It makes going to the park very difficult. She would prefer to crawl around and eat the mulch (blech!).

On her own: Abby is still dealing with her separation anxieties as any one-year-old would. MOPS is certainly helping. But she still gets upset when I even set her down. She hates it when I am in the kitchen making dinner and she is on the other side of the gate. The gate is definitely her arch rival. (Though I did catch her licking one of the gates yesterday? I guess she figured why fight it, might as well lick it??!??)

I am sure there are other things I am forgetting. I really ought to carry around a notebook so I can make notes throughout the day.

The best part about today: We had "running playgroup" today where my marathon relay teammates and I switched off watching the kids so we could all get a good run in today. Just 15 days until race day! Yikes!!

Tiaras and TuTus

Our library had a story time today that was right up our alley...it was a Princess Ball! Formal attire encouraged. It was the cutest thing ever. Honestly. Princes were welcome too but the princesses sure outnumbered the princes. Several of our princess friends were there though there had to have been at least 70 children in all! Mention a princess and the crowds will come running.

They read stories, acted out little plays, danced, played games, had a parade around the library and then a snack of punch & cookies. It was really just too adorable seeing all these little girls sitting in the mountains of tulle.

Madelyn wore her favorite Cinderella dress and Abigail wore one her own fancy dresses (next year the princess dresses may fit her.) Several girls were Disney Princesses but there were all kinds of princesses including a few little girls with tiaras and white gloves. Oh what fun to have little girls!

"Bippity Boppity Boo!"

Madelyn and two of her princess friends

The best part about the day: Abigail seems to be feeling better---her fever is gone and she has two new teeth that she is quite proud of.

Produce Painting, Sick Baby, Delayed Husband and Rose Ceremony

Today was craft day. As the "chairmom" of the MOMS Club Arts & Crafts I am in charge of a craft for the kiddos every month. I have probably mentioned this before. Today's grand idea was printmaking with produce. We used all kinds of produce: brussel sprouts, broccoli, sugar snap peas, beets, apples, pears, celery, limes, cabbage....and made some beautiful works of art. The rest of the time the kids played in the backyard which was really fun.

Madelyn played so nicely with the children. She drummed up a new friendship with a 3-year-old boy. They sat and talked over Goldfish crackers while his mom and I eavesdropped. It was so funny. He'd say, "I go to school!" and Madelyn would say, "I go to school too!" Then he'd say, "My school doesn't have swings!" and Madelyn said, "Oh." and shrugged her shoulders. For some reason she kept calling him Joe. ""Hey, wait Joe!" she'd say. Well no wonder he was not responding his name is Roman. Usually she calls people "that boy" or "that girl" when she does not know a person's name so I guess Joe is as good as anything. As he left she gave him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek (totally unprompted.)

Poor Abigail seems under the weather. We took her in Saturday morning to check her ears and the doctor said she was fine, just teething. Madelyn handled teething so well so this was new to me. Ok. That night her temperature went up to 103.8! I really do not think that is teething. I called today and the nurse and I decided to give her another day. Wait and see. The Motrin seems to be controlling the fever but she sure is grumpy. How un-fun.

Poor Kevin too. He just got him a little bit ago (it's 8:30 p.m.!) The trains were all messed up so he was majorly delayed.

I am tired but in a pretty good mood actually. I think I am still on a high from the weekend. It was busy but good. The kids spent some time at my parents over the weekend so Kevin and I got out. Then I ran 5 miles on Saturday with my marathon relay teammates! I am so impressed I/we did it. The race in just less than 3 weeks away. I already got my run in today (with the double stroller---yikes!) because I am so excited for the start of all the new shows. Sad, really. I am one of the two dozen people who still like to watch The Bachelor and I just learned a few hours ago from my friend Kim (another in the elite club who likes the show) that the new one starts tonight. Here we go with the "and the roses go to..."

The best part about today: Right now

1st Day of School

Madelyn had her 1st day of school yesterday at the co-op preschool. The two-year-old program is "parent participation" so I guess it was my 1st day also! We had a lot of fun. This is really a special treat because it is so rare that Madelyn and I do things just the two of us. We are lucky to have Daddy and Nana have off on Fridays so they can spend time with Abigail.

