Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Merry Christmas!
Posted by Madsen Family at 4:26 PM 4 comments
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Christmas Tree That Almost Never Was (otherwise known as free advertising for Lowe's)
The tree stand was screwed in with love and care (don't worry, Josh tested his work).
and that's where it all hit the fan, if you will (and I think you will).
The tree stand broke; Josh went to Lowe's. The lights ran out; Josh went to Lowe's. The fuse blew; Josh went to Lowe's. The lights ran out again; Josh went to Lowe's. Then finally, oh finally, the tree was lit. But wait, one side was lopsided (thanks to the aforementioned cheapness of the tree). The tree was trimmed. But wait, while trimming the tree, the lights were also trimmed. All went dark. Tears were shed. Heartache was had. Another trip to Lowe's was made. So, three days, ten packages of lights, one fuse splitter, eighty dollars and six trips to Lowe's later, the tree was lit and decorated. Hoo-ray.
I should have trusted my instinct and paid Josh the thirteen dollars I did last year so that the lights would have gotten on the tree in a timely and pain-free manner. But no, I had to do it myself.
The finished tree (please, tell me how pretty it is and how it was worth the effort--even if you have to lie).
Josh and Will with THE TREE.
Posted by Madsen Family at 1:00 PM 6 comments
Giving Thanks 2009
What Will, on the other hand, is truly grateful for, is evidenced in these two photos:
Posted by Madsen Family at 12:42 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Day I (Finally) Sat on my Toddler
Those of you who know me (and know my toddler) knew this day wasn't long in coming. To be honest, I'm surprised we've made it this far. But today it finally happened: I sat on my child. But at least let me explain.
Will and I have a system. It's a good system, especially for one who craves order and routines as much as I do. I wake up before Will, shower, dress, do my hair and make my bed. Then, when Will wakes up around 7 and after he plays in his crib for half an hour with the toys and books I bring in to him, we head downstairs for breakfast. We usually eat a breakfast of oatmeal, toast and fruit and then Will gets to have a "show" (usually Curious George on PBS at 8:00) while I finish cleaning up and getting ready to head out the door. I then dress him while he is watching his show, which is key because getting this child dressed is no simple task. But while he is in the TV-zombie zone, changing his diaper and getting him dressed is no big deal (as long as I don't get in the way of the television). Then we take off for a morning activity and come home around 11:30 for lunch and a nap. It's not a perfect process, but it works for us.
Well, today was a little different b/c it was a Monday and on Mondays I wake up early, start the laundry, clean the bathrooms, mop, vacuum, dust, etc., etc. And most Monday mornings I just let Will run around in his jammies and do basically whatever he wants so that I can get the house cleaned for the week. On this particular Monday, though, I was supposed to help an elderly lady clean and organize her newly moved-into apartment at 10:30. My neighbor had kindly agreed to watch Will while I did this task. So at around 10:00, I realized it was time to get the kid ready to go. And this is where it all went wrong. I should have listened to my gut and turned on the television to get the task quickly and efficiently accomplished. But no, I bravely dared the task sans television. I got him undressed when he slipped out of my grasp. He ran around his room, behind the rocking chair, then under the crib, then shut himself up in the closet all within 3 seconds. I chased him, but to no avail. Finally, I caught him and lay him down to attempt to diaper him. But he literally is stronger than me. He squirmed away and off he went again. Discouraged and now running late, I grabbed him again. I tried to hold his feet down, while once again attempting to diaper him. But again I failed. Off he went. This process went on for another few minutes until I was REALLY running late. Finally, at my wit's end, the next time I caught him, I sat on him. What would you do? He squirmed and wiggled and screamed but there was no way he was getting away again. Not with the weight of me on top of him. So off I went to my neighbor's, with a fully clothed child. And then off I went to help a lady in need, a lady who WASN'T EVEN THERE. And then off I went to rescue my neighbor from my child, a child who had thrown up all over my neighbor's home, a child who had taken half an hour and one sitting incident to get dressed. And all for what? For naught. So the day I finally sat on my child, it was all in vain. I guess I learned my lesson: trust your gut and turn on that PBS (or at least wait for the perfect occasion when it would be appropriate and justified to sit upon one's child).
Please tell me that you've succumbed once or twice and sat upon your child. Please tell me that mine is NOT the worst child to get dressed in the mornings. Basically, please tell me that I am not failing as a mother since my logical and seemingly only option was to, in fact, sit upon my child.
