Brace Yourselves...

Madelyn running circles around her friends Rachel and Morgan. I have never seen a little girl with so much crazy energy.

6/29/08

Well, tomorrow, my whole family is coming into town for a week, so brace yourselves for no new posts for a while. Harsh, I know!! I feel very antsy after 3 days of having the same post. But I have to say, I loved my last post so much that me and Madelyn kept coming back to look at our fine work and jam out to the music videos (you should see her excitement when she's watching Secret Crowds. It's a very grungy song but she loves it). I think I'm going to keep the videos up for a while and put a little picture of Tom on the side bar to remember him by. His songs give me a lot of energy, which I've been needing these past few weeks. I have been in full blown cleaning/organizing mode, and it's so much more enjoyable when you have music that makes you feel good.

Anyhoo...here are some pictures of Madelyn clowning around this week.

Don't even ask how she got in there. This girl is a contortionist.

"When you're going out, it's important to accessorize, like with this lovely blue potty cushion hat" (Never been used, by the way)

A friendly bunny at her friend Rachel's house

"What? You mean this wasn't helping to get ready for company?"
She had to help clean up before she could have her waffles, which she calls "awfuls".

Mark thought that a good Sunday morning activity would be to teach her to make a "scary monster face". More like a "Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, I kept you guys up from 3:00 to 4:30 am last night and there's nothing you could do about it" face. (Yawn!)

Well, until I see you again, have a fabulous week and light a few sparklers for me. I'm going to be in a coma from company fatigue. (Only kidding, family. Only kidding...)

My new favorite band

6/25/08

Who else here loves Angels and Airwaves? Mark and I discovered them a year or two ago. Actually, he got into them first, because I usually don't go around listening to surf/skate alternative rock. Anyway, now I am hooked. You've probably heard their song The Adventure on Ford commercials. (Weird. I say that because Toby Keith is also in the commercials, and he is honky tonk country --as is Ford-- and the stark opposite of Angels and Airwaves.) Their sound is similar to U2 and Pink Floyd (it's no wonder we like them--those are Mark and I's other favorite bands)

I have been listening to their second album, I-Empire, so much lately that Madelyn sings, hums and drums along to the songs.


And it doesn't hurt that their lead singer is a C * U * T * I * E. (It's OK to have crushes on musicians and movie stars, right?? Otherwise I'm in trouble...) It happens to be Tom DeLonge, the spazz who used to be in blink 182. He has mellowed out from the punk rock and writes dang good songs. I'm listening to one of my favorites, Call to Arms.

So, there's my shameless plug. The video bar on the side (which keeps giving me trouble..RRRrrrr!! Click on it before it disappears! Hit reload!) plays the music video for The Adventure, plus some of their others. Or you can try the links below to see The Adventure, Everything's Magic, and Secret Crowds. I really, genuinely love their music.

http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/AngelsAndAirwaves/The-Adventure--31542953
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/AngelsAndAirwaves/Everything%27s-Magic--47705667
http://new.music.yahoo.com/videos/AngelsAndAirwaves/Secret-Crowds--57661938

Madelyn's Half Birthday!

6/22/08

Yesterday, Madelyn officially turned 3 1/2, so I decided she needed a little celebration. She kind of gets the shaft every year since she was born four days before Christmas, and I feel bad that her birthday always tends to get swallowed up in the holidays. So we made some cupcakes, Mark took her to see Horton Hears a Who (again) at the dollar theater, and she got a few presents. I think we'll keep the tradition going. She had so much fun (and no nap) that she fell asleep on the tile in the kitchen, halfway under a chair. Now that's a sign of a day well spent.

Comfy looking, isn't it

Oh, and if you ask her how old she is, Madelyn will say, "I'm four." She's been saying it for a month now. If you protest and say she's really three, she'll say, "I not free (three), I four!" She says the cutest things. I get a kick out of some of the phrases that come out of her mouth. She is so expressive. I'm keeping a little journal of the things she says and does so I'll always remember. If she acted natural in front of a camera, I'd videotape her more. Maybe I need to set it up when she's not looking.

Check out my Slide Show!

Two down, Six to Go!

Mark, Dayna and Steph, with Madelyn checking out her tootsie pop

6/20/08

Yay! Mark has passed his second rotation! That one went by pretty fast, probably because it was very low-key. He was doing his behavioral medicine rotation at the "Counseling and Psychotherapy Institute", aka CPI. He was there at the same time as two of his fellow PA students, Dayna and Stephanie. They basically never did anything medically related, but sat in on therapy sessions. They were just supposed to observe and learn and not make any comments unless they were in a group session. I think Mark realized how good his life has been after hearing about other people's issues all day. He was liked by everyone and had a good time. He made friends with the staff and especially Dr. Wells, his preceptor (a nice change from rotation #1!).

He will be starting his internal medicine rotation on Monday. He'll be working with 2 licensed PA's at the "Integrated Specialty Hospital", a long term skilled nursing facility. It sounds like he's is going to be very busy. We'll see how it goes.