I know I am so biased and usually I do not go on and on about how my kids are the "cutest kids in the world" but I could not get over how sweet she looked in this last minute find at Gymboree.

Her teacher (Miss Mary Ann) is very nice...but then again what preschool teacher isn't? It takes a very special person to be able to corral two-year-olds! There are 12 other kids in her class plus their mommies (daddies, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nannies, neighbors are welcome to come instead of the mommy it was all mommies yesterday.) It seemed like a pretty big class to me but I suppose as the children get into routines---some of them just turned 2 and some are almost 3---things will seem less chaotic. Madelyn, being one of the the older children, was pretty good with sitting in circle time and participating.
It was funny because the theme for the day was fish and kind of centered around the "Rainbow Fish" story. This was the same lesson as when we had visited last fall. But that was probably fine with Madelyn because either 1. repetition is good or 2. she did not remember it from last time.
Luckily no hitting incidents though when another girl came for her baby doll during a free play session she did kind of give her an elbow as if to say "back off this is my baby!"

She was very excited about school so I think this will be a great first school experience. I know she is looking forward to going back and so am I.

Painting on the walls!

....no, not our walls at home, on the walls at the mall (it was approved, don't worry.) One of the malls near us is getting a new play area. Today at stpry time Miss Julie made this exciting announcement. To celebrate all the children were given shirts and hats to paint the area surrounding where the play area will be. Of course Abby wanted to eat the paint but Madelyn got into it. How fun!

The best part about the day: Having fun at the mall with the girls, Nana and Aunt Kelly (the rest of the day was a bit challenging! but the time with them was great.)

It's all about her

I know it is pretty normal for a 2-year-old to think the world revolves around her. Today I experienced a perfect example of this. Now I can laugh about it but at the time I could have cried. So here is what happened.....

We were coming back from a playdate at the park. Madelyn was dawdling as usual. I had Abigail on my hip and turned to go retrieve Madelyn (who would not come on 1.....2...) All of the sudden I missed the step and Abby and I got tumbling to the ground. In this split second I am thinking of how to do this so I do not crack her poor little head on the sidewalk. We're down. She is screaming but more scared than anything. I ripped a hole in my favorite jeans (that is how hard I fell!) and seem to have a boo-boo on my knee.

Madelyn comes over and is crying. I think how sweet, in a way, that she is scared and concerned for us. No. She is crying because when I fell I kind of landed on the (well stocked) diaper bag and her cup of water. The cup was partially smooshed (maybe broke the fall?) and the water spilled. She is crying uncontrollably over the cup...of water! Really.

So as I calm Abby I try to reason with her. (Why? I do not know.) I say, "Madelyn, Mommy and Abby fell and got a boo-boo. Your cup is going to be fine." Oh, she says, and starts crying more...."I got a boo-boo yesterday...on my knee! Waaaaaahhhh."

What a pity party!

Lunch and naps turned things around a bit thankfully. We now have matching Curious George Band Aids on our knees.

The best part about today: Playing outside and enjoying the gorgeous (almost fall) weather. We even busted out the Popsicles!

Me and my MOPPETS

After much to do the MOPPETS (children's program) part of MOPS was successful overall today. I had a wonderful time. I mean that was so relaxing, even though I spent a good deal of time watching the door---sure someone was going to come in with one (or both!) of my children with puffy red eyes from crying, calling me out to calm her down. But no. If they were upset it was not enough to warrant a Mommy-call.

I figured Abby would be the worst as far as the separation. She is pretty much attached at the hip these days. But since every baby except one was crying in her she was so busy watching all the commotion she barely noticed I'd left. The poor teachers in that room. They had two wailing babies each in their arms I hope they have a good hearing plan because they might need something extra. Yikes! The patience. I actually set Abby down and kind of said, "well here's Abby." The squeaky wheels were getting the oil so I was a little nervous they may not notice her. I guess when she realized I was gone she piped up. Then I guess Madelyn came into her classroom briefly and then left and that REALLY upset her. Poor baby! When I got there they had pulled out the secret weapon (the paci) and she was sniffing in a swing. That was so sad. Hopefully in time she will get better so that this will be a really fun time for her also.

