Lazy Days

There's not been much going on here. We took all of our Christmas stuff down yesterday and now it looks like we just moved in. All of my shelves and my mantle are bare. I was glad to get the tree down though so I could see out my front window again.

Gabe is now taking naps again (well, he is today). He's also talking a lot more. Today he handed me a plastic candy cane filled with m&m's and said, "eat". He is getting it little by little.

I have been sick since last night. It is either the flu or food poisoning. We're not quite sure. I ate some toast and am starting to feel a little better. Madison has been talking about calling the doctors all afternoon and then just came over to me and introduced me to Mrs. Marsh and Mrs. Dennis, the doctors. She told me they're going to take care of me (which Dave has been doing a great job of, by the way). She has such a wonderful imagination. I hear her talking to her "friends" or "children" all the time.

That's about it for now.

Big Boy Bed = No Nap

Enough said.

What color Christmas tree should you have?

You Should Have a Blue Christmas Tree

For you, the holidays represent a time of calm, understanding, and peace. You avoid family fights, and you don't get too stressed out - even when things are crazy! You like to make Christmas about making everyone's life a little bit better. You don't get caught up in greed or commercialism. You're too sincere for that. Your blue tree would look great with: Lots of silver tinsel You should spend Christmas Eve watching: It's a Wonderful Life What you should bake for Santa: Chocolate chip cookies

What Color Christmas Tree Should You Have?

Reminds me of Christmas when I was little...

Merry Christmas To All!

So, we're going to be pretty busy from now until Christmas so I wanted to post this while I had some time.

While my side of the family has some interesting history when it comes to Thanksgiving, my husband's family has Christmas covered in that area.

Charles W. Howard is my husband's great, great, great, great, great, (give or take a few more greats - I'm not exactly sure) uncle. He is known as the most noteworthy santa of all time. He began enacting as Santa in 1935 after working as a toy manufacturer. He worked as the Santa-in-chief at Macy's in New York. During this time he appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and in the store throughout the season.

Charles W. Howard opened the first ever Santa School in Albion, New York in 1937 because he saw so many Santas perform poorly. Department stores would send their Santa impersonators to his school in the fall for training. They learn everything from proper Santa hygiene to how to answer children's questions to the history of St. Nicholas. The school is still open, but is now located in Midland, Michigan.
Here is an old brochure from the school:

According to Dave...

When Dave took Gabe to speech tonight he said two, three word sentences.

1. This my cup.
2. This my bowl.

Madison - 3 going on 16

We were driving along this morning and out of nowhere Madison yells out, "Dude, this guy won't get over!" I laughed so hard. This time I know exactly where she got it from - me. I was out with my friends last night and out of nowhere I caught myself saying, "Dude, I can't believe you saw so and so." Here I am a 20-something (closer to a 30-something) using the word "Dude".

She also gets the backseat driving thing honestly. I am the worst. I usually apologize in advance when riding with someone.

13 Weeks From Thursday

Dave just called and told me how he just talked to his college advisor and he only needs two more classes to graduate with his MBA. He wants to take both classes next semester so he can be totally done on March 20, 2008. He's all signed up for both classes now and his books are ordered. Wish us luck and for the sanity to get through the next 13 weeks.

Little Mr. Perfect Butt and PyroMaddie

We went to the mall yesterday after I picked Maddie up from school. When we got there Gabe was asleep so I put him in the stroller and Maddie and I pushed him into the mall to the play area. As soon as we got there Maddie ran off and made friends with some little girl, but Gabe was still sleeping. I picked him up to see if he would wake up because I know how much he loves the play area at the mall and didn't want him to miss it. Sure enough, as soon as he opened his little eyes and realized where he was he was off and running. He was so happy!

There was a group of older boys (3&4) under one of the slides and they were pretending it was their house and Gabe wanted to get in so bad. They kept pushing him away so he finally reached in there and pulled one of the kids hair and then turned around and walked away like it was no big deal. (nobody cried or acted like they were hurt) Yeah, Gabie can stick up for himself!

We went out to lunch and Maddie kicked Gabe out of the stroller and he had to walk to the whole other side of the mall. It took us a while, but he never complained and then at lunch he just sat as quiet as can be and colored. He ate pretty well too which was a bonus.

He's such a good little boy!

Now Maddie, on the other hand, is a whole other story. We put her to bed last night at 8:00 and she cried and fought it at first (she does this every night) and then calmed down. I thought she was asleep when Dave and I went to bed. Our heat has been kind of funny lately so around 11:00 I got up because I wanted to make sure Gabe's door was open so he didn't freeze. When I got up Maddie's light was on and she was hiding under the covers and there was a really bad smell and her room looked a little smoky. I couldn't figure out what had happened. When I asked her she said, "I burned myself on the light bulb." When I asked her more questions it turns out she put a plastic band-aid on the light bulb and it burned up which caused the smoke and the stinky smell. She is ok, but I never dreamed something like that would happen. Who puts band-aids on lamp light bulbs? We'll be taking her lamp out of her bedroom today.

Maddie's 1st Christmas Concert

The whole thing lasted 45 minutes. Maddie was on the stage singing for about 4 minutes. While her class was up there all the kids stood still and sang their song and used all the hand movements. All the kids except Maddie, of course. Maddie jumped from the top stair to the bottom stair and then danced around, all while singing the song as loud as she could. She is such a ham! I wonder where she gets that from? LOL

We Elfed Ourselves

We Elfed ourselves at Office Max. Check it out here.

Joey

Madison has been in bed for 45 minutes, but isn't asleep so I went in there and here is what we said:

Madison: Mom, I gotta show you some-ping.
Me: Ok. What is it?
Madison: See that shadow on the wall?
Me: Yes.
Madison: It looks like Joey. I miss Joey.

FYI: Joey is my cousin who lives in Colorado. When we see him he plays with her and she loves it!

