The Thing About 30

Welp. Today I turned 30. Woah. I don't feel old. And I am really not freaked out about it. I know a lot of people stop aging after 30 but I am holding out until next year because, 31 is the golden birthday year for me and it would be a real shame to stop before hitting that milestone.

This was 10! years ago!! Turning 20 and I was so excited to no longer be a teenager! (I would wait until midnight and open all the presents my parents sent with me to college.)

Anyway 30 arrived just as you'd expect. With a husband who went out to get doughnuts and orange juice, assuming the kids would stay asleep and of course they didn't.

But the day was sunny, which after ALL THE RAIN we've had lately was great! Wednesday is C's day off from school so it was so nice to have my guy home. It was my own little birthday present honestly. We had a play date with his friend Marlee. She is moving soon and is at a different preschool. They have Fridays off so the potential for future play dates is shaky. It was a wonderful morning.

The afternoon brought Husband home early and he mowed the lawn.

Clearly I am ready to be 30 because you have NO idea what joy I got out of my lawn being mowed. All the previously mentioned rain meant that it was practically the rain forest with a machete out there. Now it is short. I am very happy. Plus for about two hours our lawn looked significantly better than our extremely lawn-obsessed neighbor's did!

C was insistent that I have decorations for my birthday and while I hadn't planned on decorations years ago my mom gave me this Madeline crepe paper and some napkins. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. Very me.  

Husband and I went out for dinner by ourselves and came home for cake with our kids and Kathryn who was nice enough to watch them.

Dairy Queen ice cream cake is wonderful! It did not disappoint! One candle for each decade. And what would a birthday be without presents? I got a few books I am excited about and will be getting a FitBit when it arrives to replace the one that won't turn on. *whomp whomp* 

But the other highlights are my new carpet cleaner! 

And my new drying rack! 

Because there's 1001 uses for a drying rack. (Swimsuits, snow gear, blankets, regular laundry...) And I didn't have one and I have wanted one for a long time. 

Yeah, I am making 30 look super exciting over here folks! I hope you've all had a wonderful end to August!

First Day of 4-year-old Preschool!

"Bye Mom! See you back here in a little bit!" And he was off.

He was so excited. He was ready. 

And you know what? We all survived. 

I figured out the "honored tradition" of the car line, which no joke was my number one stressor about this whole thing. It was less chaotic than I anticipated.

M had a perfectly fine morning and only asked where C was 25 times. 

C had a wonderful time. He had goldfish for snack, read a book about a raccoon who was sad about going to school, (The Kissing Hand) and played outside. According to his teacher who put him in the car at pickup, he got a little nervous towards the end of the day, no tears, but just wondering how much longer school was going to go. I'd be lying if I said I'm not a little happy that he missed me too but still had a really good time. 

I consider all of it a success. We celebrated the first day with a special lunch from "Old McDonald's" and everyone is happy. 

Preschool is off to a good start! Let's see how tomorrow goes! 

Better Stuff!

Holy cow! It's been a week since I posted. I wish I had some good excuses but really we've just been living life and enjoying C's last few days before school starts. Actually, that's a pretty good excuse. Spending time as a family is always a good excuse.

My parents visited this past weekend. Which was swell! Really, it was the perfect weekend. Topping it all off was that Husband and I bought a new mattress!!

Husband not-so-lovingly refers to our old mattress as a baguette pan. He's not wrong. But it does make me laugh. When we were first married we had a double bed. When I was pregnant with C, I got fed up and bought a bed, with a frame, box spring and mattress for like $400. So a super nice one then. I kid. We've hated it for years but there's always something more pressing right? Anyway, we bought a new one and it was delivered this morning!

It doesn't look like much, but that is a new mattress and new pillows. I am looking forward to rest time!

We also seal coated the driveway over the weekend. I've wanted to do that for a long time now and it looks so much better!! So if you factor in our new roof, August has been pretty good to us and making our house feel better. And also curb appeal.

Most of the houses in our neighborhood have concrete driveways/parking areas. But ours is asphalt. The other asphalt in this picture is the alley. Our asphalt was rough and hadn't been seal coated potentially forever but definitely in a long time. Luckily it doesn't suffer the same treatment as the alley so no major cracks or problems. 

The schools around here started this week. Our school gives a little buffer between K-8 starting and the preschool so C's first day is Thursday. We unpacked his backpack last week. We picked up his school bag from the embroider yesterday.

