WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

Maddie got her first official bloody boo-boo (one of many, I fear). She insisted, as she does about most things, on walking Meatball. He outweighs her still so he pulled too hard and BOOM! Down she went. She skinned her knee but was mostly upset about the bloody place on her elbow. I think the blood bothered her more then the pain but a "Hello Kitty" Band-Aid, kisses and lots of attention later, she was allllll better!

Fun in the sun!

Maddie and Bella once again had a blast at Lakes Park's water area! It's been so hot...what else to do?? They love it (with the exception of some rotten boys trying to blast them with water. Mamma took care of business:)

Then, on cue, Bella blasted Maddie. Nice, Bella. Real nice.

The language of love.

I just started reading The Five Love Languages. It's a relationship book that aims to help you discover your and your spouse's "love language", which can fall into one of five categories:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Physical Touch
4. Receiving Gifts
5. Acts of Service

Sadly, I feel I need all of these things (can you say high maintenance?), but according to the self test, I fall into the "Quality Time" category the most. I guess this would be true. If I don't get some one's time, I don't feel close to them. This has gotten me thinking about other relationships in my life too. Garret is amazing at fulfilling this (with the exception of Basketball season, but it's his passion and job so I would never ask him to give that up to entertain me) but I have friends that I never see and although we have so much in common and they aren't upsetting me per se, I don't feel as close to them as the ones I spend more time with. It kinda all made sense. I envy friends who can go months without seeing each other and slide right back into their friendship "groove". If I haven't seen or talked to someone in that long, I find myself questioning the relationship ("how does she not have 5 minutes to make a phone call??") and feeling generally disconnected and resentful. It's because, according to Mr. Chapman, how I receive love. I question that love when I don't have the quality time.
So here's the hard part: that's my love language, not theirs. Just as in a romantic relationship, you can't expect to be loved as you love. You just hope that communicating your needs is met with effort and understanding. That said, although I feel I am fulfilled by Garret in this way, I may have some things to work out with other people in my life. I'm going to make a real effort to figure out other's language and try to be a better partner and friend.

Another detour on my ADD-filled road to a better me and thus an even better life. And the one I've got is pretty darn good.

What makes a great dad...if you ask me

Letting the little love of your life do this to you...

Keeping "afloat"

Today is St. Patrick's Day. It also happens to be Caleb's Birthday. It would (SHOULD!) have been his 7th. I can't believe it's been three years...*sigh*. I made dinner, our fellow Crusader, Josie made an awesome Spiderman cake, we released balloons to Heaven and the kids went swimming.

All the things Caleb would have loved.

I am in such awe of my sister's ability to function in the face of such grief. On a child's Birthday, generally a mother reminisces of that birth day. Their precious little faces, that first cry...those moments of falling so deeply in love. She has those memories of a child who she has only four short years of memories to look back on. I ache for her. Now that I am a mother myself, I honestly don't know how she does it. But she does. And she and Rob fight to keep his memory alive by educating, lobbying and loving others. They are truly remarkable.

The kids seemed to enjoy it like any other birthday while the grown-ups were painfully aware of the obvious missing piece. Maddie swam with floaties for the first time...all by herself.

I suppose everyone was trying hard to keep afloat...

Beach Birthday Bash!

So, my dear friends, Morgan and Leslie both have birthdays this month. Every year, we have a celebration on the beach, yes on the beach. We have braved cold, cloudy days but mostly have been so lucky with amazing weather! Today was gorgeous!! Gotta love March in Florida! This year, I volunteered to make cupcakes. These might be the cutest things I've ever seen...

I also decided to customize tiaras. I mean, what thirty-something shouldn't rock a tiara on her birthday? I found these silly foam ones and added their names, embellishment and a boa. Yes, a boa. Again, this is the decade in which you're mature enough that you don't care what people think yet are still immature enough to act like a goober.

I'm in love with birthdays...and well, any and all parties, really. Maybe I'll be a party planner when I grow up. Hm. Food for thought.

Feeling inadequate.

So I have noticed that the more I discover about blogging, the more I realize what a "hot mess" I really am. I am finding all these amazing blogs about crafting and mommy-ing and am bursting with inspiration. Don't get me wrong, I am fully aware of my self-diagnosed ADD and general disorganization but I really realize there is so much I could and want to do! I love this song!...



Where was I? Oh, my issues. They are plentiful and I will spare you the exhausting details. I do, however, have all the best intentions. I try to meal plan but by my 17th trip to Publix for the week I realize, I'm not doin' so good. I try to craft and release my creative energy, but I don't have time, or er, money. These are only a couple of the bajillion examples of my good intentions.



Back to the point. Which was?....oh yeah, getting on track. Using my positive qualities and trying to overcome the "crazy" enough to really fulfill this role of mother and "fife" (future wife) that I so enjoy...and would enjoy so much more thoroughly with a bit more organization and fun.

Wish me luck, I'll be back with all the wonderful ideas I come up with (or I'll be horribly distracted and accomplish nada). For my whole 8 followers (hahaha), the blog's appearance may change a bit from all things Maddie (as though her every bowel movement needs to be documented?) but the focus is always on family! Let the self-challenge begin.

"Double Date"

Since I had the day off, I thought I'd rescue Oma and take the girls to the water park area of Lakes Park. I've never taken Maddie since she couldn't walk when it was warm enough last year! They had an absolute ball! The water was a bit chilly I thought, but kids seem to have no concept of extreme temperatures. These double dates, as I like to call them has made me realize I think I can have two kids. I may actually survive it. Of course, I do get to give one of them back at the end. Hmmm...lemme continue to ponder while you enjoy these photos (still shots from my video camera, so not great quality but you get the idea!).

It all began with a quick "Ring-Around-the-Rosie" session...

"And they all fall down!"

Bella is always so mindful of Maddie...so glad they have each other.

The SW Florida Fair...Carnies and all.

We took Maddie to the S.W. Florida Fair today. It was a good time! The weather held up (it had rained earlier and was cloudy most of the day) and Maddie seemed to enjoy herself! They have a great petting zoo that was by far her favorite part. She giggled and squealed the whole time. A few rides and an elephant ear later (can you say "sugar high"?), we headed home.

She saw the rides and got so excited!

First stop: the animals. This child loves animals. So cute. She and one of the goats were having a full-fledged conversation. Seriously (see proof video below).

Maddie needed a quick juice box break (her latest obsession), then off to the rides!

She didn't take a nap this afternoon, so she started to get quite crabby and scowl for all the pictures. Sassy-frass....

Bye-Bye Fair! We had a BLAST!

Fun in the sun, sans Maddie

Everybody ready??

My oldest friend!

This is when I love Florida...

We stopped for lunch at Cabbage Key where this is the decor. We figured if they're ever in financial trouble, they could live on the wallpaper alone....

Jason did his best to remain patient with me while "teaching" me how to fish. I got pretty good at casting, if I say so myself!

While Trisha showed us her driving skills (again, Jason tried to be calm), Garret made a new friend...

I may sound selfish in saying this, buuuuut....
Garret and I have had a couple opportunities lately to do some "grown-up" things and I am soooo glad! I love my baby more than life, but I love my fusband too (fusband=future husband. Boyfriend seems too flippant!). We so enjoy our time together as a family but it's nice to be just a couple sometimes too. We had Maddie so early on in our relationship that we never really had alot of time to just...date.
So we seized the opportunity for Ya-ya to take Maddie and went on the boat with our friends, Trisha and Jason. Beautiful weather, great friends...good times!