Addison Emma

Madison: Mom, I want to change my name.
Me: Why would you want to change your name?
Madison: Just because.
Me: What do you want your new name to be?
Madison: Addison Emma

P.S. Addison Emma is what she named her new build-a-bear Kitty.

Best Wedding Dance Ever!

I saw this on Two Peas this afternoon and had to share.

Yummo!

Dave and I had a great dinner tonight. We had Alaskan Barbecued Salmon with a spinach salad and garden herb linguine. The best part though, was desert. We had a Newton Baked Apple from www.kraftfoods.com.



It was so yummy! It was even better when, during dinner, the Schwann lady knocked on our door and gave us a carton of vanilla ice cream for free. It was like she knew that these apples were baking in my oven and the ice cream would make it even better. She was right, it did!

One More Thing...

It really sucked that we were at the hospital this weekend, but there were some fun things that happened while we were there and after we came home.

1. Gabe talked up a storm while we were at the hospital. Here is a list of the words he said while we were there: Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, bee, flower, Dora, Boots, Snowman, Ape, Turtle (they had pictures of all these characters along the walls and we would name them off as we walked by), toes, knees, nose, eyes, ears, chin, shoulders, elbows, teeth, fish (there was an aquarium that he absolutely loved).

2. We got an 5 gallon aquarium for our house to reward Gabe for being so brave and good at the hospital. We have 3 mollies and 3 bala sharks. We think two of our mollies are preggos.

3. Maddie had her dance show and did her "Baby Duck" number with her classmates. She was a little ham out there. She did so good and smiled the whole time. We were sitting in the front row and got it all on video camera.

4. We were a little nervous at how Gabe would act at the dance show and even talked about how we should have gotten a babysitter for him, but he totally surprised us when he sat pretty still through the whole thing and watched all the little girls dance with a big, silly grin on his face. After each number he would clap and yell, "Yeah!". He also jabbered through the whole thing and at certain times would yell, "Go!" It was so cute and funny!

Gabe's bump is gone!

Well, it is basically gone. There is still a little tiny bump, but you have to have known it was there to begin with to see it.

On a side note: Madison mooned me today. She was in the living room and said, "Hey, Mom, look!" I looked over and there she was pulling her pants down to show me her tiny, little, cute butt. I couldn't help but laugh. Then, because I laughed, she kept saying, "Want me to do it again?" Needless to say, we had to sit down and have a talk about showing our butts to other people. I wonder where she learned this from...

It's Time To Celebrate!

Yeah!!! Gabie is ok. His bump is not infected and he is good to go. We're at my parents house right now picking up Madison and we are planning on having a few drinks to reduce our stress level later on. We have a follow-up appointment on Tuesday just to make sure everything is going well.

Emergency Room, Part 3

We're going back to the ER. Our Neurosurgeon, Dr. Maher, called us this morning and advised us to go back to the ER so that they can stick a needle in the bump and test the material inside to see if it's infected or not. If it's not infected we will celebrate and jump up and down and watch while his body absorbs the uninfected hematoma (maybe administer some antibiotics). If it is infected he will have surgery today - not good - do not want this to happen - I am praying to God with all of my heart to please let it not be infected. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE.

Poor Gabie

So, we ended up taking Gabe to the ER again last night. We got there at about 6:00. We basically sat in a room and watched movies until 9ish and then poor Gabie had to get an IV put in and had to have a contrast CT scan so they could figure out if he had an infection or not. The whole thing was confusing and Dave and I feel like we have been given the run-around by everyone involved.

First, the doctors were concerned that it was getting bigger and then a neurosurgeon comes out of left field and starts talking about infection and if it's infected Gabe would have to have surgery to wash it out. Than they said if it's a hematoma it doesn't matter if it's bigger or not. By the way, here's the definition of hematoma from Wikipedia - Nancy and I weren't quite sure of the definition last night.

A hematoma, or haematoma, is a collection of blood, generally the result of hemorrhage, or, more specifically, internal bleeding. Hematomas exist as bruises (ecchymoses), but can also develop in organs. Some hematomas form into a welt-like formation that is hard to the touch, which is a sac of blood that the body creates to keep internal bleeding to a minimum. In most cases the sac of blood eventually dissolves, however in some cases they may continue to grow or show no change. If the sac of blood does not disappear it may need to be surgically removed.

So, we called both sets of parents around 1:30 a.m. and told them what the ER doctors told us - it's a hematoma - which we were told was a good thing. Then about an hour later then neurosurgeon came in and showed us pictures of the CT scan and told us he thinks it's still inconclusive if there's an infection or not in the fluid surrounding the hematoma.

Now we're all laying in bed waiting for the neurosurgeon to call us back. He should be calling by 9:00 a.m. so I'll let you know what we find out then.

Update on the En-Bumped Child

He seems to be feeling fine. We went and saw Santa last night and got a very cute picture. Our appointment with the neurosurgeon is on Tuesday morning. Dave woke me up this morning at 4:30 so I could look at the bump because he swears that the bump is going down, but he has been saying that since Wednesday and I don't see much of a difference.

We're going for an eating evaluation this morning and then to a birthday party. He'll be excited because there are going to be other little boys there. Hope everyone has a great day!

Pictures of the big bump

Here are some pictures of Gabe's big bump. It's really weird looking and feels spongy. These pictures really don't do it justice.

Gabie Can Sing! - Part 2

On the way to speech tonight I heard Gabe sing "Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!" It was so cute! Of course, I ooh and aah over every sound he makes so maybe this isn't such a big deal to you, but to me it is pure joy!

Gabie Unplugged

It has been 24 hours since Gabie has had his plug. There has been no crying and he slept in this morning. Yeah!

Gabie Can Sing!

We were in the car on our way home from my Grandma's house this morning and Maddie was talking about pretending our van was a yellow bus. We then started to sing "Wheels On The Bus". Gabe joined right in and sang "Beep, Beep, Beep" for the horn and "All through the town" at the end. He did all the hand movements and then at the end would say, "Yeah!" and clap his hands.

