Life With My Boys

Playing Catch Up

2008-04-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Whew...life happens doesn't it? I realize that it has been a while since my last post and I have promised my friends that I would update...so here is a brief synopsis of what we have been up to lately....

First of all, guess what? Miracle of miracles it snowed in Louisiana....in March!!!! My boys were sooo excited! We played in the snow all afternoon. We made three snow men and they rode their four wheeler and dirt bike and had the best time....we even made snow ice cream. Even though Garrett was coming down with the flu, we made the most of our snowy afternoon. I also completed a class project for the first Grade at Garrett's school. I took an old window frame, cleaned it up, painted it, put crackle medium, then painted it again. I also made the two middle panes into chalkboards and put photos of the first grade class in the outer four panes. Then, I added a chalk ledge and hooks and made it into a message board for an entryway or office. It did really well in the auction and made a good bit of money for the school....here are a couple of photos...they aren't very good and do NOT do it justice but I promised pics so here they are....

Also, a large part of our time has been devoted to the new family business. Ryan bought a carwash in March and it has taken up a good bit of our time. Grant LOVES car washes so this made his day and he begs to go all the time. Here is a pic of the "storefront." Easter Sunday was fun. My boys looked so handsome in their Easter clothes....we had a fun day even though Grant was beginning his turn with the flu....motrin was definitely our friend on this day.... Finally, we have started baseball. This year Garrett is in AA pitching machine league and let me tell you....this league is serious about their ball.....I am amazed at not only the expectations that grown men have for these 7 and 8 year old boys but also at how absolutely amazingly well these 7 and 8 year old boys DO play.....the games are so much fun to watch!!! Here is a pic of Garrett taking his turn at bat... So, as you can see, we have been busy busy busy!!!!

I'll try to update more frequently so that I won't have to cram three months into one post. I couldn't resist leaving you with this photo of Garrett with our good friend, Ryleigh Grace.....Garrett LOVES this little girl and I love watching how sweet and tender he is when he is with her....
Hope you enjoyed looking at our photos and hearing about what we have been up to. Come back soon, hopefully there'll be a new post :)

Independence, Homework, Basketball, and A Fun Party

2008-01-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

Well, January at the Madden house has been busy and fun so far.

Grant is discovering his independence and it has been slowly but surely driving me CRAZY!!! More times than I can count, I walk into the kitchen and this is what I see.....
He pulls a stool up to the cabinets, climbs up, and decides to help himself to whatever appeals to him in my pantry cabinets. When he realizes that I have caught him once again, he turns around and grins...he knows this will make Momma less mad.....

Little stinker....can't help but take pics of him even when he is getting into trouble.

Since entering first grade, Garrett's evenings now include homework....can't believe my boy is doing homework....he is growing up too fast.

He has also started winter basketball. They have been practicing since early January and had their first game on Thursday night. Well, I really couldn't tell how practices were going but boy was I impressed with him during the game. Imagine my surprise when the coach put him at guard and entrusted him to carry the ball down the court every time..... He did sooooo well!!!! He was also a key rebounder and showed some very aggressive play. You will be able to tell from the following photos that he was NOT afraid to fight for the ball.....

Garrett's team won the game. I can't wait until this week's game.

Finally, Friday night Ryan and I got to go out on a real "grown up" date. Ryan served as president of our Chamber of Commerce for the 2007 year. On Friday the Chamber had its annual gala and Ryan presided over the gala and officially turned over his position to the new incoming president.

We enjoyed a speech from Ryan, a wonderful dinner, a sweet dance, and a night to be together without the boys. A huge thanks to my friend, Karissa, for babysitting the boys for me. I had a great time!

Starting Off the New Year Right

2008-01-16T20:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we started off our new year by meeting our insurance deductible right off the bat....and let me tell ya.....our deductible is WAAAAAAYYYYYY high.....

Grant had to have another eye surgery. So on January 10 we went to the Eye Surgery Center and had the procedure done. He was NOT very happy about having to go but to his credit he was a very big boy. He really didn't cry at all until they took him from us. They gave him some medicine to hopefully make him fall asleep before they took him back but it really seemed to have no affect on him. Anyway, the surgery went well and they came and got us as soon as he started waking up....he was NOT happy coming out of that anesthesia. He complained of pain all day Thursday so he took the prescription pain meds that the Dr. gave us. By Friday morning, the only way you could tell he had surgery was from the redness in the corner of his eye. It didn't slow him down at all. Here is a photo I took of him on Thursday afternoon.....

