Swimming at the Y

Madison is taking swimming lessons at the local YMCA and except for refusing to get her whole face in the water she is doing very well. She loves going out to the middle of the pool with the kick board or noodle and of course her instuctor and since she usually the only one that shows up she is getting private lessons. I chose to write about the swimming after we had our 3rd lesson because of the drama that we had during the 2nd lesson. This post could have also been called I told you so, part 2....Madison was sitting on the edge of the pool waiting for her turn and she kept sitting closer and closer to the edge. I kept telling her scoot back, your to close to the edge, you are going to fall in. And what do you think happened...she fell in. We are only in the 3 foot pool so I knew she would not drown, but I heart sank a little, and when she came up she was screaming and as she started to go down again a man getting out of the pool pulled her out and put her back on the edge. After she calmed down she went on with her lesson as if nothing had happened.

First Play Date in SC

We are now getting into the swing of things again and are feeling at home here now that we have a play group. And our first play date was at, where else, but Chuck E Cheese. We are in a playgroup through my MOPS group. We are making lots of great new friends and having lots of fun. However, I was the only one with a camera, so I just took a quick picture of Madison and Jack on the Bob the Builder ride.

The Polar Express

Train helper holding Jack while signing songs. Jack was fascinated with her hat.



Madison getting in another request to Santa



Madison and Jack



Madison made a friend, Sarah, who was across the aisle with her mom. She pretty much ditched us the whole way so they could sit together and sing.


Before Christmas, (I'm just a little behind on blogging) we went on the Polar Express train ride. My parents took Madison, Jack and I and it was so much fun. We left from Bryson City, NC on the Great Smokey Mountain Railway and took a half hour ride to the North Pole. On the way to the North Pole we were served hot chocolate and a snack, were read the Polar Express Christmas story and sang Christmas songs. Once at the North Pole, we saw Santa and a couple of elves and they boarded the train and rode back and Santa stopped by and spoke to each child. Madison loved that because it was an extra chance to ask for Fairy Wishes Dora and a scooter. The helper on the train cars had a few children at a time march up and down the aisles with bells helping to sing. It was a great picture opportunity, however, I forgot my camera and my dad's battery was running low so most of the pictures turned out blurey. Oh well, we had a great time. Jack even let one of the helpers hold him and go up and down the aisle.

Book review

Well I just finished reading GET OUT OF THAT PIT...STRAIGHT TALK ABOUT GOD'S DELIVERANCE by a former pit dweller, Beth Moore. I have been waiting for this book to come out for about a month now and have been drawn to it since I saw the title in a Christian book magazine that I get. The Pit - "You feel stuck and lose your vision, you feel to buried in your present state to feel passionate about the future". Beth is clear that only God can get you out and keep you out. She gives you 3 steps to get out and gives you a week's worth of prayers to pray to get you started. Cause sometimes you just don't know what to pray.
This book is an easy read and she uses humor and her life experiences to explain things. I think most women need to read this, because even if you are not in a pit, you are sure to know someone who is. And even though we can help each other we need to keep the pit dweller focused on the One and Only Deliverer, Jesus.

The World from a 3 yr old photographer

This is Molly taking a picture of Madison, while Madison is taking a picture of Molly.


Photo of self


Granddad eating fruit.


Reva, Ginger and Terry's dog.



My sister, Ginger, gave Madison and Molly (4yr cousin) the Fisher Price toddler digital camera for Christmas. It was a great gift and they had so much fun taking pictures. It is a great toy and I highly recommend it. The camera is pink for girls and comes with software and a USB cord so you can load the pictures on your computer. The camera is encased in a tough pink rubber/plastic so when it gets dropped or banged against the wall it is still ok. Even though the picture quality is not the greatest, Madison loves to take pictures of anything and everything.

The Little Drummer Girl

Whenever we go to my parents house, Madison loves to go to the drum room and play my dad's drums. She is getting pretty good. As soon as she is tall enough to reach the foot pedal for the bass drum and reach the cymbals she will really make some noise.

The Zebra Toy

it was a big hit. Jack loves it and so does Madison. It really is a cute toy. After all I went through to get this toy, I found out on Christmas day that my parents had also bought one for Jack. They bought theirs way back in November on sale. Oh well, what can you do.

I did IT !!!