Yeah Gabie can sing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

My grandma (dad's mom) passed away this past June. About a week after she died my parents received a package full of old family pictures that my grandma had sent to a distant cousin of hers that is into genealogy. He has a website with my entire family line. While looking at it I realized that I am a descendant of William Bradford. He is my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather (I think that is enough greats).
William Bradford came over on the "Mayflower" and was the second person to sign the compact of government before they landed. John Carver was the first to be elected as governor and when he died in 1621 William Bradford was elected in his place. He and his assistants negotiated with the Wampanoag and other Native groups and according to Wikipedia, "Bradford is credited as the first to proclaim what popular American culture now views as the first Thanksgiving."I think this will make a pretty cool history project for Maddie and Gabe when they get bigger.

On a side note (also from Wikipedia):

Other noteable descendants of William Bradford (besides myself, of course):

The Baldwin Brothers (Alec, Daniel, William and Stephen): American Actors
Julia Child: American entrepreneur and chef of French and French-influenced cuisine
Frank Nelson Doubleday: American publisher
Clint Eastwood: American film actor, producer and director
Christopher Reeve: American film actor, political activist

Godspeed, Sweet Dreams

Since I first became pregnant with Maddie, before I knew she was a girl (because I was totally sure she was a boy, whether I told anyone so or not), I would sing "Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)" by The Dixie Chicks to her. The doctor told me the baby can hear everything you hear, so I figured she could hear me and it would soothe her. When I found out she was a girl I changed the song to "Godspeed little girl, sweet dreams little girl" instead of "Godspeed little man, sweet dreams little man".

This song has become very important to me because me singing this song was all that would calm Gabe down during his recovery from his brain surgery. It was very embarrassing. At first, I would sing it to him when it was just us in his little area and no one else was around. I sang it over and over and over again. It was basically all I could do so that he knew I was there. Then doctors would come in and do tests and he would just scream. It finally got to a point where I was holding Gabe down singing this song as loud as I could while the doctors messed around with his lumbar drain or poked him with another needle. I knew the other nurses and parents of other kids were looking at me, but I didn't care. As long as I sang to him he would calm down pretty quickly afterwards.

Recently, Madison has been asking me to sing her this lullaby before she goes to bed at night or when she wakes up in the middle of the night. Tonight I put her to bed and kissed her goodnight and then walked out of the room so she could drift peacefully to sleep. Fifteen minutes later she was anything but peaceful. I went in her room and she was in her bed playing with a doll. I told her it was bedtime and she asked me to sing her our lullaby. I laid down next to her and she cuddled up to me and closed her eyes, and I sang her our lullaby. When I was done I told her goodnight and gave her a kiss and started to walk out. She begged me to sleep with her, but I told her I wasn't ready for bed yet. She said, "I'm going to sing our lullaby to myself now and then I'm going to go to sleep." I said that was fine and walked out, but I stood outside her door and listened. This is what I heard:

Dragon tales and the "water is wide"
Pirates sail and lost boys fly
Fish bite moonbeams every night
And I love you

Godspeed, little girl
Sweet dreams, little girl
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet Dreams

The Rocket Racer's all tuckered out
Superman's in pajamas on the couch
Goodnight moon, we'll find the mouse
And I love you

Godspeed, little girl
Sweet dreams, little girl
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet Dreams

God bless Mommy and matchbox cars
God bless Dad and thanks for the stars
God hears "Amen," wherever we are
And I love you.

Godspeed, little girl
Sweet dreams, little girl
Oh my love will fly to you each night on angels wings
Godspeed
Sweet Dreams

Godspeed
Sweet Dreams

She knew every word. I think it was the best thing I've ever heard in my entire life!

The Perfect Kiss

Madison has this way of kissing...it is so cute! She puckers up her lips in the cutest way - she kind of looks like she's making fish lips. I'll say, "Give me a kiss" and she puckers her little lips up and comes right at me. So cute! Here are some more pictures of the kids:

What's that Smound?

Madison keeps asking me, "What's that smell, Mommy?" She asked it when I was cooking dinner, she asked it again when I was baking a cake and she asked it again when Gabe was poopy.

We were in her room during quiet time and I was setting up her tiny TV with VCR to play "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". I was rewinding the video tapes and since she's used to DVDs not having a sound she asked, "What's that smound, Mommy?" I guess she mixed up smell and sound.

Bailey the Butthole!

So, Bailey's collar battery is dead and she figured it out sometime last week. I tried to get her a new one this morning, but the place that I buy them has moved. She has been straying out of the yard, but not very far. I usually catch her at the border of our yard while she is heading into someone else's. So, at 3:00 today I went into the laundry room, where I put her while Gabe's OT was here, and she was gone and the door leading from the laundry room to the garage was open. I looked for her and screamed her name until my throat hurt and then I called Aunt P and she came to my rescue to help look for her some more. Unfortunately, Aunt P couldn't find her either, so I called the vet. The vet told me to call Animal Control, and lo and behold that is where she was.

Apparently, our next door neighbors trapped her in their garage and called animal control. Hello, if you know your neighbors have a black lab and then you capture one in your garage wouldn't you ask your neighbors if it's theirs? Especially since these neighbors captured your escaped rabbit while you were on vacation and this exact same thing happened with your dog a week before (except that your neighbors returned the dog instead of calling animal control). I would just like to know what the hell they were thinking.

I feel like putting a flaming sack of dog poo on their front porch, ringing the door bell and running!

Smoothies, Yum!

So, Gabe has been doing much better on the eating front. We started making smoothies to go with breakfast and lunch and he LOVES them! Here's our recipe:

one banana, peeled
handful of frozen blueberries
handful of frozen strawberries
handful of baby spinach leaves
one bottle of blueberry yogurt smoothie
some milk

It's not very precise, but easy enough, and oh so good!