Several area preschools give the kids canvas tote bags to decorate instead of using backpacks. I admit to being a little disappointed by that fact but I am over it. We could decorate however we wanted to, and for me that meant, taking it to be embroidered. Puffy paint is not my forte.

So we are ready. He has a new first day of school shirt. Because it's hot here still and he isn't going to wear fall/winter stuff yet, but the first day calls for something new. So a new shirt it is. He is very excited about it and preschool in general.

That's what's going on in our world.

Awesomesauce!

So yesterday was Husband and I's 6th wedding anniversary! Which is pretty awesome. We celebrated by going to see "Bad Moms." Husband had free movie ticket vouchers he got from doing someone at work a favor and I am on the movie theater's weekly coupon email list. So for the two of us to go see the movie with a large popcorn and pop was $7.55!

We enjoyed the movie. It is ABSOLUTELY rated R and mostly for language. It isn't really my kind of humor, I am not super into broad comedy, but the theater seemed to like those parts. The message of the movie was good though! And the last bit after the movie ends was so special. I may have actually teared up. (I totally did.)

We also had a candlelit pizza dinner, at our house, after bedtime because the movie went way longer than we thought it was going to. (So many previews!) By the time it was over we were getting awfully close to bedtime. C doesn't usually nap anymore which is okay but that means when it is bedtime he is DONE.

This morning C had a dentist appointment. His first one with a cleaning and everything. I was super nervous about it because his last few appointments haven't been super stellar. And I'd be lying if I told you he brushes his teeth every night without incident.

But it went amazing. No crying. No problems. Just clean teeth, a new Minion tooth brush, some toothpaste he is pretty excited about and two stickers. So I guess watching all the youtube videos about going to the dentist paid off. And he doesn't have to go back until February so that's awesome.

We played outside today! Which was glorious!! It was a long week without being able to do that because of the roofers. We so enjoyed our time out there. I walked around with the metal detector just to double check but they did a pretty good job. A few scattered wood pieces but nothing major.

I have Philly Cheese Steak fixins' in the crock pot, ran the dishwasher, a load of laundry and managed to mow the backyard right before it rained! Plus I was able to catch the women's gymnastics beam final live, which was everything good.

Now that it's aired. I love Simone but she herself says that beam is her hardest event. Laurie is so sweet and she performed SO well at trials. She wasn't given the chance to compete for the all-around and I am so excited for her to have shown her stuff.

It gets me all feeling the heck yeahs!

7QT: Hey-O! It's Friday!

one. My roof is done. I have a brand new beautiful roof. Cue the Hallelujahs!

two. C had a birthday party today. It was a "breakfast" birthday party and everyone wore pajamas. They played "Duck Duck Goose." (My Minnesotan self just shuddered at not writing Gray Duck in there..) C ate "Strawberries! And Grapes! They also had eggs but I don't like to eat eggs." That is the extent of my knowledge of the the party happenings but he had fun.

three. M and I had a girls outting to Target and she came away the big winner as a brand new owner of a Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Trolley and a new outfit. We had a very good time.

four. We had C's "home visit" with his teacher to set his goals for the upcoming school year. We set working on writing skills and making friends as his goals of the year. The friends he has already are all going to different schools next year so since we are committed to going to our Parish school I hope he makes some good friends this year. I cannot believe school is already starting so soon!! I am going to savor my last week of sleeping in and having C all to myself.

five. My favorite M words right now are "Straw-bee" (Strawberry) and "Tra-wee" (Trolley.) I may go out of my way to hear her say them. She has also finally started to attempt at C's name, and calls him "Cha Cha." He does NOT love that. ("My name is NOT Cha Cha!")  We are taking the time to explain that learning to talk is hard work and she is trying because she loves him. It's a work in progress.

six. I am currently having an affair with Hot Fudge Shakes. They are really good. Unless you don't like hot fudge in which case they aren't good at all. For our hip and cool Friday night I may send Husband out for some. Fancy up in here.

Whitey's Ice Cream, made blog-famous by the Pattons and their camp going every time they visit locally. 

seven. The Olympics. I am still a fan. Simone Manuel yesterday? I seriously cried right along with her.

The Olympics so Far

Well, I love the Olympics. I do. It's in my blood.

I feel a little jinxy, because on Saturday while we were watching the US Women's Indoor Volleyball game against Puerto Rico (which...? Since they vote for our President how does that work exactly?) and I said something like "I am super 'Go America" here but also I kind of hope that some of these underdogs win."