What is it!!!. It is what I have always said I would never do. I would never stand in line for any toy for my child. Never go over the top looking for a toy and that was the "hot" toy for the year. But this year I did it. Not for Madison who would know if she got it or not but for JACK, yes 10 month old Jack who could care less. I was in the toy store with both kids one day trying to buy toys and hide Madisons since she was with me, when 3 different people asked me if I knew where this zebra toy was. I, at the time, did not even know what the zebra toy was. Then I found out that the zebra toy is the Fisher Price Baby Gymnastics Bounce and Spin Zebra. The hottest toy of the season for babies. I saw it in the store that day and thought it was cute, but I did not buy it. Big MISTAKE...because when I went back to get it the toy was sold out. But I had already caught the zebra fever so I had to get it. I searched every toys r us, target, walmart and every other store I thought might sell toys in Spartanburg, Hendersonville and Asheville. I even saw the toys r us truck going to the toys r us store late one night when I was coming home from the mall and I got up and went back to the store the next morning try to get the toy, but none were on the truck. So I ended up ordering it online and of course paying to much to get it here by 12/22. But it came bright and early yesterday morning. And even though it seems silly, I feel a sense of accomplishment for getting my baby the Fisher Price Baby Gymnastics Bounce and Spin Zebra (sad I know). Now Santa is officially through at our house.

The making of the 2006 Christmas Card

We had Thanksgiving at my sister's in Greensboro, NC and had a great time. Madison loves being the center of attention with her Aunt Ginger, Uncle Terry, Nana and Granddad. She had such a great time with them. And since my sister has already decorated her house for Christmas, I thought I would take some matching clothes for Jack and Madison and try to get a picture for our Christmas card. So I got Bruce and my sister to take pictures and my mom was there to make noise and get their attention so they would look at the camera. Here are 3 things I learned:

1. Get the photographer and attention getter on the same side of the room.

2. Jack is not real crazy about Madison holding him.

3. You have to take a picture real quick or Jack will just crawl away.

After about 40 or so pictures, I think we got a few to use on our Christmas card. Friends and family check you mail boxes in a couple of weeks for your card and I will also post the card as soon as I can.

Western NC animal center

Once we got to my parents house, I was looking at posts from our friends blogs and saw that all our people went to the zoo. I showed Madison the pictures and she was so sad that she could not go. So I looked on the internet to find out if there was a zoo close by and the closest thing to the zoo was the Western NC animal center. So off went Jack, Madison, mom and myself. We saw all the animals that are native to the mountains here. After seeing all the wolves, bobcats, bears, cougers and coyotes, I will not be walking outside by myself anytime soon.

Pictures are of a wild turkey and a black bear. In the 1st picture, look closely, the bear is in the tree. Note: If you ever are being chased by a black bear do not climb up a tree to get away. You would not believe how fast that bear climbed that tree.

Other pictures are of Madison at the top of the otter steps and then sliding down the otter slide.

It worked...it really worked!!!

First, I am taking this posting idea from my friend Sheri. But I have been playing the grocery game for a few months now and have been disappointed. I was not saving money and did not see a lot of stuff that I wanted on the lists I was paying for. But today was the day I struck gold. For those who do not know about the grocery game, you pay for a list of items that are on sale at the store and it is matched up with the coupon so you can save lots of money. If you want to play go to www.grocerygame.com and use my email so I can get free weeks. Here is a picture of my goods. I got a 5 lb bag of flour for $.08, free batteries, 2 pks of cream cheese for $.50 each, jar of apple sauce for $.33, box of potatoes for $.48, muffin mixes for $.15 each. The total for all the stuff of the tray was about $7.00. I am so proud of myself for saving all this money I just had to post my goods. Anyway if your looking for a way to save on your grocery bill, this will work. You can try it on a trial basis for $1 for 4 wks. But before you start, save up your coupons for a few weeks so you can see the savings right away. Don't cut out coupons just write the date on them and keep the whole section of coupons in date order. Good luck. Let me know if you try it and if it works for you.