Madelyn was actually a bit more upset than Abby when I left her. Then I sent a friend down the hall to look in the classroom and as I stood outside and she looked in, I heard the teacher say, "Maaaadelynnnn, Maaaaadelynnnnn!" The Madelyn burst into tears. My friend reports Madelyn had her hands up and was about to swipe a toy form another child. I'd later learn she had a few episodes of pushing and hair pulling. Oh please God don't let her be "that kid." I actually had overheard her teacher saying she wanted to be with the older kids so I figured this would not help the cause. Madelyn better not drive the teacher out.

They have a curriculum for the 2 year olds and up. Today they must have talked about Noah's Ark because Madelyn came back with a sweet picture of the Ark--complete with foam animals glued on. They were also reviewing the story when I picked her up. Madelyn was marching around shouting "rainbow! rainbow!" (How sweet. I figured she had a great time and learned something too. This was before I heard about the pushing and hair pulling.) There also must have been something with the letter C because there was some project with the letter C in it that came home also.

I think the whole MOPS thing is going to be really great for us. I am excited to go back again in 2 weeks. Heck, I was majorly impressed we got there on time, early even.

The best part about today: Having some time where I could actually sit, look someone in the eye and have an uninterrupted conversation.

We're going to bop, we're going to bowl, we're going to rock, we're going to roll*....

(*The song from Grease 2 has been circling through my head all afternoon.)

Madelyn had a first today...her first time going bowling! She has been so excited about going bowling even though she had no clue what it is. She was not let down. It was a real thrill even though literally we were the only ones in the place. I almost thought it was closed except there was another minivan and station wagon I knew belonged to MOMS Club people in the parking lot. So four 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds had the lanes to themselves. The mommies had just as much fun I think.

We walked in to the bowling alley and greeted with the familar bowling alley smell of stale smoke and popcorn, and whatever spray they use on the shoes. We paid our $3, got fitted for shoes and proceeded to lane # 9.

Bowling shoes have a bad reputation for being unfashionable and uncomfortable. Madelyn's first experience with the bowling shoes would ensure this continues to the next generation. Even the smallest pair they had were still practically clown shoes on her. She walked just like Bozo to her lane, repeating "special bowling shoes" so excitedly. It's a wonder she did not trip.

It was duckpins with bumpers so it was really pretty manageable with the little ones. Though the floor in Lane # 9 will never be the same. She was more into throwing then rolling for the first several tries. So there are several craters that marked her lane. Oops. She did well though and had fun I think. It lasted about 10 minutes.

The first ball she actually rolled (as opposed to threw) went so slowly. I mean literally I think we aged 6 months in the time it took this ball to get down the lane. Then when it just about reached the pin, it stopped and then rolled back. Madelyn had no clue why it was so funny but it sure was.

Then she discovered the reset button. The pins were set up so nicely just about after every ball. There were a couple times when she reste the pins and rolled a ball buty because of the s-l-o-w roll the ball dod not hit the reset arm thingy.

There was also a few times where I was talking to another mom and turned to look back and she had rolled two or three balls down the lane.

Abigail was just taking it all in from the comfort of her stroller.

Madelyn pitched a major fit when it was time to leave. The owner of manager felt so bad for her that she let her bowl one more time (without the bumpers) and the gave her a handful a free passes to come back again. So I can imagine bowling will be in our future another day sooner or later.

The best part about today: We got so much done today and though I am tired, I am so proud that we got everything in and everyone was in good spirits.

Experimental Abigail

Today was such a full day. The girls both had really big day so today deserves two blogs.

I'll start with Abigail who was part of a science experiment of sorst this morning. We are lucky to live near the world renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital and University. In the Laboratory for Child Development at Johns Hopkins University they do various studies with children age 5 and under. I had read about this in Maryland Family Magazine a few months ago and recently also received a letter inviting us to join. As long as they are not trying new drugs or sticking them I am okay with it I suppose.