He has recovered completely although his eye is still a bit red.

Garrett had his big Hispanic Heritage Day Parade at school.
They marched around the school circle all dressed in their cultural clothing. It was pretty chilly....mid 40's.....but the kids didn't seem to mind. Here is a photo of Garrett at the parade....
Here is a pic of Garrett and his best friend Gabe....aren't they a cute pair?

We are finally back into our school routine. I think life may slow down for a couple of weeks until I start getting ready for their Birthday parties. Tomorrow night is Garrett's first basketball game of the season. I'll have lots of pics from that....see you soon.

2008-01-15T13:54:00.001-08:00

Wow where to begin. The Holiday season came and went in a flash. I hardly had time to realize it was coming before it was gone. Oh well, my boys enjoyed it and here they are with a few of their Santa surprises.....

Garrett got a Razor dirt bike...yes, I know, what crazy mom lets their six year old have a dirt bike for Christmas....well, since it was electric and not "real" I thought it would be ok......WRONG.....he had a wreck within three minutes of climbing on it....pretty bad....that made for a "wonderful" Christmas morning with LOTS of Mommy guilt....someone should have told me this job came with all the guilt. Here are some pics of him enjoying his bike....

Grant got a Razor four wheeler. OMG...He LOVED it!!!! He thinks he is such a big boy on his four wheeler. Thank goodness he has not wrecked his yet.

The only thing Garrett asked Santa to bring this year was an electric guitar....well, he got one....amp and all.....now I have a regular rock star on my hands....

Of all the gifts that Grant received this year, I think his favorite is this Sock Monkey....he fell in love with it from watching Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium....He takes "Monkey" everywhere and talks to him and plays with him and sleeps with him....soooo cute!!!!

As you can see, my boys have definitely grown in the last six months. I have missed posting here and will do my best to stay current.

We have already started our new year off with a bang.....but I'll save that story for later!!!!

2008-01-14T06:49:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!! Has it really been that long since I posted here? I'm sorry for the lull....for some reason life was screaming by at a frantic pace and I couldn't keep up with it and so keeping up here was impossible. I have missed you all and promise to post again later with some new photos and all of our news!!!

Excuse me, Mr......Where is my little boy?

2007-07-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

Did you ever have one of those moments where you realize time is moving so fast and it just sucks the breath right out of you? I had one of those moments last week. Garrett had a week of golf camp and after I picked him up on the first day, he wanted to go outside and practice his swing.

Ok.....he goes outside and I do a few more things in here.....then spy my camera lying on the table and decide to go take a few shots of my little guy playing golf....

When I walked outside and laid eyes on my son, my breath caught in my throat, and I got all teary eyed.....When did this happen?

First of all he had taken off his shirt....and we have been going to the pool so much that he is TAN.....and his hair has these really blonde highlights in it from being in the son.....then to top it all off, and really this is the part that did me in.....his underwear band is poking out the top of his shorts......Wait a minute.....You are SIX years old!!!!!! SIX.......NOT SIXTEEN!!!!!

I just wanna scream WAIT!!!!! Don't grow up too fast.....being a little boy is sooo much fun (for you but also for me). So I stop and I imprint this picture into my mind.....because before I know it....I'll turn around and he really will be sixteen standing out in my yard tan....shirtless....underwear hanging out the top of his shorts.......and you know what? I'll close my eyes and I'll be able to see him again at six.....my sweetie who thought he was older than he really was....my little man who was in such a hurry to grow up and do "man" thing.....my little guy who would tell me he loved me at least ten times a day.....my sweet first born son who taught me how to be a Mamma.....I love you, Gar......please slow down.....you are growing up too fast and my heart is having trouble keeping up....... Please be my little boy for a while longer.....I won't look at how big you are getting if you won't.......although carrying a 56 pounder to bed every night is getting a little hard......love ya big guy!!!!!

