Confession

I am not a video gamer but my hubby is for sure. In fact he has a whole blog dedicated to all things video games, Star Wars and techy stuff. We have the kinda house full to the brim with technology. Wireless Internet throughout the house, check. Big screen TV, check. XBox360, check. Wii, check. Really the list goes on and on. For the most part the only part I particularly care about is my beloved Internet....

BUT....
When a new Lego video game comes out I may kinda, sorta go a little bit crazy.

I got hooked years ago when hubby play Lego Star Wars The Original Trilogy. He enjoyed the game and I LOVED it!

Since then I have also play Lego Star Wars The Complete Saga, Lego Indiana Jones The Original Adventures, Lego Indiana Jones The Adventure Continues, Lego Rock Band (okay not exactly the same as the rest but I still played it), Lego Batman and now LEGO HARRY POTTER!!!


I was so excited to see there was a new Lego game coming out months ago but then I realized it was coming out during our super busy, super stressful move time and I wouldn't be playing. Cue sad face because I certainly had one.

Now that we are settled into the new house hubby restarted our subscription to GameFly (similar to Netflix but for video games) and that means its finally Lego time!

Of course the first games that arrived was Harry Potter so I have been frantically playing and funny enough Madison is demanding I play so she can watch. I don't know what it is about the Lego games I love so much but I desperately do! I think it has to do with the lovely sound of breaking Legos and the tinkling noise as I ring up coins! I will fully admit though that I have this need to play the games all the way through and accomplish every single achievement. My gamer score {yes I have one and yes I know what it is} is solely based on Lego games!

Of course this now means that we will have to have a Harry Potter marathon in the next few weeks though!

So you know now my dirty little secret. Do you have a secret obsession? Twilight lover? Yeah I am one of those too!

Confession

I judge a book by it's cover.

Always.

It started off with my great love of pink and evolved. Year ago I would browse the library and grab any book off the shelf as long as it had pink on the spine and 9 out of 10 times I would LOVE the book. I am so easily pleased! I have broadened my selections over the years to include any bright colors and fun fonts.

I love to read and always have. It just so happens that I am drawn in like a child to bright colors and things that are pretty. Jane Austen was never my cup of tea but I will read anything by Sophie Kinsella or Jennifer Crusie. Like hockey or live in Washington? Try Rachel Gibson! She cracks me up with her macho hockey players and love lorn ladies. Have a passion for Vampires that also happen to love shoes? Pick up a book by MaryJanice Davidson! Or how about some incredibly awesome lady super heroes?! Try the Bigtime series by Jennifer Estep.

Now don't get me wrong I don't ONLY read book about romance. I am a die hard fan of Jodi Picoult but one can only read so many of her books without falling into a depression! Although I have to say her latest book House Rules may be my favorite yet. I think it is the ONLY book by her that I didn't cry while reading!

Now onto my latest find. Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. I picked up The Husband Habit at the library on Monday and haven't put it down since ~ go figure that was only yesterday! I was trolling my local library website and adding every single book she has written to my wishlist.

Did I mention I am a bit obsessive too? If I read one book by an author that I love I turn around and borrow EVERY SINGLE BOOK by that author from the library. Maybe a touch of OCD, I would rather call it just being a fan!

As the weather has turned warmer lately I have been enjoying more time relaxing in the backyard with a good book. If you are looking for a fun, light, romantic, easy read try some of these!



Who are some of your favorite author's?

I can see!

I have worn glasses as long as I can remember and even sadder I have been wearing the SAME pair for a lonnnnggg time. When the doctor asked I had to confess that my current pair was about 4 or 5 years old. YIKES. No more though! I can see again!

Please excuse the arms held at a distance picture. At least I didn't do the in the mirror picture!

My new glasses are so far from the norm for me but I am loving them! I am so picky when it comes to picking out glasses but I have to say I fell in love with these! My darling husband may have referred to the designs on the side in reference to a young girls lower back tattoo. You know, not that I have one of those or anything....

I think my biggest excitement though was I finally convinced myself that it would a good idea to buy prescription sunglasses too. I can't express how excited I was to drive. in my car. on a sunny day. and be able to SEE!

Just look at the beautiful day I was able to enjoy without feeling like my eyeballs were sizzling in my head!

