A Reader I am Not

Madison is a HUGE reader. Her Christmas list this year was primarily books. The girl can seriously tackle the pages. I, on the other hand, don't read. In fact this year I have read two books. It isn't that I don't like to read, it is that I am impatient. Once I start a book, I have to finish it. I don't like dragging it out over a few days or weeks. So, in order to save my sanity, I choose not to read.
Madison had read a book last year that she really liked and it was on her Kindle. When her and I went on a trip and we had airport problems, I started reading it and I loved it. The book was, "I am Number Four."
There has been a second book to this series that she also read (in August as soon as it was released) called, "The Power of Six."

I have been wanting to read this, but the lack of time to devote a good 8 hours to reading it from cover to cover hasn't been realistic until this week. I am finally off of all of the narcotic pain meds that make me loopy and then put me into a semi-comatose state for hours, so I thought I would give the book a shot.

I started and finished it yesterday and it was also very good. The next book comes out in August, so I'm sure that during this time next year I will be able to read that one. That title is, "The Rise of Nine."

I am going to attempt to read "The Help" this weekend. That is a bit bigger and requires multiple days. I have to get some sleep in between. So, here's to getting THREE books read this year. HA!

A Little Bit Crafty

A few weeks back I made Madison and her best friend Alexis a jewelry holder. I was sooo excited about them, but couldn't post them because it would totally give away the gift. So here are the finished products.
There are actually knobs that stick out so there is plenty room to hang bracelets and necklaces on. I was so happy when I found the black and white items because it is Madi's personality to a T.

This one is for her best friend. Alexis LOVES orange is more of a girlie girl than Madison. I totally love these knobs because they have so many colors in them. The picture really doesn't do them justice.

I Can't Do Much

Christmas Eve was a rough day. It was the first day after surgery and the second day that Justin was taking care of the kiddos. Spencer definitely had a few wild hairs those days and the stress level in the house was HIGH.
Justin decided late in the afternoon to take Spencer to the park to try and let him run off some energy. While it wore it off, there was more energy waiting. I think he has a rechargeable battery.
I was really frustrated at that point because I couldn't move AT ALL.
I convinced Spencer to crawl up with me in the chair and let me read him a book so Justin could at least make dinner.
The result was an extremely tired boy falling asleep on his mama.
Justin was not too happy because that also meant that HE had to wake him up, convince him to eat and then get ready for bed. UH, not so easy.
BUT, I secretly loved that fact that he fell asleep on me. SIGH

Spencer's Favs

Spencer really enjoyed Christmas this year. He was the first one up and since I was sleeping in the chair, I got to see his reaction to what Santa had left for him. It was awesome. I love seeing the surprise and magic in his eyes.
Ever since we moved in, Justin has been using various tools, well, Spencer has since become fascinated with them. So, he was elated when he started opening this and he could see the tools inside. The downside was that the parts were wrong and after Justin assembled half of it, he figured out that we had two "E" panels instead of an "E" and an "F" panel. The entire thing had to be taken apart, boxed up and sent back. Boo-hoo.

We did not have any snow and it was fairly mild outside, so Justin took Spencer outside to play with his other new toy, a T-ball set. The smack on the window quickly let me know that he had figured it out and LOVED IT! Future home run hitter in the works!!

I SERIOUSLY love his faces and his little hat!

The other item, which had not been assembled yet was his Buzz and Woody Scooter. Justin put it together last night (along with some help from Spencer of course). He rode it on the porch in the dark last night. Justin plans on picking him up early from daycare today so he can come home and play outside. It is supposed to be in the 60's I think.

Recovery

My recovery has begun and it is slow. I knew I wasn't going to be able to do much after surgery, but I thought I would at least be able to move from the large recliner chair to the bathroom....nope not happening.
So, without wallowing in self pity, I can't do anything. I am eating and sleeping in the chair. I cannot go to the bathroom without help and it is only day 3. I need a healthy dose of patience.

Surgery

So, there is no fancy title for this post. It is more matter of fact than anything else. Tomorrow I will have surgery on my right foot. I have a fractured bone that has been there three years on Sunday (yes, fell down the stairs on Christmas morning carrying Spencer - he was 4 months old) and it has gotten so bad that it has to be removed.
Everyone has been shocked about why this surgery two days before Christmas. Well, our lives are chaotic. The house functions ( and I mean functions) with two parents driving Madison to her multiple activities and picking up Spencer along the way. It is a tag team. One day I drive to dance and Justin stays home with Spencer and plays, bathes and builds the most amazing train tracks. Other days he goes to dance class and listens to the ladies try to relive their youth through their daughters (totally HIS words) and I build a single stack of blocks and make a straight train track.
The bottom line is, for the next 10 days I will be off of my foot completely and Madison doesn't have guitar lessons or dance classes or school or any other function that she needs to be at. She will be here to help her mama and keep her daddy from losing his marbles. So, yes it is two days before Christmas, but it is the only possible time to get this done.
So, to my amazing husband who is going to rule the house for the next couple of weeks and to my daughter who is going to help her mommy, THANKS.
Thanks to all of you (meaning my readers or should I say reader, not really sure who actually reads this blog anyway) for the well wishes and prayers, all of them truly appreciated.