The OT we talked to on Thursday told me to substitute his favorites (chicken nuggets, waffles, etc.) out for similar items. We substituted the eggo waffles for meijer brand waffles and he did fine (I don't think he realized they were different) and we substituted the chicken nuggets with Morning Star Farms veggie chicken nuggets (again, no difference, really) and he did fine with those also. The OT is coming over tomorrow to talk about it more, so I'll know what the next step is then.

Dave and I were talking about it last night and he mentioned that Gabe lost his left olfactory nerve during his brain surgery. I don't know why I forget about this. The whole surgery ordeal seems like it was just a bad dream and sometimes it's like it never even happened. This could be a huge factor in all of this eating business. What's the enjoyment of eating if you can barely taste anything? I guess I'll have to talk to the OT about it.

To eat, or not to eat: that is the question

So, Gabe has been giving me a hard time with his eating again. I say "me" because he eats fine for both sets of grandparents. I spoke with an OT at playgroup yesterday and she seemed to think it was pretty serious and that she needed to schedule a time to come out to the house to check everything out. She's coming on Tuesday. I had to list everything he eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Let's just say it wasn't much. It was a little embarrassing. It brought tears to my eyes, which was even more embarrassing.

The OT gave us a few worksheets about steps to eating, structured mealtimes and a straw drinking strategy. She said there are a lot of kids that are problem eaters and that there are even support groups out there for the parents. I totally understand how a parent could need a support group for this kind of thing. It is so frustrating!

My Favorite Exercise Music - in no particular order

1. White Trash Wedding - Dixie Chicks
2. Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks
3. Hips Don't Lie - Shakira
4. Welcome To Paradise - Green Day
5. The Mixed Tape - Jack's Mannequin
6. It's All Been Done - Barenaked Ladies
7. My Humps - The Black Eyed Peas
8. Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani
9. Hands Down - Dashboard Confessional
10. Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson

Remember: To Recall To The Mind With Effort

We had a great time last night at Dave's party! I was very chatty as I usually am when I've knocked a few back and when I do this I spend the next day trying to remember what really went down and hoping I didn't offend anyone.

What I remember:

1. Giving someone in our party the finger and making a raspberry with my tongue at them.
2. Trying to make an ooh shape with my lips, but not being able to because I was laughing so hard because my face hurt from smiling too much.
3. Talking to a bouncer about why the heck the guy who got kicked out didn't just go home instead of arguing about getting kicked out.
4. Doing a shot and swallowing something that was in it (an ice cube, maybe).
5. Telling my new friend, Becky, how much I love her.

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

Today is my husband's birthday! He is such a wonderful husband and father. We're so lucky to have him in our lives! We love him SO much! Happy Birthday Dave!

Here he is in his hospital crib. He was born on a U.S. Air Force Base in Italy.

Here he is around 2 or 3 years old - not sure where though.Here he is in his parents back yard this past year.

If I Were A Butterfly...

Madison came in today and wanted me to sing her the words to the song, "If I Were A Butterfly", but I didn't know the words so I looked it up on YouTube and this is what came up:

When she saw the video she started singing and doing all the movements. It was cute! Here she is:



Here are the lyrics:

If I Were a Butterfly

If I were a butterfly, I’d thank You
Lord for giving me wings.
And If I were a robin in a tree
I’d thank You Lord that I could sing.
And if I were a fish in the sea,
I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee
But I just thank You Father
For making me me.

Chorus:

Because You gave me a heart and
You gave me a smile.
You gave me Jesus and You
Made me Your child.
And I just thank You Father
For making me me.

If I were an elephant, I’d thank You
Lord by raising my trunk.
And If I were a kangaroo,
I’d just hop right up to You.
And if I were an octopus,
I’d thank You Lord for my good looks.
But I just thank You Father for
Making me me.

[Chorus]

If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank
You Lord that I could squirm.
And if I were a crocodile, I’d thank
You Lord for my big smile.
And if I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear, I’d
Thank You Lord for my fuzzy wuzzy hair.
But I just thank You Father for
Making me me.

[Chorus twice]

This is Halloween!

Madison has been singing this song all week. I think it's been playing on the Disney channel. We had a great Halloween. We hope you did too!

Happy Halloween!

I don't like to go to school...

This is what came from Maddie's mouth this morning. She cried and told me she was scared of monsters at school. Ok, so now I totally know that the scared thing is just so she can get out of something. They didn't even get to have a costume party so I'm not sure why she would think there would be monsters at school. They did, however, get to pass out treats to each kid in their class.

When I got the note sent home saying please bring a treat for 14 kids last Thursday I asked Maddie, "What do you want to take for your treat?" (My mistake was asking.) She said, "I wanna take choc-it cover'd pet-zels. Ok, so we had them at Gabe's 1st birthday party last year (over a year ago) and that is what she says she wants to take. I was thinking ring pops or a candy bar. Not something that would require work. They turned out cute though. I had sent 16 so that the teachers could have one of our sophisticated savory treats, but they sent them home instead. So, as I'm waiting for Maddie to come out of class with the extra treats in my hand one of the other moms reached over to look at them and then announced to all the other moms how cool our treats were and for everybody to look. I was kind of embarrassed there, but I will definitely brag about our delicious treats here...lol. Here's a picture of them.

Also, here's some cute pictures of Gabe sleeping on the couch yesterday morning. He fell asleep while watch Disney Pixar's Cars - that's criminal!

Phew! Everything's ok!

Gabe is good. We went to the doctors this morning and he was still concerned about Gabe's limp so he sent us to the hospital for x-rays and blood tests. Gabe is such a little trooper. He did so well. Everything came back fine and we're supposed to call the doctor on Thursday to tell him how everything is going. I definitely feel better about the whole thing although I still wonder what the heck happened to him. We came home and took a nap. We've been out of commission for a couple of hours.