Me

* I LOVE sleep. I can't get enough of it and never will again.

* My husband is my best friend and the most amazing man I have ever met.

* Coffee may be my second favorite to sleep.

* I wanted to be a speech pathologist as a child. My brother went to one and I thought it sounded cool.

* I will eat anything containing peanut butter.

* Pink makes me happy.

* I can't help but laugh when Madison starts singing one of her silly songs.

* Hubby considers me a girly girl but I hate dresses and skirts. I LOVE pretty shoes though.

* My toenails are always painted. Usually pink.

* Swimming in the ocean is a no- no. Lake is okay. Pool is the best.

* I love hotel beds. At least nice hotels.

* Silly online computer games help me zone out after a stressful day.

* Watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians is a guilty pleasure.

* I wear jeans until they wear through. Once I find a pair I love I buy multiples and cycle through them.

* My bedroom is my happy place. All white, all pretty.

* Margarita's Chicken Chimichangas are probably my favorite food.

*I will miss Connecticut when we move again. Why anyone could dislike Connecticut I don't know.

* I LOVE the winter. Snowflakes make me smile.

Mommy likes her Christmas presents!

I know that some woman would go ballistic if their husbands bought them kitchen and cleaning equipment for Christmas {Birthday's, Anniversaries, Easter, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Clean Sock Day} but I LOVE it!

My bestie the Kitchen Aid was a birthday gift two years ago and I could never part with it! Last year hubby got me this amazing cake decorating kit and filled my stocking with totally awesome spatula's like this one!

{if you do not have an offset spatula you best run out and get yourself one because they are just fab!}

This year we opted to do just stockings for each other and mine happened to have the most amazing knife ever! I have coveted it for a very long time but couldn't bring myself to spend $50 on a single knife, but my hubby loves me so he did!

Even better he also got my bestie {the Kitchen Aid} it's new best friend - a paddle attachment with silicone scrapers!! Never again will I have have to scrape down the sides of my Kitchen Aid bowl!

To top it all off I used an Amazon gift card {also a Christmas gift, but not from hubby} to order the most amazing yet horribly fattening and heart attack inducing cookbook ever, The Pioneer Woman Cooks. If you are clueless about the Pioneer Woman You. Must. Go. Here. Right. Now! You won't be sorry, your jeans may be but you won't be! And after you go there go here and buy the cookbook that you will drool over!

My cookbook came in the mail yesterday and I was eager to make something, anything from it so I whipped together her French Breakfast Puffs this morning and O.M.G. a food coma awaits but they are soooooo yummy! So full of sugar that I will be zipping around the grocery store this morning!

Christmasgate 2009

If you follow me on Twitter you know that the past few weeks have been very difficult with Madison. She has been testing her boundaries and frankly driving me batty. She has drop down screaming tantrums that lead to me screaming and tears for both of us. Obviously nothing ideal!

Welllll....Hubby and I were chatting this morning with high hopes that maybe this rough patch is behind us. Over the past week Madison's vocabulary has grown immensely and we were hoping to chalk up all the naughty behavior to a new developmental stage that she was working through.

Then naptime rolled around this afternoon. Generally I don't push naptime because it really isn't worth the hassle but we will be out very late tonight and I didn't want a cranky kid on my hands so I pushed it. While Madison was 'napping' hubby and I gathered ALLLLLL of the Christmas gifts and layed them out on our bed so that they would be ready to go for tonight. We of course LOCKED our door so there would be no sneaking.

During said 'nap' Madison proceeded to
VERY QUIETLY
sneak out of her bedroom,
drag a stool into the hallway,
get the key to unlock our bedroom door
and
UNLOCK THE DOOR.

SURPRISE she unwrapped Christmas super quietly by herself.

And by Christmas I mean
EVERY GIFT FROM MOMMY, DADDY, and SANTA!!

I am sure you can imagine what came next. I screamed, Madison ran, I fell to my knees and started sobbing. My husband, my poor dear husband looked like a deer stuck in the headlights. After I slowly began to gain control of myself hubby and I assessed the damage. I would say about 50% of the gifts were opened. Most of the gifts that were opened were supposed to be from Santa.

