I found this quote and thought that everyone out there has had a day that wasn’t great. But sometimes you need to look at the bright side.
Have a fabulous day and look for those good things every day!
On Thursday, April 26th at 2:07 pm, Chuck became an uncle, I became an aunt and Maddie became a cousin!
Chuck’s sister, Paige and her husband, Brian welcomed their little bundle of joy into the world! She weighed 5 pounds, 9 ounces and was 19 inches long. She is the most precious little thing. When we saw her on Thursday night, she was wide-eyed and curious about the world! She also as the cutest little dimples! She’s so tiny and I can’t wait to spend more time with them after things settle down and snuggle her to pieces!
Here are a couple pictures of Mira (their nick-name for her).
Welcome to the family, Amira!
Chuck found a game that Maddie can’t get enough of! It’s called Baby Smash. Basically, the kids play with a keyboard and the program says letter names and shapes and colors depending on what button the press. Seriously, it’s like toddler crack! Maddie just can’t get enough. We downloaded it on an old laptop for Maddie. Then the other night, Chuck hooked up a laptop to the tv so Maddie could play it on a bigger screen!
She laughs and squeals at it. It is so cute! If you have a toddler (or really if you just want to play it for fun) I highly recommend it!
Happy smashing! 
This is the most recent book we picked for book club! We are meeting tonight to discuss it. I came across this book as a book I could get for free through Amazon Prime. They have a lending library where, if you have a Prime account, you can borrow one eligible book a month for free.
It was a really good book. Here’s a description.
In 1837, Lisbeth Wainwright is born to the white mistress of a sprawling Virginia plantation. Seconds later, she is delivered into the arms of her black wet nurse, Mattie. For a field hand like Mattie, her transfer to the big house is supposed to be considered an honor—except that the move tears Mattie away from her beloved grandfather and her infant son, Samuel. But Mattie is a slave, with no say in the matter, and so she devotes herself to her master’s daughter, though she longs to be raising her own child. Growing up under Mattie’s tender care, little Lisbeth adopts the woman’s deep-seated faith in God, her love of music and black-eyed peas, and the tradition of hunting for yellow crocuses in the early days of spring.
As the years pass, Lisbeth is drawn slowly back into her white parents’ world and begins to learn the ins and outs of life for a high-born young lady. Still she retains her connection to Mattie, befriending Samuel and drifting comfortably between the two worlds. She accepts her parents’ assertion that their slaves depend upon them for guidance and protection, yet that notion becomes more and more difficult to believe as she gains awareness of the inequality of life in the big house versus the slave quarters. When, on the threshold of her society wedding to debonair Edward Cunningham, Lisbeth bears witness to a shockingly brutal act, the final vestiges of her naiveté crumble around her. Just twenty-one years old, she is forced to choose between what is socially acceptable and what is right, a decision that will change her life forever.
This compelling historical novel chronicles young Lisbeth Wainwright’s coming-of-age during one of the most difficult chapters of American history. Lisbeth’s powerful bond with Mattie makes her loss of innocence in the face of society’s ugly secrets all the more heartbreaking, and yet it is the courage she learns from her stand in mother that enables Lisbeth to blaze a new path for herself. Yellow Crocus offers moving proof of how the greatest social change often blooms forth from small personal acts of love.
So if you can find a copy of this book, I highly recommend it. It was an easy read and a very interesting perspective of what went on during slavery.
Happy reading!
Yesterday Maddie and I went to the Mall of America with our friends Trisha and Chelsea! The girls were having a great time handing toys back and forth between the strollers and laughing at each other while they ate their McDonald’s lunch! They are going to be great friends!
Trisha took this picture of the girls…and yes, it is in a restroom! 
I love that Maddie is hamming it up for the camera. Such a silly girl! Can’t wait until our next play date!
We finally found some porch furniture that we liked. A couple weekends ago, Chuck took multiple trip to the store to pick the pieces up and then put them all together. I couldn’t be happier with how it looks!
We got a loveseat, two chairs, a chaise lounge, end table and eating table. I got a few pillows and a couple little lanterns for the table. All we have left to purchase is a rug. We just haven’t found on that we like yet. I also bought a little wind chime to have out back. I have it hanging on a plant stand right now. I haven’t found the perfect spot for it yet, but I love having it out there.
Chuck is still deciding how he wants to screen in the porch and the porch will need to be stained at some point. But we spend a lot of time out there already. Maddie loves it out there, too! We are looking forward to getting lots of use out of the porch this summer!
A couple weeks ago, Maddie and I went to the zoo then lunch at the mall with Trisha and her daughter Chelsea. (The girls had a great time at the zoo. Maddie showed Chelsea the ropes as she followed Maddie around!) After lunch and walking around the mall a little more, Maddie took out all of her veggie straws and put them in the try on her stroller. She was so proud of herself.
She did eventually share some with Chelsea, too.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my daughter is a strange one. Here are some pictures of her putting a basket on her head. She does this ALL the time.
Yup….that’s our girl. 
She giggles the whole time. She also likes to put a bucket on her head as well as a plastic toy pot from her kitchen. Oh, and she was wearing a colander as a hat the other day, too. Love her!
Chuck got me an early Mother’s Day gift. I have been eying the new Nokia Lumia 900 phone. It’s the new Windows Phone. I thought it was adorable (plus, I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for new shiny things 
). When I learned that this Windows Phone had visual voicemail, I wanted needed it! That is probably the only thing I missed from my iPhone that my Windows Phone didn’t have. (And it was because AT&T didn’t allow it until this phone.)
So Chuck, being the sneaky hubby that he is, went after work and found one for me! He even got me the snazzy blue one!
Thank you honey! I love it!
In one of the videos yesterday, Maddie was dancing to “Daughter” by Loudon Wainwright III. I guess it was in the soundtrack for the movie Knocked Up. Huh. Guess I don’t pay very close attention. Chuck had me listen to the lyrics. What a sweet song. If you have a little girl, you will appreciate this song.
——-
Daughter
Everything she sees, She says she wants
Everything she wants, I see she gets
That’s my daughter in the water, Everything she owns I bought her
Everything she owns
That’s my daughter in the water, Everything she knows I taught her
Everything she knows
Everything I say, She takes to heart
Every time she takes, She takes apart
That’s my daughter in the water, Every time she fell I caught her
Every time she fell
That’s my daughter in the water, I lost every time I faught her
Yeah I lost every time
(Instrumental)
Every time she blinks, She strikes somebody blind
Every time she thinks, Blows her tiny mind
That’s my daughter in the water, Who’d've ever thought her
Who’d've ever thought
That’s my daughter in the water, I lost every time I faught her
Yeah I lost every time
(Instrumental until the end)
——-
Now I have the song in my head. 