The PA students with Dr. Wells, the psychologist who runs the place

In other exciting news, Mark was being thoughtful and refilling the Jet Dry in the dishwasher the other day. Or at least that's what he thought he was doing. I had gone to do the same thing the day before, but we were all out. So what Mark grabbed and squirted into the reservoir was actually liquid dish soap... (Kelly, I think you have a similar story, no?) I had bought a small bottle of Joy which was under the sink and apparently that's why Mark didn't notice (although I've never seen yellow Jet Dry before, but men just don't have the same attention to detail anyway). So, just one drop of that stuff makes a ton of suds ("ultra concentrated", the label boasts), so imagine what all of that was going to do.

Luckily, I noticed the odd bright green color of the "Jet Dry" before I turned on the dishwasher. So then I had to get medicine droppers and draw it out, and when that didn't get it all, I had to get a straw and suck it out. Oh, yes, it was disgusting. I was trying to be careful to not get any in my mouth, but some bubbles got in and my mouth was fairly numb afterwards from whatever the heck I was siphoning. There must be some left in there, too, because every time you run the dishwasher now, 5 minutes into the cycle the suds just start spewing out everywhere. It is kind of comical, but of course I'm exasperated with Mark. I'm not sure they're teaching him everything at that school of his.

Now for some random pictures.

Madelyn got some Tinkerbell barrettes, and had to wear all 8 of them as soon as we got home. Of course, she doesn't want to wear any of them now. (Having only now just grown enough hair for such things, she is not used to having it done up.)

Hanging out in the dirty laundry, watching Saturday morning cartoons

Passed out on the recliner waiting for mama to finish blogging the other day

Madelyn at one month, laying on the same recliner. Look how much she's grown!

I'm assuming the "green bwanky" was for cape purposes, since it was over 90 degrees outside. She used to call the ladder the "reach". Ever since she could, she has loved climbing up that thing. We have to hide it in the vacuum closet for her own safety.

1996

Check out Mark as a surf bum in his glory days. I keep this picture on my fridge to remind myself how smoking HOT he is. (Are you seeing the tan, six pack abs and the pecs??)

Go on, I know you're having a good chuckle at the dresses. Hey--I won the evening gown competition in that thing. And hot pink is still my second favorite color.

What were you doing in 1996?

Last night at like, 12:30, Mark decided to haul out his high school yearbook from his senior year in 1996. (One of those random things you do when you're up late already and figure why not do something...) His graduating class only had 75 people in it, so it didn't take long to look through. He had a good time showing me the 12 different girls that had crushes on him, the rednecks, the jocks, his old girlfriends, etc. Looking at everyone made me realize that high school dorkiness must really be a universal thing.

I was a freshman in 1996. I was mostly just dancing a lot and trying to keep straight A's. Fairly boring. Oh, the picture above (which I probably shouldn't have posted because it's copyrighted) was the 1996 Hurricane City Royalty. I was in the pageant two years in a row and the second year won second runner-up. We mostly just built a float (which won a big prize but I can't remember what) for the annual Washington County Fair parade and represented our city during the fair. Then we helped put on the pageant the next year. Fun fact: my sister-in-law Lori Murset was also second runner-up in the Miss Hurricane pageant a couple years later. Post a picture, Lori!!

Aahhh, small town life.

Anyways, Natalie has tagged me. I know you're all tired about hearing about me, but what the heck.

3 Joys
* Watching Madelyn learn new things
* Watching Mark succeed and be liked wherever he goes
* Being creative

3 Fears
* cliff ledges
* needles
* fear of getting really sick again the next time I get pregnant

3 Goals
* Finish getting ready to have 8 people come stay at my house in a couple weeks. I have a HUGE to-do list
* Somehow potty-train Madelyn
* To go to bed at a reasonable time (ha!), stop being late to church (ha, ha!), and to refrain from going shopping so much (...who am I kidding?)

3 Obsessions/Collections
* Well, I'm obsessive about a lot of things: cleaning, crafting, shopping, taking pictures, blogging...
* I collect ballet ornaments for my Christmas tree
* I also collect pens, markers, pencils and stickers

3 Random,Surprising facts
* I have a crooked uvula (dangly thing in the back of your throat). A nerve probably got tweaked when I had my wisdom teeth surgery.
* Although I am a clean freak in regards to my yard and my house, my car is always a filthy pig sty.
* I have Achoo syndrome. Also known as "photic sneeze" or "helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome". (http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=11491) Basically, I always sneeze when I come into bright light. Pay attention next time you watch me walk out into the glaring sun.

Well, that was fun. If Liz, Kelly, Rashahn and Jen want to do it, then I tag them.

Happy Father's Day!

This is Mark's favorite daddy daughter picture.

6-15-08

Just wanted to say Happy Father's Day!!! to all the dads I know, but especially to my hubby Mark. He is such a good dad and I appreciate all he does for Madelyn. She definitely has him wrapped around her little finger! He is always taking her on little outings and playing with her. He is so patient and kind and almost never raises his voice with her (me...well that's a different story because I'm with her 24/7...)

Anyway, he has always been ready and willing to give baths, change diapers, or do whatever. Although he hates to brush her teeth and always makes me do it. And he never washes her plastic bibs when he's washing the dishes and leaves them all for me. But--other than that he's a super dad. Here's some pictures of him in action when Madelyn was a baby. If you ask him, I think he'd prefer to be the one to stay home and take care of her and have me go back to work!

P.S. Yes, she even looks like him. A little girl version of Mark.