Simply Mel(Formerly Mama Monoblogs)

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...

 

 

Happy 2nd Birthday to Madelyn!

Dear Madelyn

Today you turn two years old. We are celebrating your birthday tomorrow by having a bunch of friends and our family over. The theme is teddy bears (because you love your teddy bears!)and you will have a teddy bear cake. I think your sister is more excited about your party than you are!

At 2....

-You are much more laid back than your sister is
-You are starting to throw tantrums! Yikes
-You are speaking in full sentences
-You pronounce your "f's" like "p's".  You say stuff like " Would you make some chawky milk per me? and " This is my pish(fish)"
-You like to play by yourself and would rather not be messed with by anyone. You are super content playing with small toys and lining them up and counting them.
-You can count to twelve
-You like to ask me to write your name by saying  " Would you write my name A-E-O-L-Y-N?"
-You like to watch "Dora", "Diego", "Max and Ruby", "Strawberry Shortcake", "Caillou" and "Little Einsteins".
-You love to tell us " I do it myself" and don't ever want help. With anything!!
-You just started sleeping in a toddler bed and you enjoy keeping mama going up and down the stairs telling you to stay in your bed.
-You love your big sister
-You love to sing! You've started to sing " Give Me Oil In My Lamp", "Jesus Loves The Little Children", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and various ditties from your favorite shows. You love trying to sing along with our favorite Sunday school songs CD.
-We are not starting to potty train for another few weeks although you do enjoy sitting on the potty.
-You love to swim in nana and papa's pool!
-You are tall for your age. We'll find out your stats at next week's 2 year check up.
-You've started to love dressing up just like your sister does.
-You love your baby dolls! You walk around and ask us if we want to hold your baby and that it's crying. You call her "Apple Dumpling" after Strawberry Shortcake's little sister. You say " This is my sister baby Apple Dumpin"
-You are a super picky eater. Just like your daddy and sister!!

We love you so much and are so proud of you. You are a  beautiful, wonderful gift and blessing to us from God. Happy 2nd Birthday Madelyn Reese!

Here are some pictures of you at (almost) 2...

GOD BLESS YOU MY SWEET GIRL! HUGS AND KISSES!

How To Mess Up Your Child's Life- A Giveaway

UPDATED WITH WINNERS!!!

Ok, so here's what I did. I wrote down all seven  names on  small pieces of paper, folded them  and put them in a cup.I shook the cup and gave it to Mike to pull out five names. Here are the winners-

Celesta G

Lydia

Geempaw

Sarah Thompson

Jes

Congratulations you guys! Send me your addresses  to I can have the 5 copies mailed to you. Enjoy.

A huge thank-you to everyone who entered. I really appreciated it.

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Giveaway is now closed!! Winners announced tomorrow evening! Check back!

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I've been MIA this week on my blog and it's killing me! We've been super busy on Mike's "vacation" week moving things around in our house(and  making a huge mess in the process), de-cluttering, yard working, getting ready for Maddy's 2nd birthday party on Saturday, oh, and actually "vacationing" a bit by going to the beach and spending time at the pool. I've not been on the computer much! I have a ton of pictures to upload from both VBS's, the beach and soon Madelyn's birthday party. So, to tide myself  my readers over until next week when I can blog more consistently I am hosting a giveaway! I have FIVE copies of Kurt and Olivia Bruner's book " How To Mess Up Your Child's Life" to send to five lucky readers. The Bruners are parents to four children and are faculty members with The Center For Strong Families and host the HomePointe ministry. They are authors and co-authors of many numerous books on children and family. Kurt spent twenty years as VP of Focus On The Family. So, as you can see, they know what they are talking about when it comes to biblical parenting.

All you have to do to enter this giveaway is leave me a comment on this post. Any kind of comment. Say whatever you want. Just comment to enter. If you want more chances to win keep on reading.