Our 4th Celebration

2007-07-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

Our Fourth of July celebration started on the night of July 3rd. I am extremely patriotic and will tear up when singing the National Anthem. I feel that the youth of today do not honor Country, Flag, or Servicemen like they should and want to teach my boys what an honor it is to be an American and how they should revere and respect our flag and the men who fight/fought to make this country free. So I took them to this patriotic program that Temple Baptist Church presented. It was wonderful and had just the effect on my boys that I wanted it to....(well, it touched Garrett anyway, Grant fell asleep about 20 minutes into it.....). Here is a photo I snapped of their re-enactment of this famous statue and the battle it represents.

After the program they presented a beautiful fireworks display and Grant was so still once the fireworks started. He wasn't scared but I think he was in awe of the beautiful fireworks.

On the actual Fourth of July we went to our friends' house Skip and Carolyn Russell. They live up the street and were kind enough to invite a bunch of folks over to their house and pool for a cookout to honor the day. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely. We ate alot but I think the boys liked the blue cupcakes the best.....

I couldn't resist this adorable photo of my little guy relaxing with a cup of iced sweet tea and taking in all that was going on around him.....
For once I actually asked Ryan to take a photo of me and the boys since I am usually the one behind the camera.....look at the boys swim suits.....I thought they were perfect for the 4th!!
We came home and rested for a while and then finished off the day by setting off some fireworks of our own. Here are the boys with their sparklers......always a favorite around here......

We had a wonderfully fun and patriotic day!!!! Hope that you had a wonderful 4th of July too!!!

Swim Blessings

2007-06-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, I get to tell you about our swimming lessons. These lessons are almost a month old now though and Grant is now in his second week of lessons for the summer and he is doing FANTASTIC!!!

You may be wondering about my title here....Swim Blessings.....Well, this is Grant's way of saying Swimming lessons.....funny isn't it? You never know how a child's mind is going to interpret something that is new to them....it gets even funnier as you'll see later in my story.

I found a great deal for my boys. Mrs. Pam Owens taught Garrett last year and we liked her so much that when I got ready to sign my boys up for lessons this year....there was no question about who we would call. Well, Mrs. Pam teaches at Mrs. Carla Colvin's pool. Mrs. Carla Colvin happens to be Garrett's PE teacher at school and he loves her. So Mrs. Carla taught Garrett at the same time that Mrs. Pam was teaching Grant. It worked out GREAT!!!

Garrett knows how to swim and is a really good swimmer. I wanted him to have lessons just to gain more knowledge of different strokes and just so he felt really confident in the water....as you'll see from his photos, he does NOT lack for confidence...lol....

Once Mrs. Carla realized that he was such a good swimmer she let him work on his "dives."
Here is his run and dive move.....sorry for the blurriness....didn't realize until too late that my camera was not set on action.....His absolute FAVORITE jump of all is showcased here.......wanna guess? Come on, he is a little boy.....the CANNONBALL of course!!!! I'm not really sure how he pulled off this jump.....some kind of flip but he thought it was super cool and so did I!!!

Ok.....let's turn our attention to my little one. Now he is not afraid of the water so to speak. I dump huge cups of water on their heads int he bathtub when I wash their hair and have been doing that since before he was a year old so he is used to water in his face. However, what he is NOT used to is putting his face IN the water. Especially such a HUGE body of water as a pool. He was NOT at all sure he wanted anything to do with "Swim Blessings." However he took an instant liking to Mrs. Pam and did not hesitate to go with her into the water. The first thing she told him to do was put eyes in and hold breath....it was the quickest eyes in ever as he did it for like half a second! Barely time to snap this photo!!!!
After she got him used to this, he got pretty good at it. Jumping in the pool was a different story....When she told him he was going to go jump off the diving board, this is what we got....
But you know what? He did it.....now there was plenty of screaming and crying but he did it....and you wanna know why Mrs. Pam is such a great swimming teacher? This is the photo I got after he jumped.....

Grant really does LOVE her and he trusts her which I know has alot to do with the fact that by the end of the week he was doing this.....

YES!!!!! He was swimming!!!! He didn't realize it but that is what he was doing. I was so thrilled!! This week we have been taking a whole other week of lessons with Mrs. Pam and he has advanced so much that he can swim halfway across the pool before he has to come up for a breath and he is reaching and pulling REALLY great with his arms and kicking with his feet!!!