The Whole Crew Has Croup

So, we have all been awake for at least an hour now (it's 5:30 a.m.). Maddie put herself to bed yesterday around 5:30 p.m. so I was expecting her to get up early, but Gabe sounds like he is going to hack up a lung. My poor little babies. We'll be going to the doctor later about Gabe's limp. I'll let ya know what we find out.

Is Gabe a Faker?

Ok, so now Gabe is totally congested and feels a little warm. He still seems to be limping sometimes, but not all the time. It is so hard to figure out when to take your kids to the doctor (or in this case the ER).

Bad Dream

When I woke up this morning I was scared to death. I dreamed that I had a lucrative career sewing giant bedspreads. I went to school during the day and then went to the airport in the afternoon and caught a flight out to somewhere else and stayed in a hotel room. I would go to their bedspread factory and help sew these giant bedspreads and then catch a flight back home.

One day before I went to the airport I took Gabe on a play date to my old elementary school playground. We went and played with the other kids and I talked with the other moms. One of the other moms offered to watch Gabe if I needed to do anything and I took her up on it even though I didn’t know her and left.

Next thing I knew I was at the airport catching another flight out and I had never gone back to the playground to pick Gabe up. I was about to call my mom and then all of a sudden she walked up to me in the airport. I told her what happened and she told me to call my grandma to go and get him. I called my grandma and asked her to go to the playground and she said she'd call me when she had him and then hung up. A feeling of dread set in as I began to wait.

All of a sudden I was in a bathroom with Dave telling him I lost our son who had no ID on him and couldn't talk to tell anyone who he was.

Then I woke up and at first I was so scared and was trying to figure out what to do and then I realized it was a dream and I was so relieved.

Today was BooRific!

Today we went to Little Boo at the Zoo at the Toledo Zoo. We had a great time. It was supposed to be rainy, so I asked Maddie if she still wanted to go if we were going to get wet and, of course, she said yes. So we went. My in-loves went with me. We had a great time.

Yesterday we noticed Gabe was walking with a stiff leg. Then today at the zoo he started limping and wanted to be carried a lot. I was concerned so I called and got him a doctors appointment. We were there for 15 minutes and they told me Gabe may have a joint infection and Maddie (not even there to be diagnosed) has croup. There's nothing we can really do for either of them. I gave Maddie some Tylenol and we just have to watch Gabe to see if he gets a fever or is congested. If he is we will have to take him to the ER for X-rays and blood tests.

What I've Been Doing Lately...

Location: Craig's List - All Locations

Do you think you'd make a Sexy Race Car Driver for Halloween?

Take a look at all of our sexy costumes including: sexy nurse costumes, sexy witch costumes, sexy cop costumes, and more!

Samantha Who?

So, I spent last night watching Heroes and trying to figure out how to upload a really cute video I took of Maddie singing songs to the webcam. It was SO cute! She sang twinkle, twinkle little star, I'm a little tea pot and the ABC song. Unfortunately I still can't figure it out.

Tonight I'm watching "Samantha Who?" Anyone else watching? I LOVE Christina Applegate!

Pictures

Here are some of the pictures from last night's adventures.

The Huckleberry Railroad

Dave got home from Nashville this morning at 4:30 a.m. He was up and out the door by 9:00 a.m. Madison gave me a really hard time today because she got to eat breakfast with Daddy this morning and had it in her mind that she was going to work with him too. When he walked out the door she said, "Daddy's coming back, isn't he?" I think she felt abandoned this week while he was gone. I felt so bad for him.

Dave wanted to do something we would all really enjoy and my Aunt Phyllis had told me about Crossroads Village and Huckleberry Railroad just the other day. So we decided to go tonight. We got there about 5:00 p.m. and did the trick-or-treat thing for a little while and then headed back to the boardwalk to board the train for our ride. Gabe and Maddie got such a kick out of the train. I've never seen Gabe sit so still. He absolutely LOVED it. After the train ride we ate dinner in an old fashioned cafe and then headed out to do some more trick-or-treating. Maddie found her way through a hay bale maze and at the end we all got donuts in cider. We had a great time and will probably go again next year.

They also do the Day Out With Thomas thing at The Huckleberry Railroad and we'll definitely do that next year.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. I think I got some really good ones of the kids in their costumes.

Ugh...

Dave has been gone since Monday and is due back tonight around 1 a.m. He's flying from Nashville to Chicago and then from Chicago to Detroit. I found out recently that Chicago is having inclement weather and Dave's flight has been delayed. Because his first flight is delayed he might miss his second flight. If he misses the second flight there aren't any more flights out until the morning and they don't put you up in a hotel for bad weather. This sucks!

UPDATE: So, I haven't heard from Dave so I'm assuming his plane finally took off. The american airlines website says his flight should be in at 11:19 p.m. Chicago time and his flight from Chicago to Detroit has been delayed and is scheduled to take off at 12:00 a.m. If he hurries he should be able to make it. Hurry Dave, hurry!

UPDATE: Dave ended up getting home at 4:30 a.m. I'm so glad he's home.

Halloween Traditions

Looking back on my childhood I remember Halloween being so much fun. We'd pick pumpkins out at the store and bring them home. My dad would cover the kitchen table with newspapers and cut the tops open. Then my sister and I would scoop all the guts out with our hands. We would go through and save all the seeds so my mom could bake them and we could eat them. When the "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" Halloween special was on TV we would all sit and watch it.

My memories are all warm and fuzzy. In one word: Happy. I want this for my kids.

Friday, on the way home from The Fall Harvest Festival at Maddie's school, we stopped and picked up a pumpkin. We came home and carved it. Maddie picked the design. We baked the seeds and ate a few. We put the pumpkin on the front porch, lit it up, and then stood in the pitch black darkness and stared at it. Maddie thought it was cool. Gabe was already in bed.


On Sunday night we watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown". I wasn't sure how they would like it, but they watched the whole thing. Madison liked it so much that every time the theme song came on she would move her eyebrows up and down to the rhythm. It was so funny.