" What? I don't want to mess up my child's life!" you say. Well, duh, this book isn't really about how to mess up your child's life but how to avoid messing it up by NOT doing the things Kurt and Olivia mention in this book.Confused? This book is written with a "tongue-in-cheek" , sarcastic and witty(and did I mention biblical?) approach on parenting based on  " the seven habits of highly defective people" (the seven deadly sins). I guess you could call it "  the seven habits of highly defective parenting". If you want to mess up your child's life, just follow the kind of parenting the Bruners write about in this book.  But if you don't want to follow their "mess- up strategies" you can follow their wonderful advice and precautions at the end of each chapter on how to keep your child from falling into these messed up behavioral traps. In fact, they put  a warning sign right before their  wonderful parenting strategies that says " WARNING! The following ideas could be hazardous to the process of messing up your child's life. Read at your own risk!" Clever!

This book is fun, fresh and easy to read. I enjoyed the practical tips and the "backward"  writing approach it takes. There are so many parenting books out there and many of them are, well, boring and say the same old thing over and over again.  This one doesn't. This book hits some great truths about modern parenting today. The Bruners definitely don't beat around the bush! You want to win this book!

Now, if you want to enter more than once you can 1) Tweet about my giveaway on Twitter  or 2) Write a post about it on your blog and link back to me and 3) Leave me a comment for each of these actions so you can be entered to win each time. Just let me know if and which of these you did.

This giveaway will run until Saturday night,after all the craziness is done with. I'll announce the winners Sunday afternoon.

Remember, I have FIVE books to give away!

What are you waiting for? Start leaving some comments!

"The Love Dare" Recap 4

This.Book.Is.Awesome. I am getting sad that I'm nearing the end. Some days I feel like I can't take it all in and I need to write the truths I'm learning on note cards and put them on my fridge. Except that my fridge would be covered in note cards! I'll definitely be reading this book again. It has made me more aware of everything I say and do and how it effects my mate and our marriage. It's made me more in tune with my husband's needs. It's just made me more aware in general.

Remember the three things Mike was supposed to tell me that annoyed him about me from week 5? He's finally told me two of them. One more to go and I can finally check that dare off! Of course, I'm not going to write about what he said but it's definitely an eye opener. I've also found it kind of funny that it's taking him this long to come up with them. Should I be flattered? I've also found that as the book progresses the dares are becoming more and more personal so many of them I won't be going into detail about.You don't think I blog about everything do you? I do have some boundaries. *sheepish grin here*

So, without further ado, I present Recap #4

Day 16- Love Intercedes

Today's dare was to pray for Mike's heart. I was to pray for three specific areas that I wanted God to work in regarding Mike's life and our marriage.

I won't be writing about the three things that I prayed for because its personal but I will say that this helped remind me that prayer works much better than nagging. As a wife, I tend to forget that it's God's responsibility to work in Mike's heart about specific issues and not mine. It's also a relief to realize I don't have to carry certain burdens on my shoulders. God can work in those specific issues while I continue in faithful and loving prayer. Ha! There's the key-faithful and loving prayer. I can't expect God to change Mike's heart without being open to Him changing mine too. And I have to pray lovingly, not spitefully.

Day 17- Love Promotes Intimacy

This day's chapter was all about guarding our mate's secrets and making them feel safe and loved in spite of any issues they may be facing. The dare of this day was to determine to guard Mike's secrets(unless they are dangerous to him or me) and to pray for him. Talk with him about them and demonstrate love to him in spite his issues. Really listen to any struggles and make him feel safe.

To be honest, we don't really struggle with deep issues or secrets! Mike has always been a straight-laced, honest, and open kind of guy. This chapter was speaking more of addictions, emotional disorders or other issues like that. But this chapter definitely made me more aware of what I share with friends and even family. I tend to be pretty open about different things going on in our life and our marriage with my family. This chapter made me stop and think that maybe I need to use a little more discretion sometimes.

Day 18- Love Seeks To Understand

Today's dare was to prepare a special dinner at home for just the two of us. I was to focus this time on getting to know Mike better, especially in areas we rarely talk about. I was to try to make this as enjoyable as possible and just spending. quality time with Mike.