Pics from our trip to NC

Ok, I know no one will believe me but Jack really did cry most of the way from Texas to NC. However, I did not realize this until Atlanta, where these pics are from that whenever you point the camera at Jack he will instantly stop crying and start smiling. I wish I knew this at the start of our trip. But I promise that the moment I took the camera off Jack in these pics he would cry and scream his head off and the second I turned it on him he was all smiles. The other pics are of Madison in the car in Atlanta. Madison at the lake was at the rest stop in SC. The other picture is of Atlanta from the car. The gold dome is the capital building. Obviously we were bored about this time.

The road from Texas to North Carolina.....

or what could also be called my worst nightmare. You know your trip is not going to be good when Madison asks are we there yet at the corner of 1960 and West Lake Houston, which is about 3 minutes into a 20 hr drive. We made it about 2 hours before the real trouble started, Jack woke up crying, which scared Madison and she started crying, then Jack would calm down and Madison kept crying and Jack would start crying again. This went on for about 4 or 5 hours with few breaks from the crying. About the only time they were quite was when we stopped to calm everyone down but as soon as we got back in the car it started up again. This trip was truely a nightmare I did not think would ever end, but it was equally hard for Madison and Jack to straped into car seats for so long. Its a good thing we are moving here, because I would not get back in the car to come back to Texas after this trip. The good news is that we made it safe and sound.

The Last Play Date in Texas

Wednesday was our last play date in Texas. We went to Chuck E Cheese and as usual the girls had so much fun. Madison thought it was extra special because her friend Holland gave her a cabbage patch doll as a going away present, although Madison did not realize it was a going away present. She loves the doll, the hair changes colors when you touch it. We also got a framed picture of Madison and Amy from their first day of school, which had to go staight to the mantle for everyone to see. We will miss all our friends so much. She has been with this group since they were all one year old. And although the playgroups are great for the kids, they are also great for the moms and I have also made great friends that I will miss dearly.

My Secret Hidding Place

Jack loves to crawl into the middle of this exersaucer. He will get there and just watch tv under there. When he is under there I guess he thinks no one knows where he is cause I just start saying "where's Jack" a couple of times and you then hear a little giggle.

A perfect day to go to the park

Yesterday we went to the park with our playgroup. The weather has been so nice this week, cool and sunny. Madison had all her friend there and they played so hard then took a break for a picnic. Jack also liked the swing.

Comando crawler

Jack is now crawing(comando style). Stomach on the ground like comandos do thru the woods. He can get anywhere he needs to and fast. I now wonder why I was in a hurry for him to become mobile. He loves crawling to the kitchen and slapping his hands on the tile. He likes the noise that makes. He also loves ,like any little brother, crawling to Madison and touching anything of hers he can (hair, clothes, fingers, toes, baby dolls...etc). She does not like it but he thinks it is great and just laughs when she starts fussing to get him to stop. I know from experience and try to explain to her that this is nothing and there is lots more she will have to endure in the years to come, but she just does not understand.

First Day of School

Madison was excited to start school again this year. She loves going and does so well in school. She walks right in and does not look back. She loves her teachers this year, Ms Lela and Ms Norma. One of her best friends, Amy is in her class and luckily Cameron is in her class again. This little boy is either trying to kiss those two girls or hit them ( he spends a lot of time in the time out chair). Madison even has homework this year. She is learning to write her name and all the upper and lower case letter of the alphabet.
*the pictures are of Madison and Amy (little blonde girl) and Kendall one of Madison's other best friends.

Happy Stroller Day

Madison was so excited to get a stroller that she could get on with Jack and since I got tried of hearing "I'm tired, carry me" or "carry Jack and push me" we decided to get a new stroller to solve this problem. We received an email saying what day the stroller would arrive and Madison was so excited. She keep running to the front window whenever we heard a truck to see if it was the FedEx man. Then about 1:00 Pm I realized it was Labor Day and the stroller would not be delivered (oops...my bad). Anyway, it came the next day and she was so happy. She put her animals and dolls in it and pushed them around the house yelling Happy Stroller Day to everyone.

Our Little Cubbie..

Madison is in Awana's at Church. This is a Bible club for kids. The kids play games and hear Bible stories and learn about Jesus thru crafts and music also. She has to memorize a new Bible verse each week and say it to her Cubbie leader. Then she earns a sticker for her workbook and a patch to go on her vest ( and of course we all know Madison would walk thru fire to get a sticker). All the 3 and 4 yr olds are Cubbies. She has been going for two weeks now and has memorized two verses and last night earned her Cubbie Vest.