And now.....the rest of the story.....lol.....OK....when someone says Swimming lessons we all know exactly what is being said....however, Grant had not heard the term before or didn't remember for last year when we took Garrett and so was not familiar with the term. His little brain did not hear Swimming lessons......it heard Swim Blessings......I didn't think that much about it until yesterday when we pulled up at the pool. As I was getting out of the car, I heard him saying swim blessings, swim blessings over and over to himself....by the time I got to the back to get him out of his car seat, this is what I heard......"God is great...God is good....." LOL!!!! That is the blessing we say at home before we eat our meals....He was saying a swim blessing!!!! I thought I was gonna die laughing and who knows? Maybe he was so scared he felt the need to say a blessing before his lesson....lol.....!!!!!! Kids say the darndest things don't they?

Busy

2007-06-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

This is such a busy time of year for us. When it turns warm outside and ballgames start we aren't here all that much and I don't get to update as often as I'd like to.

Just wanted to share with you a few pics that might clue you in to what we have been doing lately. This is one of our outdoor activities.....everytime I look at this picture my heart skips a beat...notice that all four wheels are off the ground....he is six!!!! His favorite thing to do is try to see how hight he can go over this little hill.....if he is jumping his four wheeler at six...what is he going to be doing at sixteen?

Here is how Grant entertains himself at Garrett's ballgames....lol....These glasses are Ryleigh's(she is our friend's little girl and like a sister to my boys)....he loves her pink glasses!!! When it gets warm and the sun is shining.....we are usually at the swimming pool....Garrett has turned into such a good swimmer and at swimming lessons this year Grant made such great progress.....I'll blog on our lessons soon...(I hope!!)

I'll leave you with this photo....I laugh everytime I look at it because this is Grant's "Puss In Boots Face".....he looks just like the cat on Shrek when he wants something and isn't getting his way....when he does this I've taken to calling him Puss!!!!

I hope that you are having great summer!!!! I have Garrett's last ballgame photos and our swimming lessons photos to share but I"ll have to save that for another day!!!

Sign Of The Times

2007-06-06T07:34:00.000-07:00

Oh boy. You can definitely tell that the youth of today have been slowly, but surely submerged into the coffee culture. When I was a little girl people didn't drink coffee that much. Where I was from only older people drank coffee. I clearly remember staying with my Nanny(my maternal grandmother) and getting to drink coffee milk. Which was alot of milk with a little coffee with sugar in it. That is one of my very favorite childhood memories. Well, today.....EVERYONE drinks coffee. I had to tell you about this little incident because it just made me shake my head in disbelief......

Garrett, my six year old, has been drinking "Coffee Milk" every morning since he was 15 months old. This mixture consists of a huge cup of vanilla soy milk, a tiny teaspoon or so of coffee and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. He LOVES it and it is one of those things that I will always associate with my boy. Anyway, yesterday morning he came up to me and said,

"Mom, I'm ready for my coffee milk."

Ok....I'll get it for you.....

"Oh, but Mom, wait....I want chocolate coffee milk."

WHAT? .....I said, "Chocolate coffee milk?" Like I couldn't quite believe what I was hearing because in the five years that I have been fixing this for him, chocolate coffee milk has NEVER been a request.....

He calmly sighed and said with the utmost patience as if he couldn't believe that I was so uninformed he said simply......"Yes, Mom.....chocolate coffee milk....don't you know that is a Mocha?"

Ah, yes, sweet boy....you are right....it is a mocha.....I just had no clue that you knew that....

So in disbelief I fixed my big boy his "MOCHA" and the scrapbooker in me couldn't help but grab the camera and snap a photo to remember this little story of how my six year old schooled me on the finer art of coffee drinking.

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mommy friends and family. I love days that celebrate loved ones in our lives. Gives us a chance to give those who deserve our love, admiration, and gratitude a special day. My day did not turn out exactly as I thought it would. Our original plan was to attend church and then go to the park with Ryan's Mom and Dad to eat lunch and let the kids play for a bit. Then I was going to take the boys down to my Mom's for an afternoon visit. Well, Saturday evening Grant started running a fever. He still had around 101 degrees this morning so Church was not an option for him. Ryan and Garrett went to church and I stayed home with Grant. Also being around the cousins and out in the hot sun was also not an option so the park was out. Ryan ended up taking Garrett to a local pool with his family and I loaded Grant up in the car and we drove down to visit my Mom.