My saintly husband sent Madison downstairs while I began to rewrap everything that she didn't tear into in NEW Santa paper. I cried on the phone to my mom. I freaked out that my child, my three year old child ruined Christmas. Eventually I calmed down enough to go downstairs and talk with Madison.

She climbed on my lap and I asked her to tell me what happened.

Madison, "Mommy I wasn't sleepy so I didn't take a nap. I took my stool and got the key to your room. Then I opened your room and there were princesses all over your bed! I opened the princesses mommy!"

How do you not laugh when your child so clearly tells you EXACTLY what she did!

I know Christmas isn't ruined, and I know presents aren't what Christmas is really about - and boy trust me Madison KNOWS who baby Jesus is because that's all she talks about and has even named all of her baby dolls baby Jesus. I know that I over reacted to the whole incident and even only about an hour after Christmasgate 2009 I am laughing about it and blogging about it.

Merry Christmas to you and your family and I hope your is slightly less eventful than mine!

I Heart my preschooler...

BUT

She has hid my cell phone

Stolen my shoes

Stripped the leaves off of her pretend tree house

Snuck out of her bed EVERY night for the past 3 months

Told me to throw her toys away because she wasn't going to clean them up

Wasted countless bowls of cereal

Dumped a bowl of popcorn on the floor

Flushed 2 rolls of toilet paper

BUT

She also told me I was a 'Great mother'

Thanked me for making her lunch every day

Sang her 'Baby Jesus' song to her baby dolls

Snuggled up with me to read Christmas books

Gave me hugs and kisses and told me she loved me

I love her with all of my heart - I really truly do but some days I need to scream. Some days the tears well up in frustration. I know she is pushing boundaries and we are trying are darndest to work together and get through this tough time. Even though we have some REALLY tough days my heart always warms when I kiss her goodnight before I go to bed. She is the little baby that I carried around for nine months, she is my little miracle.

Stress-less Holidays

I don't think it is possible to have a 'stress free holiday' that is unless you say heck with it all and rent a cabin in upstate Maine and forget everything else.....

hmmm maybe next year....

But I can say I have a few tips on how to keep the stress level down a bit. Unfortunately my biggest tip will be of no use to you now -

Shop in OCTOBER!

Yes all of my Christmas shopping is not only done but it is also wrapped. I hate Black Friday with a passion and refuse to get the flyers or even leave my house on Black Friday. I am sure plenty of you love it but it is so not me. Instead right around our anniversary every year hubby and I get a babysitter and get ALL of the Christmas shopping done. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to know that the closet upstairs is stuffed full of already wrapped Christmas gifts!

Okay so my big tip is of no use right now but I do a few other things too!

Lists.

Lots of em. I am a list girl and I always will be. It is the only way I can keep myself sane! Tonight I sat down with my day planner, the laptop, a blank December calendar print out, two grocery list print outs and went to town!

Whether its the holidays or not I always write a menu every month. This started a little over a year ago and it is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I sit down usually twice a month and write out a dinner menu for about two weeks worth of dishes. We may not eat everything on those specific days but we will always have the food necessary to prepare those dishes in the house. I have tried typing menues and using programs but I am an old fashioned pen and paper kinda gal so I simply print out a blank month by month calendar page from Microsoft Word.

After writing my menu I start my grocery list. I while back I also made myself a simple little grocery list template that has headings for each isle of the grocery store in the order that I shop to make shopping (which is ALWAYS with Madison in tow) much, much easier! Of course if you use a few different stores you will have to figure out what works best for you but it is definitely a time saver!

Okay so now you have your menu planned for next month, you have your lists done and you are saying "AHHH how on Earth am I going to get all of this done?" Trust me I was there earlier today! We have three Christmas parties to attend, a party at our house and we entertain at our house for Christmas day so that leaves a lot of planning on my part. Which brings me to my next tip-

Precook.

Oh yeah! Every year we have my mom's side of the family over for a Christmas get together about a week before Christmas and we have it at our house which I love because we have the youngest kiddo in the family and it is easiest for her at home. This get together usually involves around 15 or people so we usually cook up a big Italian dish for a main course. With that in mind I will be cooking two giant pans of lasagna (for the get together) and a pan of stuffed shells (which is on the menu later in the month) during the first weekend in the month. I will spend one day filling foil dishes and then freezing everything. Voila! In one afternoon I have the biggest part of the party done!