All in all, I think they got the effect I was going for. Mission complete.

I Knew This Was Coming

Maddie came home with a note from the principal today that says, "Although there is not an active case of Head Lice reported within the Preschool or Elementary School population we may have been exposed indirectly through Sunday Children's Church Services."

Great. We haven't been to church in weeks, yet the one time we do go there is a Head Lice outbreak.

Feak'in Out: Explained

A while back I posted on the topic of "Feak'in out".

Today, on my way to the gym...

Maddie: Mommy, are we going to the gym to feak out?

Me: No, we're going to the gym to work out?

Maddie: Do you have big muscles?

Me: Not yet, but I'm going to work out so I can get big muscles.

Maddie: When I get big I'm going to go to the gym and feak out just like you, and when Gabie gets big he can feak out too.

Me: We're going to the gym so Mommy can work out, not feak out.

The Cider Mill, Part III

Two weeks ago Gabe and I went to the cider mill for a field trip with his playgroup. Last week my family went to the cider mill for my birthday and had a great time. Today Maddie and I went to the cider mill for her class field trip.

Yeah, it was fun, but oh so cold. She was bundled up in her spring jacket with her winter coat over the top of it. I haven't bought new hats and gloves yet because last week it was in the 90's. On Sunday the kids were running around outside in their bathing suits. Of course, today it was 45 degrees out, windy and rainy. Great weather!

We went on a hayride, where we had to flip the hay bales so our butts didn't get wet, and got to pick a mini pumpkin. Madison picked hers up out of the mud and proceeded to hug it transferring the mud from her pumpkin to her coat. Because I haven't bought hats and mittens yet I had brought a pair of socks to put on her hands so they would stay warm. After the socks got muddy from the pumpkin she wouldn't wear them anymore. At least I had something to wipe her coat off with.

When we got back from picking pumpkins the worker men told us that was the shortest hay ride they had ever seen. We were all fine with that. It was way too cold to linger in a pumpkin patch. We then went to the donut hut and had donuts and cider. We went in the store and bought some honeycrisp apples. They're our favorite apple EVER!!!!

Overall, Madison had a great time. She didn't care that it was cold. She loved riding the wagon through the orchards and pointing out the apples, raspberries and pumpkins on the ground. She had a very good time with her classmates and teacher. Hopefully next year it will be warmer.

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Ok, so I had a few issues with the subscriptions, but it should be working now. So, you will have to re-sign up so it works. Sorry about that.

Because I Said So

This is hilarious!

Cathedrals

I received and email today that I loved and wanted to share it...

I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?"

Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip and she was going on and on about the hotel she staying in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure whey she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Deceptively Delicious

I'm watching Oprah right now and Jessica Seinfeld is on talking about her new book Deceptively Delicious. I have seriously thought about doing this before. I could totally puree cauliflower or spinach and put it in Gabe's PB&J. I am definitely going to buy this book.

Life's Small Treasures

For the past few years my family has gone to our local cider mill to celebrate my birthday. We have some donuts and cider and let the kids play on the playground. It's just a good time to spend with the family. Here is a layout from our day at the cider mill.

Things I Want To Do

I'm not sure what has gotten into me. I have all these ideas, but no follow through. Here are some of the things I've been thinking about doing lately.

1. Take some design (fashion design, graphic design, etc.) classes
2. Start my own clothing or Accessory/Jewelry line
3. Learn how to really draw
4. Take a photography class
5. Start my own digital scrapbooking elements line

I wish I had more drive.

Peanut Free

I feel like such a jerk! It was Maddie's turn to take snack into class today so we spent yesterday going to Costco to get the prepackaged sliced apples and then went to Kroger to get the individual caramel dip cups so they could have a little fun.

Since I go a little overboard sometimes I decided that some kids may not like apples and that they should have options so I also bought some pretzels. Maddie's school is peanut free and I made sure the dip didn't contain any peanuts, but in my hasty decision to also take pretzels I forgot to check the package. I figured that pretzels are pretzels are pretzels and pretzels don't contain peanuts (except the ones that have peanut butter in them and are totally awesome - but I knew these didn't have peanut butter in them).

While the pretzels I bought do not contain peanuts I guess the company processes peanut butter products on the same line as they make the pretzels. Why didn't I think about this? Peanut allergies are SOOO serious. I had to go dairy free while breastfeeding Gabe and was very diligent about making sure I stuck to it, so what was going through my head when I decided the kids HAD to have options.

Of course, the mother of the peanut allergy kid (Maddie's FAVORITE new friend) caught it and made sure her kid didn't have any (Thank God) and was very nice when she told me about the mistake. She then proceeded to ask us to a play date. At least we weren't shunned, but I still feel like a total jerk! I'm glad nobody was hurt.

Verizon Wireless Spokeswoman

So, I just put Gabe down for his nap and then went to unload my laundry. I could hear Madison talking to herself, but couldn't tell what she was saying. I walked down the hallway towards our bedrooms and heard her say, "Can you hear me now?" I looked in my bedroom and saw her with Gabe's monitor up to her mouth trying to talk to him through it. What a nut!

Madison The Story Teller

Madison has started to tell stories. Early this morning (read 4 a.m.) she woke up to Dave's alarm clock. I told her it was still night time and to go back to sleep.

She said, "First I want to tell you a story, Mommy." I tiredly agreed to listen to her story. She said, "Once upon a time there was a little boy who was peddaling, peddaling, peddaling through a tunnel. Then the little boy saw a train go through the tunnel. Then a monst - a bear went onto the tracks. The end."

I find it interesting that she was going to say a monster and then changed it to a bear. It was a pretty good story for a 3 year old though. No "Weed Monster", but good.

I also want to note that Maddie doesn't only tell made up stories. Today she told me something very comical and while I'm not allowed to say what it is or who it involved I just want to put a warning out there that she will tell me all of your secrets. From funny dances and songs to interesting conversations. Little ears are always listening.