My mom was hosting her whole family for the day and it was nice to get to see some family that I haven't seen in a while. It was a fun day and I enjoyed the visit with my Mom and Dad.

Here are some photos from our day.

Ryan took these photos right after he and Garrett got home from church. You can tell Grant did not feel well as he was not very cooperative and for that matter, Garrett didn't cooperate that well either....Oh well, it captured the REAL us.......

Grant definitely was not himself. Usually when I want to take photos of him, he is EVERYWHERE and it is hard for me to get a shot where he isn't moving. Today when I asked him to sit in Granny's flowers so I could take some photos, he plopped down and just sat. Now you could tell he didn't feel well as he didn't smile or entertain like he normally does but I did get a few really beautiful shots of him in these flowers. I adore this photo although it is a little dark. This is my daddy and his mother. She will be 80 years old this year and her health isn't all that great so I was so glad to get this sweet shot of them together. My dad has a special bond with his Mom. He is her oldest son and his Dad died when my dad was twenty three or twenty four and so my dad has really watched over his mom all these years.
And of course, what would Mother's day be without a special photo of me with my incredibly wonderful and beautiful mom....

I have such a wonderful family. I truly am the most blessed person on Earth.

The Cougar Mile

2007-05-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

Garrett's school, Cedar Creek, used this week to emphasize physical fitness and they culminated this week today with the annual running of the Cougar Mile. They divide the kids into ages and seperate boys and girls and they all run four laps around the track. Garrett expressed his desire to run the Cougar mile a few months back and so I have taken him running with me several times to try and prepare him and let me just say, I was not optimistic.....

But he was so excited....I fed him pasta last night and then bananas and yogurt this morning for breakfast as well as making sure he was drinking enough fluids. He woke up this morning all ready to go and dressed in his running shorts and Cedar Creek shirt. The six year old girls ran first and while watching them, and seeing how tired they were getting not far into the race, I began to worry about Garrett but of course, didn't let him see that.

After the girls finished, the boys started their warm up..... They did a five minute warm up and then the announcer asked for them to take their positions on the track.... Here they are jockeying for position...there was quite a bit of shoving and elbowing......

On your mark........................................Get set............................................................GO!!!!!!!

And they were off!!!! Some of them you could tell were experienced runners.....like this little boy here in the red shorts that you see......he finished the mile in 7 minutes......others took off WAY too fast and ran out of steam way too early. We had tried to remind Garrett over and over that he needed to set a pace that wasn't too fast and not too slow so that he wouldn't tire himself out....well.....he did really really well!!!! I was so proud of him........Here he is after his first full lap....he looked pretty tired and I was a little worried about him.....as he passed I gave him some encouragement......Ryan was on the opposite side of the track from me urging him on.....

Even though he looked soooo tired the little guy just kept on running......

Here he is after his second full lap......

His tongue was hanging out and he was sweating buckets....I was still a little worried....more and more kids were slowing and starting to walk some instead of keeping up a steady pace.....but about halfway through his third lap he settled in and actually seemed to do better............

Here he is after his third full lap....you can see his PE coach encouraging him and showing him that he only has one more lap to go.....I think this really helped him out alot!!!

So he began his fourth and final lap......this photo was taken after he was most of the way around....you can see from the pic that he has just come off the final curve and into the straightaway....that is Ryan acutally kind of jogging along beside him telling him he was almost there..... And that was about the time that he realized all his friends who had chosen not to run were sitting in the stands and they were cheering for him.....you can see in this photo that he is looking up into the stands and kind of smiling......this kid lives to impress others........ and after just a few more steps, he had made it!!!!!!

And then he was done......He got his National time medal and his cup of gatorade and sat down to rest and revel in the fact that he had completed his first Cougar Mile.....his final time was 10 minutes and 20 seconds give or take a few seconds which I thought was incredible!!!!!! For no more than he has been running or training he blew us away!!!!