For me making an extra pan of stuffed shells when I am already making lasagna is not a big deal in the least and it means come the end of the month I have an entire dinner made and ready to reheat. The same logic definitely goes into Christmas baking. We have a few parties to attend and I will be bringing the same dessert to all of them because it is much easier to bake a bunch of the same thing rather than have my pantry exploding on to my counter with flour and sugar for this, that and the other thing!

Five Years

That's right as of today my darling husband and I have been married for five years. It sounds so cheesy but the time really flew by! Sometimes when I am trying to fall asleep at night I think about our first few months together and it just makes me so happy! Plus those first two year prior to Miss Mad were so wonderfully, blissfully quiet. I miss that. Oh well. The past five years have been wonderful, I am truly blessed to have such an amazing husband!

What I love about Brandon

♥ His smile, it was the first thing that attracted me to him and it is still the best! ♥ He can make me laugh at any given moment and really there is nothing better to have in a partner than one that can make you laugh. Even on the worst of days he still manages to find a way to get me giggling! ♥ His first concern is always Madison and I, he is so selfless and I know I am a very lucky girl for that. ♥ He eats what I cook for dinner no matter what. Nuff said. ♥ He makes me coffee every Saturday and Sunday morning without fail. ♥ He hasn't changed in the past five years. He is still the Brandon I fell in love with. ♥ He has no problem laughing at himself for the goofy things he does, and he does a lot of goofy things! ♥ He makes the most amazing chicken enchiladas ever! ♥ He never forgets to put the seat down. Ever. ♥ He is such a great kisser! I know it sounds like such a school girl thing to say but it's true!

♥ He really does love me for me.

Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!
I love you and always will!

xoxox Amanda

Organized Chaos

When you walk in our front door you walk into the living room. In our house the living doubles as a playroom, not ideal but we have made it work for the most part. Madison has a corner with her play kitchen and dollhouse set up and she is pretty good about keeping her things in that corner. That being said we also have a nice size set of cubbies that are always a mess.

The original purpose was to keep Madison's crayons, coloring books, daily Play Trays and library books organized. Unfortunately it turned into the 'I will shove everything into a teeny tiny cubby hole' spot. Today I decided no more. I tore everything out and reorganized.

I have high hopes that things will stay this way but who knows! Now there is a slot just for Netflix/Gamefly, library books, the family binder, Play Trays #1, 2 and 3 and crayons/markers.

I ♥ my label maker!

How do you keep your kiddos organized?

Boob Tube Heads

5:00 - dinner served
5:30 - dinner clean up
5:45 - Madison runs around like a wild child getting out the last of her energy
6:30 -Potty, Pull up, teeth brushing, pjs, book & bed for Madison
6:50 - Pjs for hubby and I
7:00 - Popping popcorn & getting beverages
7:30 - TV is on and we are set for an evening of Primetime Television Goodness

Photo by dailyinvention

That's right tomorrow night starts our routine until next summer, hubby and I will curl up on the couch for some good old boob tube time together. Before I get into our great obsessions let me first give the appropriate farewell to our canceled favorites from last year.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ~ I have never seen a single Terminator movie but boy did the show rock and a little David Silver (oh yes I watched 90210) was great too

Knight Rider ~ C'mon! A talking car is just awesome and a talking car with a hot driver is even better

Lipstick Jungle ~ You sucked me in and then left me hanging, I feel sad

Battlestar Galactica ~ I have no words just tears

Eli Stone ~ Why were you canceled? You had it all! What other show offers Broadway musicals in burning buildings?

The Middleman ~ You were an amazing show and never given a true chance

Reaper ~ Oh how I will miss you and your crazy devilish ways

Pushing Daisies ~ That poor man was never able to eat his oh so yummy looking pies!

Before Madison we really didn't watch much television but with a baby in the house and no family around (we were living in Washington then) there wasn't much else to do but watch a little tv. Of course Madison is older now but she still goes to bed rather early so we are hooked. We watch so many shows I have to make a spreadsheet when the Fall lineup is available on tvguide.com!