They called for Abby a few weeks ago. They wanted 1-year-olds for a study on memory. Even though the experiement was fully explained to me and I witnessed it from as close as I could (she was on my lap)....I still have no idea how they can test a 1-year-olds memory. But whatever. That is why I have not received my phD in child development.

So after a quick run to the grocery store first thing off we go to Johns Hopkins for Abby's "meeting." (I referred to it as such for Madelyn who I thought might be scared by the thought of someone doing and experiment on her sister.)

We were greeted by cheerful grad students, a knockout train table and lots of new toys. The girls leap right in and in minutes are screaming back and forth at each other. (Their latest why to communicate....it's not even necessarily angry, it's just LOUD.) I am trying to listen to what the experiement is all about and figure out exactly how they are going to figure this 1-year-old memory out. All I keep thinking is inconclusive.

We are ready to begin. The experimenter asks if Madelyn can stay and play while Abigail and I go in for the study. Um, sure, but she probably wil c-r-y. Sure enough she gets all teary as we talk about going into the room and leaving her behind with all this super fun toys and one cheerful stranger. The young woman says, "do you want to watch TV?" The crying ceases in an instant. "Ok!" (I am so embarassed...clearly the TV is yet another crutch I have used and abused.) The TV is really just the closed circuit of Abby participating in the study. She was enthralled I am told.

In the room Abigail is supposed to be seated in a nifty high chair. She hates being strapped in so she immediately starts crying. The experimenter says it is okay for her to sit on my lap. She brings out this box and tries to get Abby to stick her hand in it and grab the toys. Abby is leary. The experiment begins and it is a series of putting things in the box and taking them out. Abigail cries off and on when encountered with sticking her hand in the mystery box. I guess I cannot blame her.

I am again thinking, inconclusive. She probably is not helping at all. But whatever they are looking for she did because the experimenter said she completed the whole study. Way to go! I have no idea what happened here but we all seem to be okay.

The reward both girls with special recognition awards and Abby also got a t-shirt. It was a lot of fun and I am happy we could help out science in some small way. At least I hope we did.

Madelyn was so excited to show off her award and since we passed right by Nana and Pop's office we popped in and went to lunch with Nana. Madelyn was seriously so proud of her award. (She later ripped it to shreds on the way home! I guess all the glory was too much for her.)

Abigail was worn out. During lunch she kept putting her head down on the table. What a trooper!

Apparently we will receive a newsletter in a few weeks/months with the findings from the study. I really hope it does not come back inconclusive.

Weekend in the Berkshires

We're baaaack! We had a really nice weekend in the Berkshires. Good quality family time and the kids were mostly good. Abby was hardly walking at all. That girl! She is so not a show pony. She was just not interested in showing off her new skills. Madelyn was keyed up a lot of the time but probably because she had such a captivated audience. Like how we all jumped up and down because she asked us to so nicely.

I was most concerned about the 6-hour drive. The ride up was pretty good. That leaving at 3 a.m. is not so bad (unless you are the driver of course, which I was not.) When they first got into the car after being roused from their beds they just looked at eachother and laughed hysterically. I guess they thought it was so funny being in the car in the dark and in their pjs. The laughter teared to tears briefly and then to Zzzzzzz's until somewhere in NJ. Not bad at all! Kevin has this amazing talent of time estimation and we arrived, as he said, at 9:45 a.m.

Eric and Tim's house is gorgeous as you can see!

My head spins thinking about all the decisions they had to make because this house was completely custom-built. The location is amazing---right on the Berkshire Bowl. When we arrived, Madelyn exclaimed, "oooh water!" She was clearly impressed by the waterfront location. The house is brand spanking new but you really would not know it--it looks as if it could be several years old. I am grateful the children did not break anything...they sure could have. Yikes!

We had a great time though and did some other fun things in addition to the visiting. Saturday we went to the Berkshire Museum. The museum currently has an exhibit of classic toys---the adults may have had more fun than the children though they really loved it too. The toys really brought back memories of childhood. We asked the Magic 8 Ball question, raced matchbox cars, posed with Barbie and her dreamhouse, played Twister, peered into the Viewmaster and much more. Seriously, I cannot decide what I liked seeing the most. But there were several times when I said (out loud I am sure), "Oh I had this!"