This was such a huge confidence booster for him. He has one race under his belt, he knows what it is all about now, and I think he was VERY proud of himself. We are so proud of you, Garrett.....you persevered.....you pushed through......you proved to yourself that you can do it!!! Now that he has a taste of that satisfaction, I have a feeling we are gonna be doing alot more running.

One more thing before I let you go......someone else was caught up in the spirit of the race......he always watches Garrett and wants to do everything he does.....he begged me through the entire race to let him run....I kept telling him when Garrett was done.....I figured I could let him run a little bit before the next age group started.....well, let me tell you something......This little toot ran TWO WHOLE LAPS.......yes two that is half a mile without stopping.....those little legs were just a pumping and before long the entire crowd was watching him.....he had a pretty good little pace going too.

.....looks like I'm gonna have two runners!!!!! I am such a lucky Mom!!! I love you boys!!!!!

Some New Stuff

2007-05-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

Ok....I promised some baseball pics which are in the post below and I also promised some pics of some of my newest layouts.....so here they are.....

This one is for Grant's first year album and lists all the things he was doing at three months old....yes....I do realize that he is now 3 YEARS old....I am slightly behind......but I try not to let that bother me.

This one is of Grant's Baby Dedication day which also happened to be Mother's Day 2004. Dedicating my babies to God is something very important to me so it was a wonderful day in that aspect but the hidden tag tells the true story. It was a HORRIBLE day. The only time Grant smiled that day was for the pic on the left when we were still at home early that morning. The rest of the day...including while we were up on stage he fussed or cried. Garrett who was only three was uncooperative all day and cried while we tried to take some family photos. I felt VERY fat in my dress and looking back at these photos I realized I was very justified in feeling that way....and to top it all off, Ryan and I got into this awful fight before leaving for church and so I think I cried most of the day.....lol.....anyway....the important thing was Grant's dedication even if I couldn't hear it because he was crying in my ear.
This layout is dedicated to my Mom. She really is a lifeline for me. She has been there for me unconditionally and she is so selfless and giving. I love you Mom!!!!
ok...I think that is enough for now. Thanks for looking!!!!!

First Game of the Season

2007-05-08T18:48:00.000-07:00

Friday night was Garrett's first tball game of the season but he didn't need a T!!!! We have been working with him alot and he can really get some good hits with one of us pitching to him and so Ryan (who is his coach) pitched to him during the game. Actually most of this little team hit off of Ryan pitching to them. They did AWESOME!!!! We were so excited!!!

Also he looked so cute in his Chili's shirt and cap...

It is so neat to watch him....after he made that first hit you could almost literally see his confidence growing....He also played first base and got two people out at first which is incredible for a tball team comprised of 4, 5, and 6 year olds.

Both sets of grandparents were there and he soooo wanted to impress them with how well he could play.....and he did it!!!! I love this photo of him running towards home plate....

We are so looking forward to years and years of baseball!!! One of the perks of having boys!!!

TGIF!!!!

2007-05-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is Friday again....I swear sometimes it seems like the older I get the faster time just seems to fly by!! We had a good but busy week. Tonight we top our week off with Garrett's first T Ball game of the season. He is so excited. Both sets of grandparents will be there. There are three "Maddens" on the team well, actually five if you count Ryan and Wes who are Coach and assistant coach. Garrett, Parker, and Hannah are all players and tonight promises to be VERY entertaining. I'll take lots of pics and post some here late tonight or tomorrow. For now I'll leave you with a couple of my latest creations....

This is Garrett at two years old.....sigh.....can't believe he is six now. Normally I don't think Garrett and Grant look that much alike, but looking at these photos makes me realize that they really do favor ALOT!!

Here is another of Garrett from 2003. He still LOVES to play in the water. Maybe its a boy thing....

Until next time....Have a great weekend!!!

How?

2007-04-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a kid so terribly cute you could just eat 'em up? You probably even have one...come on, you know you do. I know I do....This is Grant...

This is a curly haired, brown-eyed, angel-faced, little devil.....yes, you read that right....devil....

He delights in torturing his brother....this could be in the form of singing loudly while Garrett is watching tv....standing outside the door of the bathroom while Garrett is needing his privacy and singing or yelling....taking every opportunity to say the opposite of what Garrett says and therefore provoking an argument that sounds like this..."yes I can....no you can't....yes I can....no you can't....yes I can....no you can't..." this can go on indefinitely until I have a meltdown and put an end to it....