I think I watch too much TV

Here's my schedule:

Sunday
Life is Wild
Desperate Housewives (don't know if I'll continue to watch)
Brothers & Sisters (LOOOOOVE IT!!!)

Monday
Aliens in America
Heroes (LOOOOOVE IT!!!)
Journeyman

Tuesday
Beauty and the Geek
The Biggest Loser
House(LOOOOOVE IT!!!)
Reaper

Wednesday
Back to You
Pushing Daisies
'Til Death(LOOOOOVE IT!!!)
Gossip Girl
Dirty Sexy Money

Thursday
Smallville
Survivor
Grey's Anatomy
Big Shots

Friday
Moonlight (This is supposed to be good for people who really liked Angel)

I know it seems like a lot, but I rarely sit down to watch TV at 8 because that is the kids bedtime. Instead we sit down about 8:30 and fast forward through commercials. Also, a lot of the shows on this list I have never seen before because they are brand new so chances are I won't continue to watch most of them.

Maddie's New Bike

Maddie and Gabe like to ride their bikes. We usually go outside at some point everyday so they can ride in circles in the driveway. Lately, Madison has been giving Gabe a hard time because she wants to ride his very boyish Disney Pixar Cars tricycle instead of her smaller, very girlish Disney Princess tricycle.

He usually gives into her and gets on the pink tricycle for a minute and then decides against it and goes after her to get his bike back. Good for you Gabe! Fight back!

Then she would cry and Gabe would feel bad. You can tell he feels bad because he goes up to her (making sure to stay firmly on the tricycle so she can't steal it back) and tries to hug her. He doesn't like it when his sister cries.

I finally got tired of the fighting and decided it was time for Madison to get a big girl bike. No, there is no special occasion - she just needed a bigger bike.

We went to Target and got her a new bike. She loves it and talks to it a lot. Every time we are leaving and we pull out of the garage she says, "Bye bye pretty bike!" It's pretty funny. Here are some pictures of her on her new pretty bike.

Gabe's Six Month Anniversary

I can't believe it is September 26th already. Six months ago today was the day we took Gabe in to have his bi-frontal craniotomy and endoscopic nasal surgery so the surgeons could patch the hole in the bone between his brain cavity and nasal cavity.

Here are some pre-op pictures:


It was definitely one of the worst times in our lives. We were so worried about him and Dave and I were taking turns running back and forth from the hospital just trying to get a couple of hours of sleep. We barely saw Madison for 5 days straight. We weren't sure if we wanted her to see Gabe in the condition he was in after the surgery. Both of his eyes were swollen shut and he had a pretty big bandage on his head. He was so drugged up he barely moved at all.

He went in for the surgery on a Monday and the Thursday after Madison came to the hospital and wanted to see her brother. She was able to come back and see him. She talked to him and touched his legs. I could tell he knew she was there, but he still barely moved. Later that night we were moved to a private room in the PICU and he started sitting up and watching Disney Pixar's "Cars" with one eye barely open (they were still pretty swollen). I totally believe that Madison helped him come through. Friday morning he wouldn't stay in his crib and wanted to be wheeled around the hospital in a push cart. We were discharged Friday afternoon because he was doing so well.

Here are some pictures of him at Easter (April 7th - 12 days after his surgery):

I feel so lucky that we ended up at UofM. I had been going to the doctor's office for his runny nose for so long. I finally got a doctor who suggested a hearing test. I ended up just going to our insurance book and picking someone at random. The hearing test lady recommended our Ear, Nose and Throat doctor and then he recommended our Neuro Surgeon and the two of them performed the surgery together.

We went for his final checkup in July and both the ENT and Neuro Surgeon said he shouldn't have to come back again. He is free and clear!!! YEAH!!!

Here are some pictures of my healthy baby (he's still my baby) boy:

He has a little scar on his back from the lumbar drain and if you pull his hair back you can sort of see a scar, but not really. He'll just never be able to "bic" his head. Even the little bald spot caused by stress has grown back in.

I have had people tell me how calm and upbeat I seemed while all this was going on. I really just had no choice. Gabe's condition was awful, but he was always miles ahead of the other kids that were in the PICU. Gabe was able to be fixed where some of the other kids were biding their time. Don't get me wrong - we definitely had our moments, but we're through it now. I still think about the people we spent a week of our lives with held up in the PICU at UofM Hospital. Sometimes I wonder if they are still there - still going through hell. I pray for them often.

If you've read this far, thanks. I know this is a long post, but today is a very special day for my family and I.

To Even Things Out

Here's a scrapbook layout of Gabe (and Dave) that I just finished.

What's your name little girl?

Me: Hey you, little girl, what's your name?

(Maddie ignores me)

Me: Hey, little girl in the pink shirt. What's your name?

(Maddie giggles)

Me: What's your name?

Maddie: Madison Cole Haefner



Last week while at my mom's house:

My mom: What's your name?

Maddie: Madison, but Papa calls me Darl'in.

Big Plans

Now that I have my new laptop I have big plans to start digital scrapbooking again. I just finished my first layout and thought I would share.

Are you Feak'in out? (spelling error intended)

On the way home from the gym...

Maddie: Mom, are you feak'in out?

Me: What?

Maddie: I said, are you feak'in out or what?

(I have no idea where she got freak'in out from)

Me: No, I'm not freak'in out, are you?

Maddie: No.

Do you have an accent?

I took this quiz today to determine what type of accent I have. It was right on. I used to have a friend in Las Vegas and we would laugh constantly about our accents.

The big ones were the words fire (I heavily concentrated on the r - he didn't) and bath (I heavily concentrated on the a - he didn't).

I also know a guy (from work) that lives in Windsor and he says "Eh" a lot and his wife recently made fun of the way people in Michigan say "Bath". It was funny.

While I was taking this quiz I couldn't help but think about how my grandma (who has a heavy southern accent even though she has lived in Michigan for more than 50 years) would say some of these words. I love her southern drawl and sometimes catch myself using some of her phrases.