Who's That Girl

Saturday was Madison's dance recital. This would be the first time she would perform her solo outside of the studio and in front on hundreds of people.
We cheered on her friends Ashton and Abby, they both did a wonderful job. Madi was second to last to perform, so she had a lot of time to get nervous.
Spencer sat on my lap and when Madi came out he said, "That's my Sissy, that's my sister!"
He was so excited to see her.
I watched in complete and utter amazement as she did her routine. I thought I was gonna come out of my seat.
Who was this impersonator?
Where is my child?
MY daughter has NEVER, EVER, EVER danced that well.

Her teacher and choreographer, Jessica, watched from the side curtain and she was stunned.

Madison ended up setting the bar really high, since we know what she can do now. Jessica says she is gonna work her hard!

Dance has been A LOT of work and a big sacrifice for the entire family. It was soooo nice to see her enjoying herself and doing such a wonderful job.

Tooting the Horn

Thursday night was Madison's 8th grade band concert. The concert also included another Jr. High and three ensembles of the High School band. It was a LONG night, but filled with wonderful music.
We had fabulous seats and I was excited to get great pictures. As you can see below, you can see her smiling face and her concentration on the music......
Yep, right behind all of those music stands in Madison. Hahahaha, so much for the great picture taking view!!
They sounded great and we are very proud of her!

Mr. Fix It - Wordless Wednesday

It Was Meant To Be

Madison L-O-V-E-S Transiberian Orchestra and of course they were going to be in town for a concert. We checked the ticket prices and for the nosebleed section it was going to $125 and for the lower seats but completely on the side of the stage, those were $164. I just couldn't see paying that much money for horrible seats, so unfortunately I told her we couldn't go. Let me remind you that Madison is in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE with this group and the fact that they have some killer guitars, only added to the disappointment.
On the way to work on Thursday, I heard they were giving away 2nd row seats, but I didn't know the answer to the question. Thus, I did not win.
The winner is......OMG, I know who won the tickets. My mind immediately starts racing and I couldn't wait to get to work so I could talk to this person.
Rushing in and saying congrats for winning, I asked if they wanted to sell the tickets (I wasted no time). Um, she didn't know, they were for her husband. She was going to let me know. UUUggg waiting.....

They were willing to sell the tickets to us at face value, but they didn't want the money. The money was going to be used to create food baskets and fulfill toy wish lists at church. Even better, this was a total win-win situation. After Justin and I discussed it, we agreed to pay the face value of the tickets, plus a bit more the the kindness of letting us go. It was all going to a good cause anyway.
I was completely giddy with this and couldn't wait to tell Madison. We waited until Friday night when we were putting up our tree. Now, I didn't received the screaming that I expected, instead she was speechless. She knew how much the nosebleed tickets were and she just didn't know what to say. She did manage to say thank you.
SOOOOO, here is what TSO looks like from the 2nd row. By the way, both had earplugs in the whole night and they (Justin and Madi) are pretty sure they lost some eyebrows during the pyrotechnics part of the show!

From what I understand, it was amazing. I am so glad we were able to do this for her and help out some many needy families at the same time. What an awesome feeling!

The Most Wonderful (BUSY) Time of the Year

December is busy for everyone, including us. The next few weeks are jammed pack with to do lists. This weekend was no exception.
Friday night I went to my friend Becky's house to make Christmas gift for Madison. I soooo want to post on here, but that would give it away. The item turned out great and I couldn't have done it without help!
Saturday morning was pouring rain, but we had to go out anyway. The first item that we had to do was find the band uniform (black pants and long sleeve white shirt). This sounds easy enough, but remember, I was shopping with a teenager! We lucked out and she found something in the first store (thank Lord or oh thank you).
My next stop was getting my tires aired up and oil change (dear van, I'm so sorry I have neglected you, I will try to do better).
Madi and I headed to guitar lessons and got completely stuck in traffic. Evidently a semi trailer crashed carrying hazardous, highly flammable material, so it shut the interstate down completely in both directions!! My gas light came on, wonderful...I got off the interstate and weaved my way to Yukon the only way I knew..AKA the long way! I just took the GPS out of my van, dang it! We made, but she was late.
Whew - so it was just now 1pm and we headed back to the city to make more stops (gas station being one of them).
The highlight of my day was that Justin and I were able to go Christmas shopping (yep, just the two of us) and go to dinner (yep, just the two of us). We got almost all of our shopping done, but of course I am paying the price for being on my feet for five hours. My foot is cursing me out and yelling at me, which is why I have been up insanely early today. Foot surgery is scheduled for Dec. 22nd and thus why the To Do lists are a little extra crazy right now. The rest of today will be the 40 min drive to church, Madi's confirmation classes and then a baby shower. Somewhere in between we will eat and I will work on this next week's To Do list which no doubt will be just as long.

A Thanksgiving With Family

Justin and I were sent on work trips the week before Thanksgiving and my mom was AWESOME enough to come from Iowa to hold down the fort. With the help of a GPS and lots of notes from me. She took over as mom and dad for four full days. I think we would have been lost without her.
My brother, his wife and her mother and my niece all headed down from Iowa the Wed. before Thanksgiving.
Spencer and Carly (my niece) played and played until they couldn't keep their eyes open. I loved watching the cousins play. We don't get to see it happen as often as I wish.
We ate, watched a lot of football and relaxed.
On Saturday, Justin and my brother Chad went wild boar hunting. While I don't think I do the hunting tales justice in this blog, let's just say that they had a good time and my brother doesn't like Oklahoma weather.

We snapped a few family photos while we had everyone in one place. This is my brother, his mother in-law Dixie, my niece, Carly and sister in-law Julie.

I loved having them down and especially loved having enough space for everyone in the new house.