He also delights in the game of chase me to put my clothes on....EVERY SINGLE TIME!!! He doesn't seem to understand that Mama is ALWAYS running late and every single second counts....giggling the whole time he is running from me.....then when I do catch him he thinks it is double funny to kick his legs around so that it makes it nearly impossible to put his socks, pants, and shoes on....and roll his head around so that I can't get his shirt on...

This sweet faced child also tortures the poor dog...he thinks it is funny to chase her around the house kicking at her and making her growl and bark at him...

When I tell him to do something that doesn't appeal to him...he doesn't hesitate to yell at me or talk back to me....telling me what I am going to do.....and he is not above throwing a fit or having a melt down if he doesn't get his way...

What's that you are thinking? Discipline him....yes....I know....I do try.....but look at this face....

How?

How do I discipline this little cherub who crosses his eyes on purpose when I am fussing at him....thereby making me laugh....how can you discipline when you are laughing?

How do I discipline this little toot who tries his best to explain his way out of any given situation complete with hand motions and very animated facial expressions?

How do I discipline this little man when seeing that adorable little bottom lip droop and tears fall from his eyes breaks my heart?

But....I know I must....for his own good....for his future....for my sanity....I must....

But it's NOT gonna be easy.

Inked?

2007-04-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

The other day I caught a glimpse of what my future with my oldest son may hold....We went out to eat with my in-laws and my MIL gave Garrett 50 cents after our meal and I assumed he was going to use it to get gum out of one of those machines they have at the exits of restaurants.....well he came back literally beaming and holding up his prize for all to see.....a tattoo.....yes, a tattoo.....you know those fake kind they put in those machines? Well, this was a Monday night and I made him wait until Thursday morning to put it on since he was leaving that afternoon to go on a Father/Son Canoe trip....I put the thing on his arm and you would have thought it was Christmas morning he was so excited.....

You could tell by the way he was acting that he thought he was the coolest thing ever and I tried my best to be a cool mom and "ooh" and "aah" over his cool tattoo....by the time he left for school his "coolness" level was at an all time high....

When I picked him up that afternoon....he was bursting to tell me what his friends thought of his tattoo....."Mom, my friends loved it!!! Graham said it was "tight.".......Do what? What does that mean? Good? Oh man, I have so much to learn don't I?

My first baby

2007-04-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

I don't think that I have ever introduced you to my first baby. We got her in August or September of 1998. She was such a tiny little thing. She is a registered miniature schnauzer and her name is Ally.

We spoiled her....took her everywhere, played with her all the time...my mom even called her the granddog.
We had her for three years before we had Garrett. Unfortunately she didn't take kindly to being upstaged by a human baby....
She tolerates our boys but that is about it. She is getting old too....and her attitude seems to be getting worse as she gets older. She is a great dog and I hope that she is with us for a long time to come.

My Goofball

2007-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

Just when I realize that my boys are no longer babies and how fast they are growing up....and yes, I'm very sad and on the verge of tears....one of them does something to make me see that the best is yet to come...We had Garrett's sixth birthday party several weeks ago and in the goody bags that we handed out Garrett decided to put in what we call "Bubba" teeth. Well, we had a few extras and Garrett found a pair the other day and walked up to me with this face...

I immediately burst into laughter and of course the scrapbooker in me had to snap a photo or two....My oldest child who doesn't often turn into the class clown, made me realize that as they get older and mature....they are going to show me all the facets of their incredible personalities and who they ultimately will be....you know what? I LOVE what I see and can't wait to see what they will show me next!!

Roller Derby.....

2007-04-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

I have failed to tell you about Garrett's roller skating birthday party. I hate to admit I was kind of dreading it....I mean all those kids on roller skates....kind of freaks a person out right?....and most of these kids had never skated before. Well, all my worrying was for naught...it was a great day and Garrett had such a good time....all of his "guy" pals were there as well as a couple of his "girl" friends. Here is a pic of Garrett and his buddy Graham....these two get into LOTS of trouble together....