Here are my results:

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far) Northern You have a Northern accent. That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Do People Really Do This?

I was on MSN today and read an article about fun ways to exercise. Now, cardio salsa I can understand. Shaking your booty to festive music and learning fast paced choreography sounds like fun. I can even appreciate belly dancing and cardio striptease - maybe I'll learn a thing or two to impress my DH. But, do people really install poles in their homes so they can do pole dancing as an exercise? This woman did and it is pretty amazing stuff. I can see how it would be good exercise.



Then again, maybe I'm naive.

Mommy Instincts

So, I DVR Oprah every weekday. I usually only watch one or two a week, but I DVR them just in case. This week when I heard Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson Peete were on the show talking about healing autism I went to my DVR, sat down and watched.

Jenny talked a lot about "Mommy Instincts". Although neither of my kids have autism I could totally relate to being in a situation and having these mommy instincts. It made me think about the many times I took Gabe to the doctors asking about his runny nose and why he stuck his tongue out all the time knowing something wasn't quite right.

All they would do is look at him and tell me it's a virus and there's nothing they could give him for it. So we would go back home until I got fed up, once again, with a constantly running nose and took him back in. I took him to a couple of different doctors thinking they would help, but to no avail. One doctor actually told me that sometimes a kids nose just runs constantly for no reason.

I knew something was wrong.

I ended up taking Gabe to an ENT for a hearing test and there was a little fluid in his ears so we continued to see the doctor afterwards. It wasn't until I could see the lining of Gabe's brain through his nostril that we found out what was going on.

Gabe had to have a bi-frontal craniotomy (brain surgery) and endoscopic nasal surgery to remove a mass that was totally blocking his left nasal passage. There was a hole in the bone between his brain and his nasal cavity and the lining of his brain fell through the hole and filled with fluid. During the surgery he lost his left olfactory nerve (sense of smell - there are two so he can still smell somewhat) because it was entwined with the mass. If this mass would have burst there would have been major consequences - one being meningitis.

Well, duh. If my entire left nostril was blocked and my nose was running all the time I would stick my tongue out so I could breathe too. Imagine having a sinus infection for most of your life. It had to have been pretty painful, but if you have it your entire life you don't know any difference.

Trust your Mommy Instincts no matter what. They are there so you can protect your child. Doctors may think you're crazy, but at least your child will be safe.

P.S. Even after you figure out what is really going on the doctors that couldn't figure it out will never admit it.

Maddie's First Day of School

This is Maddie's 3rd week of school and I still haven't downloaded the pictures I took so I thought I would write this post so I would be forced to.

She was so excited for school to start. She has been talking about it since February when we visited a class to see how it was. She did very well and we were very happy with the school so we signed up.

We went and met her teacher a couple weeks before school started and of course we did the whole school shopping thing (which is a whole other story).

On the first day of school we were sitting at the table eating breakfast when Madison asked me if I would be at school with her the whole time she was there. Usually Maddie couldn't care less if I'm with her or not, so I was partly shocked and touched at the same time. After she said this, I was a little nervous and told her I would be there if she needed me to be. She seemed happy with that answer.

So, we drove to school and got out of the car. I took one last picture and we went inside. Her classroom door opened and we went inside and hung up her coat and backpack on the hook with the teddy bear with the red heart necklace above it. Before I turned around to give her a hug and a kiss she was gone playing with kids. She never looked back.

I think it was more traumatic for Gabe and I than it was for her.

Picky Eating Toddler Approved Recipe

So, I was going to make chicken Parmesan for dinner tonight. After I baked the chicken and boiled the pasta I went to look for the spaghetti sauce. Uh-oh - no spaghetti sauce.

I was in a pinch so I had to make do with what I had - diced tomatoes and fat free italian dressing. Here's my recipe:

3 Chicken Breasts (I used Gordon Food Service 5 oz. Flash Frozen Chicken Breasts and put them in the oven frozen for 20 minutes - I LOOOOOVVVVVE these!!!)

1/2 cup Fat Free Italian Dressing

1 can Peeled, Diced Tomatoes

1 box Whole Grain Twisty Noodles

Bake chicken until done. Boil pasta until it's done. Mix the tomatoes (do not drain) and salad dressing in a bowl and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes then mixed it with the noodles. Put a piece of chicken on a plate and covered it with the noodles.

I put it in front of Gabe thinking he wouldn't eat it and we'd have to make yet another PB&J, but to my amazement he sat there and ate most of the chicken, 4 or 5 whole grain twisty noodles and a couple of tomatoes. Eating tomatoes is a miracle in and of itself. Of course, there were also carrot sticks on the side.

Of course Madison ate it - she will eat anything!

Hip Hip Hooray!

The boy baby will now eat baby carrot sticks! I am so excited! Now he will eat most fruits, peas, non-cooked carrots, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, granola bars, crackers (of any kind), chicken tenders and cheese.

No Pushing!

Gabe can talk now. He is starting to say so many things. Last Thursday we were all getting ready to take Maddie to school and I had set breakfast out on the table. Gabe tried to climb up in Maddie's chair so she got mad and pushed him backwards. He gave her the dirtiest look I've ever seen, shook his little chubby finger at her and said, "No pushing!" I about fell over. It was the funniest thing I have seen in quite a while.

Later that day Gabe was climbing on our TV stand and I caught myself standing there shaking my finger at him saying, "No, no, no, Gabe!"

Monkey see, monkey do.

The Corner of Madison and what?

I was recently talking with my MIL about baby names and she told me how she drove by my DH's old stomping grounds. When he was in college his dorm was at the corner of Madison and William. Since I already have a Madison and a Gabriel and my DH doesn't care for the name William I decided to change it to "The Corner of Madison and Gabriel" and use it for the name of my blog.

The purpose of this blog is to keep family and friends updated with everything going on in our lives. I will try to update regularly.