We had yummy pizza for lunch, saw horse and buggy parade for the Gilded Days festival and did a little shopping in one of the adorable towns (while the girls went back with Daddy to have a nap.) After the shopping, Kevin, Eric and Tim launched the kayaks and went "cruising" around the Bowl. After naps we went to the farm. Since we were too late for the corn maze that was apparently in the shape of Shrek, we played in the pumpkins. It is so nice that fall is almost here. We are so excited! There were pumpkins that were literally as big as Abby!


Even though it did not include the children, a big highlight was dinner both nights. We put the kids to bed and just had a wonderful (asnd very delicious!) meal both nights. We even had margaritas and/or wine and candles lit! Friday night we were out on the screened in porch but Saturday night it was just too chilly to be outside. But both nights dinner was just so relaxing.

You don't want to know how many takes it took but we finally got a group shot by using the timer on the camera:


The ride back was my least favorite part. The girls actually were fine. Just fine. Actually we made it all the way to Delaware (and almost the MD line) before Madelyn watched a movie. Despite the fact that she had said "I need a movie" not 10 minutes into the trip. HA! She stayed really busy and was a good girl with her books, coloring, lacing cards. The table top thingy we borrowed was outstanding! Definitely a must get for future car trips. The ride was just a bummer for Abby. We felt bad for her. I mean who would not get upset staring at the back of the seat for 6 hours? Plus we got caught in traffic so it was a little longer. We thought about turning her just for this trip but she toughed it out.

Once again Kevin was right on the money with his estimation and we walked into the house at 6:45 p.m. I have no idea how he does that (he did not know we would catch traffic) but it is amazing. He'd probably be good at one of the "guess the...." games at carnivals.

But we are back now and ready for another busy week that includes the start of school for Madelyn! Very exciting!!!

The best part about today: Being home sweet home.

I am a MOPS Mom

I feel like I just went to school orientation and it was great! We are joining a new group in the fall. I've mentioned it before, it's MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers....though Kevin affectionately refers to the group as Mothers of People--he even has a theme song for the group.) There are chapters all over and I have several friends in different chapters. I have always been kind of intrigued because it's a Christian mom's group basically. My faith is important to me and I sure need some divine intervention in my role as a mother. But I never got around to joining until now.

This particular chapter is neat because they meet during the day and have programs for the children. I am so afraid the girls will cry their little eyes out with separation anxiety (especially Abby!) But I saw their rooms tonight and they are so cute. This will be good for them and for me. We start on Tuesday so I am really looking forward to it.

Tonight was a "housewarming" meeting where we talked, went over some of the policies, talked, ate, talked. Yes, lots of talking! I actually know quite a few people already from various other mom circles but there were many moms that were new also. It was such an inviting, kind group of people. I think it is going to be a really great match for us. I just seemed to have so much in common with these ladies. Or maybe it was like when you first start dating someone and they seem so perfect....ha!......we will see. It seems like a really great group.

We are off to the Berkshires tomorrow morning. We plan to leave in about 5 hours at 3 a.m. What am I still doing up?? I have no idea. I am so excited to see Eric and Tim's new house. Glamma and Grandpa will be there also. I am sure it will be a really fun weekend. I am not looking forward to the car trip but I am as ready as anyone could be with all kinds of tricks up my sleeve. We are hoping leaving so so early the kids will sleep a good part of the way. We will see. So even though I am sure I will have tons to blog about in the next few days I will be just living it instead of writing about it.

The best part about today: Making some new connections

Sucker for free samples

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And one more...

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The Lock Out

We had a busy, busy morning. One of the new groups we are joining for the fall requests you sign up for 3 committees upon joining. (That is a whole separate story.) Anyway one of the committees I am on is the "celebrations" committee. It is quite fitting for me as I love birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, holidays and just general celebrations. The group gives a gift to each mom on her birthday, anniversary and for a new birth. Super!

