Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

Please Proceed to My New Blog

Well, it really isn't a NEW blog. It's a continuation of this one. With a new name and beautiful new design. If you want to catch up you may browse here and read old posts. If you want to read about all things current please go to-

www.simplymelsblog.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Madelyn's First Haircut

Madelyn got her first haircut on her birthday. My friend Jen kindly agreed to cut her hair for me. I had waited this long because I just loved the little curls that she had. But her hair was really starting to look straggly and unkempt. So it was time for a haircut. She hated it. She screamed and cried through the whole thing.(As you'll see in the pictures). The quality of the haircutting pictures is terrible. Jen was cutting Madelyn's hair in front of our front door, which has window panels(viewing panels?) in them. So there was a huge glare!(And, of course, we would never think of pulling the shades down!)

The back......

Now before we move on to the final product I want you to take a look at these pictures of my sister when she was around the same age as Maddy now .......

And try to tell me they don't look like Madelyn.......

Pardon the runny nose.....

 

 

I'm still editing and going through 300+ pictures from Madelyn's birthday party.That's right...three HUNDRED.Mike took over the picture taking for a bit and, unfortunately, he's a terrible photographer! I can't tell you how many I've deleted so far and I'm only half way through. Those will be coming soon. We're getting ready this week for our (most likely) last church cookout of the summer on Sunday. We enjoy them but they are a lot of work. Thankfully the house has stayed relatively clean from our work last week so their shouldn't be that much to do. And frankly, I just don't care anymore!

Stop The Presses!

Be warned. This is another one of my random posts.

Be ready to be amazed. Shocked even! I have found a vegetable recipe that, get this, Mike actually likes. No, it's not April 1st and no I'm not making that up.'Tis true! My friend Sondre from Thirty Minutes Of Wonderful gave me this super easy recipe for Salt and Vinegar Asparagus. It's delicious.

Here's the recipe:

Salt and Vinegar Asparagus

Mix together in a baking dish : Bunch of Asparagus spears,  drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, dash of kosher salt, a small drizzle of vinegar.

Roast at 425 for 20 mins. They should b e crispy and golden when done.

Easy peasy!

Now for a prayer request:

Pat, the music leader of our church, lost her 7 year old nephew on Saturday to a tragic accident. Him, his 11 year old brother and friend were walking back home for the store on the side of the roade when JJ,the 7 yo was hit by a car. He died by the time the ambulance got him to the hospital. They still don't know why/ how he was hit by this car. The driver wasn't drunk. The driver stopped immediately. He, of course, will never be the same. Please pray for Pat and her family as they deal with this horrific loss. The funeral service is tomorrow. Also pray for Jason, the 11 yo old brother. He is suffering terrible guilt for feeling like he should have protected his brother. He told his mom all he say was his brother flying in the air. That's how quickly it happened. Pat was at church on Sunday but unable to play or lead the music. She had chosen all of the songs the Wednesday before the Saturday that the accident happened. One of the songs was "In Christ Alone". That song already really gets to me but when we started to sing it on Sunday it seemed so  perfect for the sad situation that I started to BAWL while playing it. I could barely see the music in front of me! There was a lot of crying on Sunday from everyone so I wasn't alone! Anyway, please keep this family in your prayers. I will be doing the music this coming Sunday too so Pat won't have to worry about it this week.

Now, on a lighter note, I've decided to post something fun I've seen a few people do on their blogs. I'm calling it " Funny/Weird Google Hits". Through  my sitemeter I've been able to see what key words on Google  have landed people on my blog. Some of them are pretty funny!

Here are a few recent ones:

"granny panties!"

Yes!! Someone was actually searching granny panties on Google! And sadly they were sent to my blog. Probably because I used that word in this embarassing post.

"Should Christian moms got to play dates"

SAD that this person has to ask!! What kinds of things have they been taught?

" neena nana nono"

What? Nanny nanny booboo? Eaney Meaney Miney Mo?

"mel the keeper pushed with everything she had"

I certainly did. And darn proud of it.

"my lower back aches awwww"

Awww,indeed! Try a chiropractor

"seet deems"

Sweet dreams in baby language??

And one of my favorites..

"preschool activities for tired moms"

When you find some by all means send them my way!!

And several searches for MckMama have landed people on my blog:

"against MckMama"

"dislike MckMama"

"blogger MckMama hate"

"MckMama fat wants money"

"MckMama affair husband"

There has been some drama/disgruntled-ness  going on with some readers of her blog and there are actually ANTI-MckMama blogs and forums now. Sad. I don't know if the people  searching with these words were looking for the sites just to read them or they wanted some fodder for MckMama bashing.

Those of you with blogs should definitely check your Google referrals to your blog ! It's fun. And please do share!

Beach Pictures!

We went to Wingaersheek Beach  in Gloucester, MA with my inlaws last week and had a blast. This is our favorite beach! It's pretty, very family friendly (meaning no dental floss or Speedos are usually seen there)and clean. The tide was way out last week and we had to go pretty far out into the ocean for the water to even hit my middle! Madelyn did not enjoy the beach as much this year, as she did last year. She didn't like the water, but loved the sand. It was a 100 degree day so the sand was hot and being away from the water was hot! We got there about 10 am and stayed until 3:00(ish). That was a little much for Madelyn, as she was a mess by the time we left. My brother in law, Bob, came with us and was able to bring his daughter, Kara along. Katelyn absolutely loved the water and was my water buddy that day. We spent a lot of time together in the water. Madelyn was happy playing in a hole of water she found in the sand. She had a handful of shells and a clump of seaweed she enjoyed tremendously. She would put the shells in her bucket and them dump them out into the water. Then she would float her seaweed around and around. She even called it " my seaweed". As in " Oh no, mama! I yost MY seaweed!!" I thought we were going to have to bring her new aquatic plant with us!!  Katelyn and I saw several hermit crabs walking (crawling?) at a very fast pace at the bottom of the ocean. We tried to keep an eye out for those and not step on them. We brought along snacks, a tent and various other beach items but I didn't spend much time there! Towards the end of our time there Madelyn really started crying. I think exhaustion, sun and heat finally got to her! They have usually have shower stalls available to rinse of in there and I was really looking forward to those. Except that Gloucester was having some sort of water issue so the showers were closed. I was like "oh boy!". I dragged the girls and myself into a hot, dirty bathroom stall and tried to change us all from wet, sandy swimsuits into clean, dry clothes all without any of our stuff touching the muddy floor. I wasn't too successful. Madelyn was having a hysterical fit in there, screaming, crying and yelling saying " No!" over and over again. Katelyn started to cry. I was crying, not from emotion but from the salty sweat that was dripping into my eyes as I tried to wrestle Madelyn out of her swim suit and into her clothes. I think I may have said a couple of swear words- in my mind- at that moment. It was very frustrating. We finally got changed and out of the hot, beach bathroom. We ordered lunch from the snack bar but Madelyn fell asleep in the car as soon as Mike started it. She was sooooo tired poor thing! Other than the bathroom issue it was a pretty great day.
Here are some pics from that day
 
 Kara, my brother in law's daughter with Nana. She's 4 months younger than Madelyn.
 
 Madelyn's reaction whenever water touched her...