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!