We will be giving a few new shows a shot this Fall but we have been getting rather picky with our choices lately. ABC seems to be trying to replicate the CBS Comedy Monday lineup on Wednesdays. Hank, The Middle, Modern Family and Cougar Town are all programed in but I am not so sure ABC can bring the funny like CBS. We are also going to give Eastwick a shot this year. I love quite a few of the characters and hubby and I have a bit of a thing for the supernatural so fingers are crossed it lives up to our expectations.

We did give Vampire Diaries a shot last week but couldn't make it through the first ten minutes. Goodness. The CW really needs to shake things up over there and get off of the cheesy teen dramas. Community also premiered this past week too but we are still on the fence about it. I love Joel but it wasn't laugh out loud funny yet but we will give it another week or two before we give it the boot.

Do you have any shows you are really looking forward to this Fall? Criminal Minds? YES please! Anything new you are excited to see? How about a show that isn't really making the grade anymore? Umm Heroes that would be you. Share please!

The Cons of Being Potty Trained

• All money that is saved on diapers is now spent on toilet paper, tons and tons of toilet paper
• A 45 minute trip to the grocery store now takes 2 hours
• We can no longer drive from our house to Nanny's without at least 2 stops to use a potty ~ Nanny's house is only 20 minutes away!
• All that naked bum we thought we wouldn't have to see we still see but now it's mobile
• My child now asks to potty in the closet ~ I know really?!
• I wash TONS of underwear. Not because of accidents but because every time she goes she needs to change them into a new fancier pair.
• "I'm peeing" means I have to pee in Maddie world. This sent mommy into a panic a few times before the difference was distinguished.
• Another excuse to get out of bed. "Mommmmmmmm I have to pee! Mommmmmm I need water! Mommmmmm I need books!" ~Maddddd I need silence!
  

What I Learned This Weekend

ahhhhhhhh

That is my sigh of relief that the weekend is over. Isn't the weekend supposed to be restful? Rejuvenating? Absolutely not, instead it is always busy, busy, busy. I don't mind though I can take a nap this afternoon!

Friday To Do:

• Oil Change at Sears
• Quick trip to the grocery store
• Clean the house and prep dinner and dessert for our guests
• Entertain our guests - I do not juggle
  

What I Learned Friday:

• I am completely incapable of going to the mall without shopping. A trip to Sears for an oil change leads to bags from The Christmas Tree Shop, Old Navy and Sears.
• Roasted garlic only takes minutes to permanently scent your house like an Italian restaurant.
• Martha Stewart is my idol but will eventually lead to my demise; making everything by hand is fantastic but a lot of work.
• If the other players drink while playing marbles I do much better.

Martha's amazing pie crust!

Saturday To Do List:

• Sleep in
• Make two chocolate layered cheesecakes
• Nap time
• Picnic with my dad's family

What I Learned Saturday:

• Madison does not sleep in - ever.
• Cool Whip spreads much easier when not frozen solid.
• Madison really is potty trained NO ACCIDENTS!!!!!!!!!!
• Bribing with brownies is A-Okay.
  
• The location of every bathroom between our house and my aunt's.

Sunday To Do List:

• Sleep in
• Make corn salad
• Picnic at my mom's house

What I Learned Sunday:

• Madison still does not sleep in.
• I am the only one in the neighborhood who fires up the grill before 8:00am.
• I can stitch a shirt with a dull broken needle - Thank you Martha!
• Maybe not completely potty trained, but only one accident the whole day.
  
• My mother's house is not as flammable as once thought.

Maddie's first bonfire.

Monday To Do List:

• Sleep in
• Shower
• Muffin Tin Monday
  
• Nap
• Laundry

What I Learned Monday:

• Sleep is not a necessity.
• Showering at 11:35am is still AM therefore still morning and therefore still acceptable.
• Clean pjs are Monday attire.
• I am too lazy to throw food in a muffin tin after partying all weekend.
• Stains acquired by a three year old over Labor Day weekend are not removable at all.

Our new Halloween muffin tin from the Christmas Tree Shop ~ $1.99!!

We had a fantastic weekend with family, friends and lots of yummy food! I am still shooting for a nap today, but besides that life is back to usual.

I lied.