The only glitch is we have to have the summer birthdays, anniversaries and births for the first meeting which is next week. Not much time. So we planned to get together this morning to get our gifts together. They are homemade, of course and entirely too adorable. We have some real creative cats on this committee!

This would be a majorly enjoyable meeting sans children but it is a Tuesday morning so we all had the kids with us. It was every bit of a zoo as I had imagined it would be. Oh I also want to add, we had it here because I was burning some CDs on the computer. Just to give you an idea of the kid factors, I was the only one with 2 kids but Madelyn was the oldest. Lots of babies all between 5 and 13 months! Holy chaos. But the supermoms we are we did it all---entertained the kids, crafts the gifts, fed the kids snack, cleaned up spills....

I was very thankful Madelyn was gentle with all the little ones. She can play nicely! Hmmm...why does she not play with her sister like that? Madelyn was so excited though. Every time the doorbell rang she said, "My babies are here!" Cute.

Well it gets better.

As the last mom and baby left I walked out onto the front step, as I often do. Abby is in my arms and Madelyn right behind me. I am saying goodbye when all of the sudden....WHAM!....Madelyn slammed the front door and locked me out. She is inside. I think I can hear her cackling! I panic. My heart stops. My neighbor Amy has a key. She's at work but not too far away. I try so hard to remember her number at work but in my heart racing state I can't remember my own phone number. I say a dozen and a half Hail Marys.

What could she do in there by herself? What couldn't she do?

I borrow my friend's cell phone (Nice first impression! I mean I just met her the other day but now we have a bond.) Still can't remember the number. I go to the back door and pound on it. Maybe if I get her to the back door I can walk her though unlocking it for me. Is she still laughing at me in there? Probably. More Hail Marys. I go back to the front and all of the sudden....as fast as it slammed shut...the door opened. I guess Madelyn decided the fun was over and opened the door. Or maybe the Hail Marys were paying off and some guardian angel stepped in. Maybe Madelyn wasn't laughing after all but she sure wasn't crying. At least if she was crying I might think perhaps she realized this is a major no-no.

I plan to hid a key in a secret location so this will never happen again. It was really only a few minutes but I think I honestly lost a few years in those two to five minutes.

The best part about today: We had an all-girl afternoon playdate with a college friend that just moved into the neighborhood and our other good friends/neighbors. It was major dress-up time. It's so fun to have girls!

Tumbling good Monday

Today's big outing was gymnastics. The MOMS Club has twice-monthly classes at a local gymnastic center. It is really cool way to participate for a fairly low cost and non-committal way. Plus Madelyn totally gets into it. Those monster trampolines are sooo much fun. Plus the obstacle course that includes tunnels, hula hoops, a ball pit, bars to hang from and a ladder to climb. I mean, what more could a two-year-old ask for?

The classes were on hiatus for a while so the last time we went Abigail was just a few weeks old. So not only has she changed a lot (and totally wants to get all into everything now!) Madelyn has also become quite adept at the things they do at the gym. She literally woke up this morning demanding to go and probably will tomorrow also though our next date is not until next week.

I will say though that the foam pit is still a bit daunting...for her and me. Abby was all about climbing in there but we literally could have lost her. Picture a huge "pool" of foam blocks. There are slides and rope swings for the kids to jump in. Then they crawl around on the blocks. Not mommies. They sink. I know because I got stuck last year when I was pregnant with Abby. Yikes. It was scary. Madelyn got caught a few times under the current of the foam blocks and that scared her a bit. She did LOVE swinging on the rope...she just didn't want to let go. I can't say that I blame her.

The class ended with a bang....and two super hand stamps! A dream outing.

The best part about today: It's is the first day in 3 1/2 years that I have not been pregnant or breastfeeding. Abigail had "last call" and she is now officially on her own. :) So it's kind of the best and worst because I did enjoy some aspects of being pregnant and nursing but.....I am glad to have myself to myself again.

Festival Day

Today we went to two festivals of sorts. Aren't we just so fun? Our little town had a street festival which was great. We stopped by right after church since it was just around the corner. We could have walked from our house but since we were already "in town" we figured we'd just to go from there.