Posted by Madsen Family at 5:16 AM 6 comments
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Parental Units
The Palmyra visit. Is there anything better than touring Church history sights with your parents? It was a spiritual feast. I loved being there with my parents, hearing their testimonies, feeling of their spirit, recognizing how blessed I am to have them as my parents.
More Palmyra (the log house).
Posted by Madsen Family at 11:27 AM 6 comments
Saturday, November 21, 2009
In the Meantime: Somersaults
I have plenty to post, but little motivation/time. In the meantime, enjoy these two gems: Will's newest past time, somersaults off the couch. Does it get any better than that for an almost-two-year-old? I think not, my friends, I think not.
Posted by Madsen Family at 1:56 PM 5 comments
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Halloween 2009
- Will made one mighty fine-looking cowboy (in spite of my low-budget, lazy costume-making abilities)
- Will loved candy
- Will had a blast at the Ward par-tay, baking cookies with friends and trick-or-treating
- Will also was in hog heaven at our neighborhood fire department party and parade: fire trucks galore
- Josh and I loved diving right into Will's Halloween bag, helping ourselves to our favorite candy
The lows:
- Will wanted no part of his costume--not the hat, not the vest, not the bandanna. He did, however, love the pony (he called it a "cow" since he was a cowboy) and the red boots. Oh, the red boots.
- Will loved the candy--so much so that at the ward party he stole candy out of other children's bags, wouldn't play any games (only asked for more candy) and while trick-or-treating, insisted on eating the candy he received right then and there or else a tantrum would ensue (hence, not much trick-or-treating was accomplished).
- Will is still hopped up from his "sugar high"
- Josh and I ate way too much candy.
Good-bye Halloween, 'til we meet next year. Enjoy the photos that document this fine, sugar-filled holiday.
Posted by Madsen Family at 3:17 PM 7 comments
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Never Leave us Fall
Sprints full-speed down the hill
Posted by Madsen Family at 6:35 AM 4 comments
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Falling Leaves
Posted by Madsen Family at 4:33 PM 1 comments
Saturday, October 24, 2009
le Tour
The three little boy cousins in their matching shirts.
Silly Willy.
All the cousins: Grant, Will, Sarah, Sam and Beth.
Posted by Madsen Family at 3:04 PM 3 comments
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Scratch
Scratch that last post. I figured it out. Apparently, all I had to do was agree to the terms and conditions and then: voila--I can upload photos to my heart's content. I must be on a roll today. When talking with my friend and neighbor earlier this afternoon, I asked her why she thought my mums were dying. She asked me if I'd watered them recently. To this I responded, "Er, I haven't watered them at all." Who knew mums needed water? I thought they were "winter hardy"--as in, they didn't need anything but the winter to survive. I guess it's safe to say I'm no green thumb. Not my proudest moment. But at least all's well that ends well: my mums will survive (thanks to the gallons of water I gave them and, of course, the winter) and I can once again blog. Happy day. Stay tuned for posts with pictures.
Posted by Madsen Family at 4:49 PM 1 comments
Just Can't Get Enough
I know there are many of you out there, people who, quite frankly, just can't get enough of my blog. I know you are sitting there thinking, "Where is that Jessy? I have seriously missed her blog." I can't blame you--I'm funny, witty, clever and, let's be honest, drop-dead sexy, so why wouldn't you want to read my blog? (And don't let the lack of numerous comments fool you. I know there are plenty of you, reading, waiting in anticipation for my every blog post, but are clearly just too bashful to write anything. I understand; I've been there). And as of now, I have about a ba-zillion things about which to post: our picture perfect bike trip, le Tour de Vermont, our recent fall festivities, and, of course, darling pictures of our precious little boy. Yet here's the rub: I can't get the dang blogger to upload my photos. I can't even click on the "upload photo" device. It is just a pale shade of orange, taunting me, showing me that it is there yet never allowing me to even click on it. It is driving me in-sane! Is anyone else out there having this problem? Does anyone out there want to help me solve this problem because I know you, my faithful readers, need to be entertained. I know you, my fabulous friends, are barely surviving without my blog posts. I know you, my bosom buddies, long to see my child's smiling face. So, everyone out there (yes, all two of you who read this), answer my call: please help. If I can't fix this, then the world will be short one awe-inspiring, breath-taking blog.
Posted by Madsen Family at 4:35 PM 0 comments
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Farm Fest 2009
Posted by Madsen Family at 6:15 PM 6 comments