Our typical morning routine was underway and Mad asked to be changed. As usual I asked her to grab a diaper from the bin in the living room but low and behold it was empty. As I ventured to the closet for more I decided in a flash I would lie.

That's right, that awful naughty thing.

I told Maddie we were all out of diapers. "Oops! Mad, so sorry but we are all out! I guess we can try a day in those big girl undies. What do you say?"

"Oh mom!!! I guess. Can I wear princess underwears?"

"Of course baby girl, oops! I mean super-big-underwear-wearing girl!"

Of course at this point she is looking at me like I am a loon. Off to the bathroom we go which has been set up and ready for kiddy pottying for months. We grab some princess undies and I suggest that she hop on the potty for just a bit while I run upstairs and grab a towel for accidents. Off I go. As I come back down she is shouting from the potty.

"Mommy! I dropped a little poopy in the potty, come see! Oh! I dropped more little poopies!"

That's right, minutes after my split second decision to lie to my child we have an inkling of success. So far the morning has been a success with no accidents. I have set the timer for anywhere from 25-40 minutes depending on her eating and drinking and when it goes off she happily jumps on the potty.

We printed out a new princess potty chart that she has been adding stickers to all morning and I am resisting doing a happy dance, I don't want to jinx it just yet! We have until next Tuesday before we have to leave the house so until then we shall be a t-shirt and undies house; hopefully.

Mommy Moments

I have been brainstorming ways to freshen up Funny Days and finally decided that it is time to share a little about the mommy of Mommy and Maddie. You all know plenty about Mad as she is the center of the universe, at least according to her, but not so much about me! As a new occasional post I will share a little about me; my hobbies, my life, my favorites.

Presenting:I thought the best look into me would be a glimpse into my purse, really that is the best way to know about any woman. My purse bag is my life, and at the moment Mad's too. We are long past the stage of needing a diaper bag yet still in diapers so I carry around a giant bag o' stuff.


The top secret contents of the green bag:

• wallet
• blackberry, or pinkberry as it is so fondly named by me
• Off! bug wipes for the dog park
• keys
• key chain with random store cards because they can't be near my house key or it deactivates it ~ darn smart key
• Mad's painting from story time at the book store
• yo-yo
• coupon book
• check book
• 2 pens
• GUM Soft-Picks for on-the-go between-the-teeth cleaning
• diaper
• teeny tiny Winnie the Pooh kite
• 2 10cent stamps
• glasses case
• mini black Sharpie
• watermelon Air Head won at the roller skating rink a month ago
• Big Y silver coin
• 2 bobby pins
• a pencil case containing: deodorant, hand sanitizer, baby suntan lotion, more Off! wipes, more bobby pins, a pair of earrings, my class ring, 3 hair elastics and a random stray silver bead

I don't have anything exceptionally odd in my bag currently although carrying around my class ring is a little out of the ordinary!

Please share the odd treasures hidden at the bottom of your bag!

Tastes like chocolate covered suntan lotion

...but in a good way.
That's right we have FINALLY found the ever allusive Special Edition Coconut M&Ms.

Ta-da!

I believe we now need to make another trip to Walmart to buy every bag they have and store them in the freezer before they disappear into M&M oblivion. Coconut M&M's in the middle of a snow storm would be so tropical.

Brushing up on those 1996 skills

I have previously stated that I don't know how to sew. I suppose that is technically incorrect. Back in 7th grade our home-EC class was all about sewing....fun! So technically I haven't used a sewing machine since 1996. Well I finally broke that bad boy out this afternoon and with a little help from hubby (I sat and stared at the machine until he came over to show me how to thread it) I actually managed to make a little sack for Maddie's bear puzzle.

Frankly it is nothing to brag about in the least but I am happy to say that I did not sew any fingers to any material and I was also able to wield the iron without burning myself. Ah, yes the iron is also hubby's domain!

Technically the bag still needs some sort of closure, I am thinking Velcro would be a good choice, but besides that it came out pretty cute. I even did a little bear applique to pretty it up!