Madelyn was a big winner. At the Kids Zone she played a bunch of games including the duck pond (Abby played that too actually!), a bean bag toss and the lollipop tree. All in all she won a cute, sombrero-wearing rubber ducky, a bracelet, a sticker and big colorful lollipop (in addition to the small lollipop she picked.) WOW. She also took a turn in the moonbounce which was big fun.

I love street festivals. Chicago seemed to have so many more. Maybe there are more around here but we just don't know about them. Since Catonsville was voted in the top 50 cities (not exactly sure of the criteria but that is still a woohoo! for Catonsville) I suppose it is quite appropriate we had a street festival.

The girls were tuckered out after a full morning and went down for early naps. So that meant they also woke up early. My parents and Jason and Kelly were going to an event at Boordy Vineyards. We figured, what the heck if everyone is up, let's go for it. It was pretty warm today but under the shade of the tree just kicking back, drinking some wine (they have a sangria that is divine!) and listening to music was a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. They live music featuring these three ladies, The Fabulettes, who were totally 60's (tall white boots and all.) The girls loved dancing to the music and so did we.




Then on to Bill Bateman's for dinner. Ah, my old stomping ground. This has long been a favorite of mine.

So a full day to cap off a very full weekend. We have two really, really busy weeks coming up so there is plenty more fun to come.

The best part about today: In church actually I just had this overwhelming happy feeling. There was just something in the way that Abby looked at me that made me realize, life is really good.

These boots are made for walkin'

She did it! Abigail is a walker!!!! After months and months of being so close she finally did it.

It was so funny because yesterday we went to the mall and out to lunch with my mom and Kelly. We went to Chevy's (yum!) and Abby got guacamole all over her shirt. So I changed her into overall shorts. When she got up from her nap I just kind of held her by the straps of the overalls and she just took off. Then I did it again and let go...she still took off. It wasn't just like a step and boom...it was like 5-10 steps. CRAZY! I knew she could do it. She just needed a bit of confidence. Kevin usually gets home from work at 5 on Fridays (when he is not off) so he got to see her in action right away. Those first steps are just too precious. Hands up in the air, wobbly like she has had a few cocktails, but so proud of herself.

We took some video but we are still working on getting the video to upload. Technology, grrrrr. But we are so excited for her. I can hardly wait for her to wake up to see her toddling around again. She might just be in overalls everyday.

Freebies

There's something to being free. It really brings people out of the woodwork. Many of the mom's club stuff and random outings we partake in are free. That is cool and I am all for it. But today, as we continue on our quest to declutter, I posted two ads on craigslist. Free. Within about 15 minutes I had almost 40 e-mails. Holy moly! I ended up taking the listings off the website because surely I had found homes for my items with these candidates. Two less things in the landfill. Just goes to show there is a place for everything.

Speaking of free fun, I think Madelyn has a new activity. It seems she likes to go to the doctor and considers this a big outing. All week she has complained of an ear ache off and on. I put it off thinking she was just trying to glean some of the attention Abby was getting for having a bona fide ear infection. Well this morning she was extra miserable and said both ears hurt. In an effort to not win this year's "worst mother" award I figured perhaps she does have an ear infection. In the past when she has had an ear infection she was relatively asymptomatic. We were thinking of going to the zoo today. But off to the doctor we go instead.

We arrive at the doctor's office and Madelyn has a fist full of coloring pages she wants to give to her doctor. Dr. L. is surprised to see us since we were just in last week for Abby's appointment. But she is quite touched by Madelyn's "gift." In the waiting room Madelyn is jumping up and down, racing around with all the toys, ogling the fish tank and greeting everyone. The model sick child, right? What am I doing here? My child can't be sick. Really she has been saying both ears hurt. The nurse calls her back and she proudly follows, strutting her stuff down the hallway. She practically leaps onto the scale, stands all the way back to be measured too (not necessary). Seriously is this a social call? She is all chatty with the nurse. Telling her all about the boo-boos in her ears. The doctor comes in, takes a look and both ears are....you guessed it.....fine. What is a mom to do? But who wouldn't love this kind of doctor's visit? Upon leaving she gets a sticker of her choice and says her excited goodbyes. She can't wait to go back again next time. I think we need to read "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" because going to the doctor cannot be a new form of entertainment.