This sounds like a simple dare but I wasn't actually sure how I was going to accomplish it! For starters, Mike is usually never home for dinner. I didn't know how to plan around his work schedule. Then I thought I would have to ask my in laws to watch the kids so we could be alone at home but felt silly telling them it was for a dare in a book I was reading. So this dare was actually completed when we celebrated our anniversary! Everything fell in to place perfectly that night. The girls even cooperated by playing out in the yard while we talked on the deck. As I was planning our evening I thought " Aha! I can use this night to complete that dare!". 
The questions I journaled about from that night were:

1) What did I learn about Mike that I didn't know before? To be honest...nothing!
2)How can I continue this process of discovery in other ways and other times? I learned from this that we don't always have to plan an elaborate evening with a baby sitter, dinner and a movie. It can be a simple, grilled dinner on the deck with the girls around. Our anniversary dinner felt quite intimate. It can be spontaneous and not over planned. I just need to purposefully seek out moments like that more often and take advantage of them.
3)What were some of the moments that made this evening memorable? The preparations for it, the little details, watching our girls play together, having fudge cake together and enjoying a quiet summer evening outside together.

Day 19- Love is Impossible

This chapter spoke about how unselfish and unconditional love is impossible without Jesus in your life. It spoke on how only Jesus can give you those two things and how only through Him can you offer those to your spouse. The dare was to ask God to change my heart and ask Him to give me the ability to love. To ask Him into my life if I hadn't done so and settle my eternal destination.

Since I have already asked God to change my life and know where I'm going to spend eternity this chapter didn't apply to me too much. It pretty much presented the gospel message and how it applies to marriage. I found how the presented it very interesting. It is very true that you can't truly know LOVE if you haven't received it from the true love source-which is Jesus Christ. You can't offer unconditional and sacrificial love  to your spouse if you don't haven't experienced it yourself. It was a great refresher for me.

Day 20- Love Is Jesus Christ

Today's dare was to take God at His Word. To dare to trust Jesus for salvation. To dare to pray " Lord Jesus, I'm a sinner. But You have show me Your love and for my by dying to forgive my sins, and you have proven Your power to save me from death by Your resurrection. Lord, change my heart, and save me by your grace".

Since this chapter was a continuation of the previous days' chapter there wasn't really a dare for me to complete. Mike and I have already taken this step  and prayed a similar prayer years ago. It did remind of what a gift salvation is and not to take my salvation for granted.

And the journey continues! Stay tuned for another recap next week!

Madelina Ballerina

Who needs a "Pet Peeve Of The Day" post or a " Love Dare recap" when you can feast your eyes on all of this cuteness? Those posts are coming but maybe not this week. We are going to round 2 of VBS this week and it's at my in laws church this time.(Speaking of which, VBS is going to get a post all it's own!) So that is making for a busy week. I'm up for "light", easy, and fun posts this week.

Can you believe this little girl is going to be TWO in a little under two weeks? I can't. She sure is a ball of fun. Her quirky little personality makes me laugh every day. It's so different than Katelyn's yet they play so well together(usually). She definitely has more of a"dry" personality and sense of humor than diva Katelyn does. Where Katelyn is all out volatile on some days, Madelyn is more steady. She does have a temper and has been throwing some terrible- two fits here lately, but those are usually rare. And only when she's tired. She brings us so much joy and we love her to pieces!

 

 

 

"Not Me!" Monday-A Week Of Firsts

I haven't done a NMM in while so I figured it was high time! Especially after a few NMM worthy things happened last week. I'm calling this NMM "A Week Of Firsts" because many things happened for the first time. MckMama hosts "Not Me! Monday on her blog so make sure you check out her blog to see what NMM is all about and for more NMM fun. If you want to read more of my (exciting, dare I say?) NMM just click on the "Not Me Monday" tag in my right sidebar.

-Last week I did NOT go to pick up my newly resized (up! Gag) engagement ring and original wedding band only to find that my fingers seemed to have swelled since fitting them for resizing and they still don't fit. I would NOT happen to want to throw a stinking fit over that. Not me!

