It’s a good thing I have Maddie around or I might not have ANYTHING to write about. But I can’t deprive grandparents of pictures of their granddaughter, now can I? Here are a couple pictures I took of her on her birthday. I might have overdone it with the pink! And, in our house, you are allowed to walk around with your breakfast on your birthday. She was licking her plate clean. She loves sloppy joes!   She loves my... Read More Read More ...

One of my best friends gave Maddie a stroller and doll for her birthday. And she loves it. She puts dolls, toys, packages of wipes in her stroller and pushes it around the house. She is getting better about steering it, too. The first two are of Maddie pushing the stroller around. The third, she plays with her snake-a-pillar (that Chuck’s mom made) and even waves good bye. ...

My MOMS Club did a service project last Friday. We made 22 fleece blankets for Fairview Ridges Hospital. Someone at the hospital decides which mothers/babies are in need of a blanket and donates it to them. It’s such a sweet idea. We also made some tie blankets (6 total) for Community 360. I haven’t made one of these blankets in a really long time and I remembered how much I like making them and really want to make another one... Read More Read More ...

Chuck sent me this music video the other day. It’s really cool and mesmerizing! Make sure you watch until the very end. You can learn just how many Jelly Belly candies were used to make the video! And here is a cool video about how it was made. So fascinating! ...

I have been reading a lot. This is a book I came across for my Kindle. I found a website where they list a bunch of free books every day and I came across this one. I really liked it. I had a hard time putting this book down. I just wanted to know what happened next. Even though I figured out what the ending was going to be, it was really well written and kept me entertained the whole... Read More Read More ...

I’m finally getting around to posting pictures (and videos) from Maddie’s birthday party. We had such a great time. I invited so many people (friends and family) and everyone was so generous with gifts for her! I didn’t go to crazy with decorations. Just balloons, really. I got a cake for her and made meats for tacos with lots of toppings. The tacos were a huge hit! And I didn’t even go too overboard with food. I didn’t have too... Read More Read More ...

Here are a couple videos I uploaded of Maddie. They were from Maddie’s birthday when my mom, step-dad and youngest brother came over to give her her play kitchen and another toy. I mostly think these are funny because of Maddie’s facial expressions and the way she needs to hand one piece of paper to you at a time. These probably aren’t something my average reader would like to watch, but I know a certain grandma in Florida might get... Read More Read More ...

I mentioned a little while back that I started a book club in the neighborhood with a few friends. I am happy to find more reasons to read! We read this book for our first get together. It sparked some pretty good conversation from the ladies! Nine-year-old Oskar Schell has embarked on an urgent, secret mission that will take him through the five boroughs of New York. His goal is to find the lock that matches a mysterious key that... Read More Read More ...

My mom took this picture of Maddie one day when she was babysitting her. I think it’s so cute! Man, her little eyes are so blue! ...

I came across this book when I was looking for new books to read on my Kindle. (And I absolutely love my Kindle, in case you were wondering!) It was a fast read. A little bit of a strange title, but it was pretty good. Here’s a description: Freddie Nutter is a rookie cop with the Michigummee City Police Department in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, riding desk during the last weeks of her unplanned pregnancy. When... Read More Read More ...

The other day I posted a few pictures that my brother took of Maddie. I finally got around to uploading the ones he gave me. HERE is the link to the gallery with all of the pictures. And here are a couple others that I like. I love that she is closing her eyes in the last one. It’s just so sweet and innocent. It makes me want to snuggle her! ...

A friend of mine posted yesterday on her blog about Lent. I am not Catholic, so I don’t usually give something up for Lent. But Laura (see previous link) had a great idea to read the New Testament of the Bible during Lent. Below is a 40 day plan for reading. I started yesterday and you can easily catch up if you want to join along. It seemed like a good thing to do since I have never read through... Read More Read More ...

We had some extra cake left over from Maddie’s birthday party last weekend (I still need to upload videos and pictures, but I promise a post is coming soon about her party). So Chuck brought it to work with him. He sent an email to his coworkers and attached this picture that he put together! It cracked me up! Chuck is so very clever! ...

My brother offered to take some pictures of Maddie for her first birthday. Of course I took him up on the offer. We (including his fiancé, Katie) went to the Guthrie Theater to walk around and see if we could find some good spots for pictures. I saw a number of people recommend going there after doing a little searching online. We had a great time and Adam sent me a few of the pictures. He said these aren’t even... Read More Read More ...

It’s really here! Maddie’s 1st birthday! I say it every month, but where did the time go and what happened to my baby!? She’s growing so fast and becoming such a big girl. She is so sweet and getting more personality every day. Some new things she has been doing these days: she is so determined and so curious. She studies things very carefully. I see Chuck in her when she does this. My mom gave her a Gyro Bowl... Read More Read More ...

Some days I wonder what is wrong with me. Seriously. I have done some pretty stupid things in my days. But this past weekend, I did a number of dumb things. First, I ruined both of our Sonicare toothbrushes. Yes. You read that right. Chuck some times boils some water and dips the top of the handle in the water to sanitize it. I thought I would give it a try. But I didn’t remember exactly what Chuck did. I... Read More Read More ...

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I thought I would share with you a picture from when Maddie was just a week old all dressed in a heart outfit. She looks so little. I hardly recognize her! Awe.baby! I remember how timid we were with her at first. Wow. Only two more days and that little peanut will be 1! Stay tuned for that post! Happy Valentine’s Day! I’m spending the evening with these two loves of my life! ...

Maddie has learned that spoons are fun. I have been giving her yogurt on her spoon and handing it to her to eat. She licks it all off then hands the spoon back for more. It’s really cute. So the other day, I thought it would be fun to give her the yogurt and spoon and see what she did. I have about a thousand pictures of this, but here’s a video, first! I took a couple other videos, but... Read More Read More ...

At most family functions, someone in the family makes Tuna Pasta Salad. I love this stuff! But I never make it. Last weekend, Maddie and I went to a baby shower for my cousin’s wife and without fail, the salad was there! So my next trip to the store, I decided to pick up the ingredients! Cook some ring pasta. It’s supposed to be the large rings, but I used the small ones. Then I chopped up some celery, red... Read More Read More ...

This song cracks me up when I hear it. I just love it. It has such a good beat to it. And it’s funny! There’s a video of this song at the end of the lyrics. It’s the only one I could find, but you can hear the tune. Two Kinds Of Seagulls by Tom Chapin There’s two kinds of seagulls: he-gulls and she-gulls.He-gulls like she-gulls and that’s why there’s seagulls. There’s two kinds of pythons: girl-thons and guy-thons.Girl-thons like... Read More Read More ...