Well now the Williams sisters, and Venus by herself, Missy Franklin... it's all a little crazy. But you know, at least Missy Franklin isn't making all kinds of excuses about having a virus. (Because really Venus, it's okay to just say "they played a great game.") Anyway...

Husband and I had a discussion about Bob Costas and how he still looks so young but he's been doing the Olympics forever. Well he is pretty young, at 64, but he's been doing the Olympics since before Husband and I had real memories so that could explain our delusion. It really has been our forever.

Such a funny meme. But logistically, what would happen? Would the other swimmers save the one drowning? Would they re-do the whole race? Would the life guard jump in during the race, maybe distracting someone racing? I really only see this happening during a relay, like someone lands on someone accidentally and knocks them unconscious. And that still seems kind of crazy. But nice to know someone is ready to jump in if need be. 

So swimming is my jam! For Sochi, I bought the USA mittens and for Rio I bought some Team USA Swimming shorts. I love watching all the swimming. I really hope my kids find some sort of joy out of competitive swimming but I swear I am not going to go all Tiger Mother on them and make them. But C has been watching and he's like "Look they're doing their windmill arms!" "Or Mom! They are doing good blue light kicks." (Flutter kicks) So at least he is taking that away from swim lessons and applying it to real life examples.

And I am of course all about Katie Ledecky, Lilly King and Michael Phelps. And Boomer Phelps! I mean, poor kid has a horrible name but he is super cute. He has his own Instagram which is adorable.

And what kind of Olympic talk would we have without discussing Gymnastics?

Simone is so cute! I love her. Crazy super talented. She's on track to win FIVE gold medals, which is amazing. Aly well, I love her too. Okay, blanket statement that I love all the girls. I do feel bad for Gabby since of course she wanted to defend her title, but she knew the "only two per country" rule going in. She seems pretty level headed and honestly during trials she didn't perform great. But obviously she is still a huge asset to the team since she was barely behind Aly and way above the other

Madison is just amazing at the uneven bars. It's magical to watch and you just know she is going to win the gold in the individual events. Well, I don't know but I sure hope. She really has been given the "one job to do" role and she is doing it so well! Marta looked so pleased with her, which was such a joy to see.

Laurie I feel the worst for, since she could have done really well given the chance to compete for the all-around but Rio isn't giving her the chance to shine. But she is still super smiley and upbeat. With her talent and age I hope we can see her in Tokyo. I know that going for an extra Olympics in women's gymnastics is a big decision. I do hope whoever replaces Marta keeps the girls on their toes as well as she does.

On the Men's Gymnastics front, it's kind of been a train wreck. USA team was kind of a mess and that poor Frenchman who broke his leg. Oh my.

We are so enjoying watching as a family!! And we have been going to sleep SO late staying up to watch some of the events. All the good stuff is this first week though but that's okay!

A Girls Weekend: Year 2

Last year, the first weekend of August, I went on a trip with my friend Kathryn. Well, unbeknownst to me, the first weekend of August has just been determined by destiny to be my getaway weekend. One of my college friends and roommates moved back to the Midwest and earlier this year, in May, decided to throw a girls weekend and picked this previous weekend.

I RSVP'd immediately and blocked it off and didn't give it too much thought. And slowly people started backing out. And I guess I figured it would be rescheduled. But Tuesday of last week, I started messaging back and forth and we decided to "screw the others, let's make our own fun!" So we did. I drove out to the greater Chicago area where two of my friends, Katie and Kristy live just minutes away from each other. (I swear I have friends whose names don't start with K.)

And it was glorious. We went out for lunch. We went to one of the houses, watched the Olympics and chatted. We went shopping for shoes and purses. We went out to dinner. We went back to the other house and had drinks and chatted. There happened to be a concert in the park and we could hear the music from the patio.

And we went to sleep way too late. It was like college again. And I had so much fun.

Yesterday morning we had a brunch and we went swimming. I am totally sunburnt but it was so worth it because we had so much fun. We've decided to make it an annual event and hopefully more of our friends can join us in the next ones.

Kristy, Katie, Me and Kristy's daughter Felicity.

I missed my kiddos and Husband, but it was nice to have a weekend away to rejuvenate and get ready for the school year to start!

All the Good News

Well today is Friday! There is a dumpster and two pallets of roofing supplies in our driveway and that means our new roof is going on in the very near future. Which I am sure is good news to all of you because obviously you're probably sick of my roof saga. (As am I.)