-Last week my vivacious,almost-four-year-old, first born daughter did NOT learn to swim! She did NOT start to dog paddle to daddy in the deep end. NOT my first baby girl who is growing way to quickly in my opinion. (Videos to come of, course!  Uh..,I mean, NOT)

-Said vivacious daughter did NOT also ask Jesus into her heart last week! (Do NOT click here  to check out the sweet story of her belief in Jesus Christ.

-Yesterday, my second baby girl did NOT start sleeping in her new, canopied, princess toddler bed. She is NOT already going to be TWO in two weeks. I am NOT utterly saddened by this fact.

(Breaking NMM format for a bit here, I apologize for the stinky quality of this photo. The lighting in Maddy's room is terrible for pictures. Maddy's bed is in a weird place in her room for right now while she's adjusting to sleeping in it and until we move her crib out. This picture is of the girls checking the bed out for the first time. Also excuse the mess and the stupid bins in the right corner that I kept NOT moving for these pictures. This room is getting an overhaul soon!)

Maddy sleeping in her new bed! She went right to bed and stayed there. Or should I say- She did NOT go right to bed and did NOT stay there.

-And last but not least(but certainly most embarrassing), I did NOT take a bag of shirts back to Sam's to return this past week only to find that I'd also accidentally added a pair of my underwear in with them when the cashier dumped the shirts out on to the counter and my purple granny panties fell out  a few inches away from the shirts in a little segregated pile of it's own. I did NOT feel as if I would faint in front of the line of people behind me and say " Woah! I'm NOT returning those! Hee hee" and quickly shove them into my purse.

Definitely a first.

I'm NOT the only one with some "No Me! Monday" moments this past week am I? What are yours?

Don't forget to check out My Charming Kids for more "Not Me! Monday".

Faith Like A Child

Matthew 18:2-4

Then Jesus called a little child to Him,set him in the midst of them
and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

The setting: My kitchen. I'm doing dishes. Katelyn comes in the kitchen as starts talking all about her block creations(see pictures below) and going to a planetarium and this and that. Talking my ears off! Then suddenly she stops and we start this conversation.(Written from the best of my memory from two days ago! Ah!)

K: Mama, is Jesus going to take me to Heaven?
Me: Well, Jesus is going to take everyone who believes in Him to Heaven
K: I want to believe in Jesus so He can take me to Heaven
Me: Ok! You can believe in Jesus. All you have to do is tell Jesus you believe in Him and ask Him into your heart
K: Ok, I want to do that right now.( Then she closed her eyes, folded her hands.)
K: Jesus, I believe in you. And I want you to come into my heart and take me to Heaven. And I love you very, very much.
Me(crying tears of joy but trying not to show her so she won't be concerned): Sweetie! That's great! I'm so happy! Jesus is soo happy too!
K: Is Jesus going to take me to Heaven now?
Me: He will take you to Heaven when it's the right time.

And so the conversation went. I was so amazed and inspired by her simple, child-like faith. It was so pure and innocent. Just the way Jesus asks our faith to be. There were no strings attached. No doubts. Just pure faith that if she believed in Jesus He would take her to Heaven.

What a blessing it was to see that and be a part of that. What a great lesson to us jaded adults.

I added some videos from that day for your(meaning my mom's) enjoyment.

Have a blessed day. I hope this post blessed your heart today.

How Sweet It Is.....

 The table. Card for a special someone and candles

A love note in chalk...

The adoring wife....

The pink hat worn to cover bad hair day....

The music for the evening...

Hubby's favorite drink.....


The anniversary meal du jour...


Surprise treat from my hubby.....


In a special package


The loving husband.....

The special dessert....

 

Enjoying dessert

Chocolate covered cuteness

Watching our kiddos play in the yard while we chatted


Our little girl who took a sweet leap of faith in Jesus yesterday...

giving us a wonderful anniversary gift *

It was a sweet day!

 

*Katelyn gets a separate post about about how she came to accept Jesus into her heart yesterday.Coming soon!