Now that I have dipped my pinkie toe into the sewing pool I am convinced that I can make some homemade gifts for Mad this Christmas. Darn all you inspiring mommy bloggers! hehe

Crafty Chaos

I don't know about you but craft supplies has taken over my home. I have one cabinet in my kitchen that is solely devoted to craft supplies along with a rolling cart in the closet and a few small photo box bins of crafty odds and ends in our office. I desperately try to keep the kitchen cabinet organized but either I have tiny little elves that like to mess it up or I have a little you know who named Madison that sneaks in there and messes it all up!

Don't get me wrong I know it is great that Maddie has access to all the craft supplies and it is supposed to foster her independence and creativity but she is messssssyyyyy. There was the one day that I got out of the shower to find that she repainted my coffee table, cue mommy meltdown! Thank goodness 90% of Crayola products are washable! Or how about the ever present fine dusting of glitter. It would appear that my darling sweats glitter, but I think the real reason I find it everywhere is she is hiding a secret stash of it somewhere!

Nonetheless all the crafty bits have been getting to me and I can't stand messes and that's all I have right now. But I do have a sort of (I am really using sort of very liberally here) empty closet upstairs. It currently contains items that either need to go in Maddie's room or have been removed from Maddie's room and haven't found a proper home.

The Mission:

• Clean out previously described closet
• Gather and reorganize all craft supplies
• Neatly re-stock said closet with craft supplies

Well I spent all morning gathering, reorganizing, stocking, stacking, yelling, and tossing. I think I may finally have a solution to the mess.

My only doubt about this working is that now everything is upstairs but we do our art projects downstairs. Hmmm. My solution (fingers crossed) my giant pink tray that I only use once a year for our summer party! I am thinking that I can use the pink tray and a small muffin tin to gather any supplies we need for our project and bring downstairs only what we need.

The best part of this whole redo? Now I can lock the supplies away! Maybe this will keep those pesky elves from constantly making a mess!

Call On Me

Over the past few months I have seen a few articles in my parenting magazines about calling cards. I have seen both cards for the mommy and cards for the kiddo and I have been thinking about jumping on this new (?) fad.

I tend to be a rather shy when first meeting people but I don't want my personal short comings to distract from Madison having friends. Maddie on the other hand is an absolute social bug! She meets 'friends' EVERYWHERE we go! A few weeks ago we were at the pet store and Maddie tagged along with another little girl the entire time we were in the store and they even had to give each other hugs when it was time to leave. Of course if I was a super mommy I would have shared contact info right then and there with the other mama but I shyly smiled and scurried Maddie out the door.

So I have been thinking about this mommy calling card thing and think it may just help. I have found a TON of them online as inspiration but will probably make my own. I have seen a few different styles but the basics would include my name as 'Amanda mommy to Madison' with my cell phone number and e-mail address. The other ones I have seen also include the places we like to play like the local playground and any child friendly places we have memberships to like the Children's Museum.

Do you have mommy calling cards? Do they help you make playdates for your kiddos?

WANTED

I don't if you have a 'lovey' in the house but Maddie Mae Bear (I know how original) is all important at our house. I can't tell you how many times bedtime has rolled around and she is hiding and we are on the all important quest to find her. Darn it, that cute little bear is gosh darn good at hiding too.

We have tried to be proactive and have a collar on Bear with her name and my cell phone number on but oddly enough that isn't much help when she is hiding under the couch or in a pile of dirty laundry.

When we ask Mad "Where is Bear?" we get the all important answer "she's hiding." Fantastic.

Well bedtime rolled around this evening and Bear was MIA. We searched the house high and low with no luck. Uh oh. Mad and I spent the ENTIRE day shopping so now I am in frantic mode trying to think of the last place I saw her. Was it at the library? What about the Exchange? At 99 when we had lunch? I managed to piece together that yes we did have her at lunch. I didn't want Maddie getting ice cream on Bear so she was next to my purse. Well super.

So I call the restaurant and they say Bear is not hiding there. YIKES. After once again searching the house top to bottom I jump in the car and start driving to the restaurant in hopes that maybe she is laying in the parking lot.

Half way to the restaurant I realize Maddie had her in the backyard this afternoon getting her covered in sidewalk chalk. SCREECH. U-turn back to the house. I slam the car door shut run to the back of the house- yes we are on a race against time now, 30 minutes past bedtime. Low and behold Bear is hiding in the seat of Mad's big wheel.

We have Bear. Repeat. We have Bear.