The opening ceremonies for the Olympics are on tonight. So, that's pretty much my favorite thing ever.

This is from Husband's work. (And it cracks me up because I love Onion Rings. And it might have even been my idea but I can't remember.) 

I just discovered there is an Olympics Roku channel so that is just the best. I have SUCH fond memories of watching the 2012 Olympics with little tiny baby C. And I am so so excited to share them with M and C!! I really love the Olympics. 

So, Happy Olympics everyone. Have a great weekend!

Today Is...

A good day for a good day.

We are not exactly a "word art" people. I tend to not like my house littered with phrases and such. Just personal preference of course. But I do really dig these Magnolia metal signs and this one in particular.

I may not be JoJo, nor does my house have shiplap, but I think this would look super cute in my living room!

And today, like some days, I need the reminder that it's okay just to have a good day. I can make that choice. Really I can. Worrying and consulting Dr. Google doesn't help me at all. In fact, it is about the worst thing I can do.

Today is a good day for a good day. Of course it is. Sometimes I just need a reminder.

Do You Want to Party?

Let me ask you, do you want to party? Do you want your house to smell good?

The Scentsy incentive time period has started and goes until the end of January. I am ready to work my butt off this fall to earn my free trip to Punta Cana. And I would love to work for YOU! You can get everything you want this fall for free and half off.

So, do you want to have a Scentsy party?

But Madeline, you say, I live several states away from you. 

That is no problem friend. I will send you a party in a bag. Scent testers, samples and everything you would need. You just bring the bag with you, to coffee with friends, to play dates, to work, to family get togethers. You could even throw an actual party and have people come to you. Either way, collect some orders. Then, mail the bag back to me. (I will pay shipping!)

It's that easy.

But Madeline, you say, I've never tried Scentsy. I don't know if I'd like it. 

Well, I love it, which is why I sell it. But if you love candles, you'll love Scentsy.

If you do laundry, you will love Scentsy. The laundry products are wonderful!

If there is a stinky gym bag, you will love Scentsy. I cannot recommend a Scent Pak enough! Because nobody likes the smell of gym bags!

But Madeline, what about all those scary Facebook posts about synthetic fragrances killing us all?

Well, first off, Scentsy warmers are different than candles, because nothing is burned so only the fragrance is released into the air. But if you're still a little worried, well then may I interest you in a diffuser for your essential oils? There are Scentsy brand oils but the diffusers work with any brand of oil and have a lifetime warranty.

Plus with 16 LED light settings and several different designer shades, they are pretty gorgeous. 

But Madeline, why would I do all this work and earn you a trip. Maybe I want to go to Punta Cana?

Well then let's sign you up and you can earn a trip! August is a great month to join because you get a bonus kit!! 

Do you have any more questions?

So let' talk. Email me. Comment. Visit my website madeline.scentsy.us 

Christmas in July 2016

Christmas in July is technically on July 25, but because that was a weekday I didn't think that would be any fun so we celebrated yesterday.

I brought up our jingle bell tree and wrapped each kid's gift with leftover Christmas scraps pieced together. Which I am pretty impressed by if you want to know the truth. M got the Madeline Peg Dolls and board book. She is going through a destructive period with books let me tell you so I am delighted for a board book copy! C got the Leapfrog Preschool Learning Kit as a little jumping off point to get back in the flow of things before school starts.

I made Cherry Almond Bread on Saturday night so we ate a festive and fun breakfast. I put Christmas Cottage into the Scentsy warmers. It smelled very seasonal in the house which was a sharp contrast to the muggy weather outside.

We watched Rudolph!

We made cookies. Though, full disclosure, I just bought the ready made dough and kneaded in a 1/3 cup of flour. We also didn't decorate them. But they tasted great just the same.

 

We had a turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, stuffing and green beans. My brother pointed out that it is really more Thanksgiving food but we had a turkey in the freezer to use. And it's the spirit of the thing right?

It was a delightful day spent together as a family! I even got a present for myself and had my very own Happee Birthdae Harry party during rest time.

I loved it. As a theater person reading a script was like home for me and I loved it. The story is great. Just as I grew up with Harry as the books came out, Harry was right along with me in parenting and marriage. Oh. I loved it. It was everything that I wanted it to be. 

And that was our own little extra holiday. It was totally fun! And now we are ready for August!