The best part about today: While Abigail took a little morning snooze, Madelyn and I organized her new wardrobe...finding a place for everything.

Mid-Week Home Improvement

GUEST BLOG ALERT!!!

So this is how a weekday goes. Today I spent a majority of the day with the kids so that Jessica could take care of a few personal things. I was informed that if I was up to it, Madelyn, Abby and I could attend neighborhood playgroup -- a Wednesday institution. We skipped it for a quick trip to Ikea. For those who recall, over the weekend, we created a long list of projects to accomplish for the Holiday weekend. One of those was to replace Madelyn's dresser with a wardrobe. Our return trip to Ikea featured exchanging one of the pieces because it was cracked. We were in and out in 10 minutes. I noticed that we were there at the absolutely most quiet time, early morning so it made for an easy errand.

After a hearty lunch of burgers and fruit salad the girls were wiped out and thanked me with a simultaneous 2.5 hour nap, which doesn't seem to happen too often. Anyway, it was just enough time for me to work on the wardrobe and cross a few more things off of the list. When naptime was over we finished the job and set up the wardrobe, which Madelyn and Abby took for a great place to play hide-and-seek.

Then we headed outside for a bit of playtime in the backyard, complete with swinging, hanging out in the playhouse and resting in the tent (which is still set up from this weekend). After dinner, Madelyn kept me to my promise of ice cream, so off we went to Opie's. All in all a great day.

The best part of the day: Spending quality time with the kids, and giving Jessica a deserved break from the regular weekday routine.

Happy Labor Day!

We had a really long list of "to do's" this weekend. Now that we are in the final hours of the weekend I think we actually did pretty well on the list. By we I mean Kevin...he checked off quite a few things...including things we added as the weekend went on. Of course there is always more to do. We just shake our heads sometimes that there is always something. The kids hold us back from getting everything done. But the again, many of the the "to do's" are related to them (ie. putting stuff away, putting together a new wardrobe/dresser for Madelyn, uploading photos.....) We have considered we try to do too many things also. But that is what we do so I can't imagine us stopping that now. HA!

We had some family in town for the long weekend. My aunt Linda was here as well as Kelly's sister and husband. So we had lots of fun family get togethers--including a "crab & shrimp feast" last night at my parents.

Labor Day has me thinking, is this a day that celebrates me? I noticed in the church bulletin yesterday that today's mass intentions were for "working people." Ok. I get that. But I couldn't help but feel slightly excluded. The more I thought about it, the more I thought I should be considered a working person since my job is to care for the children (and sometimes the house when I can.) Plus I went through labor twice and that should count for something. So happy Labor Day....no matter what kind of labor you do/have done/will do.

The best part about today: We got up early and went to the Baltimore-Annapolis trail for a family run/walk and playtime at the airport playground. Hopefully we will make a habit of it because it was great fun!

Sesame Place

We were not going to go to Sesame Place this year...after doing Dutch Wonderland and so many other things this summer we figured we'd skip it this year. Well when a MOMS Club friend was selling tickets for half price so we decided to go for it. It was so much fun! Nana and Pop took the day off and we spent the whole day with all our Sesame Street favorites.

Abby almost took her first real steps to Elmo...she was all into the meet-and-greet
Madelyn (who cried hysterically last year) was extremely excited as we waited in line to meet Elmo. Jumping up and down, waving her arms wildly, shouting, "Hi Elmo!" and trying to cut in line in front of the other kids. I had prepped her by telling her he'd be "big, big, big" so it would not be so shocking. Well when it was her turn she had second thoughts and was swatting at him. Maybe next year she will be a full hug.

Abby made it on her very first ride. First of all she was perhaps a bit too small and then we were supposed to have a maximum of 4 riders in the tea cup.....we squeaked by and had a spinning, super-rific ride.

Lots of climbing fun, even for the littlest monkeys


La-la, la-la, La-la, La-la, We saw a few shows, including Elmo's World....
...and the new Abby Cadaby show!
It was a really hot day though, can you tell?