Skatetown is a GREAT place to have a party....they play games with the kids and really help them out alot....here is Garrett doing the limbo on skates....quite funny....

And as we all know...Boys will be Boys and this group that Garrett is with is no exception and I think they take "rough-housing" to a whole new level.....here are Graham and Collin giving Garrett his birthday spanking.....

Garrett chose a Monster Truck themed party and Granny made him an awesome cake complete with his own Monster Trucks on top...

Everyone had a GREAT time...Garrett got WAY too many gifts and enjoyed his party immensely which is what it is all about right? Here is the final pic of him blowing out his candles....

I can't believe that my baby is six years old....what will this exciting year hold for us? I can hardly wait to find out!!!

Brrrr.......

2007-02-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Well, our family took and survived a trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. Now remember, we are from the deep South and we really don't do COLD very well. I was expecting to freeze the whole time and believe me....I don't like to be cold. Give me a hot, sweltering, steamy day here in Louisiana anytime over freezing temps. We arrived on the morning of February 14 in Denver. It was snowing and the wind was blowing some. We got our rental car and headed towards Breckenridge....here is what the driving conditions looked like.....

We made it to our house and got settled in. We bought groceries and rented ski equipment and prepared for our first day on the slopes. My dad is like a little kid when it comes to snow...you know we don't see it very often here in Louisiana and so he couldn't wait to get out in it...here he is outside a bedroom window throwing snowballs at the boys who were inside....

Thursday was great. It was snowing a good bit and the wind was blowing around 30 mph but you know what? I soon discovered that cold in Colorado and cold in Louisiana are VERY different. I did not get cold at all....my face got a little chilly but that is it....as a matter of fact, I got a little warm at times. Garrett and I both enjoyed ski school that day and were looking forward to the next day. Of course, Garrett was a natural at skiing and didn't want to leave the slopes...
During the night I heard the wind really howling and when Grant woke me up around 5:30 it was snowing...HARD. Friday was not a good ski day. It snowed around 15 inches and the wind was gusting up to 80 and 90 mph. Here is a pic my dad took during a lull when he and I ventured outside and yes, I am standing....

My boys got to experience a real blizzard!!!! We staying inside that day...colored, played games, and of course ate and drank lots of coffee and hot chocolate. That afternoon when the weather settled down a good bit, some of us decided to go snowmobiling up to the continental divide....it was a fun and amazing experience but I will tell you this was the ONLY time on the trip that I FROZE MY BUNS OFF....LITERALLY.....I rode with my Dad, Garrett rode with Ryan and Chad Geis drove by himself. We were the only five dummies who braved the cold temps and wind. We got to see real igloos and actually climb inside them, got to see the continental divide and some incredibly beautiful scenery...but it was COLD!!!! Here is a pic of Garrett about two minutes before he started crying because he was so cold...

His comment when we got back to the Snowmobile lodge was...."Next time you go snowmobiling, COUNT ME OUT!!"
Saturday was the perfect ski day....sunny, and about 20-25 degrees...I did get really warm that day. All in all it was a fun trip and I can't wait to go skiing again...
Oh, what about Grant? Well, let's just say God placed this baby in the South for a reason....GRANT DOES NOT LIKE SNOW!!!!

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

2007-02-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

Friday night was a special night for us. We celebrated Grant's 3rd Birthday. He requested a Superman Birthday theme since he loved his Superman Halloween Costume. I can't believe that it has been three years. We have been through sooo much with this little toot...the wonder of his birth, a week later a near death experience for him, no sleep for months and months and months(who am I kidding? We still don't sleep.), three surgeries, Dr. visits, reflux....It saddens me that I was so very sleep deprived for most of his first 18 months of life that I don't remember very much. I did take lots of photos and video so that will help and I'm trying to record those memories as quickly as I can before they become lost forever. Despite his early problems, developmentally he was WAY ahead of the curve and I feel that he grew up too quickly....sat ALONE at 4 1/2 months, crawled at 5 1/2 months, pulled up at 61/2 months, cruised at 71/2 months, and took off running at 9 months...talked early too...now, he is a full fledged boy....he potty trained himself in October...just decided to do it and never had an accident...A baby no more....tries desperately to copy and do everything big brother Garrett does and that is VERY scary....jumps off of anything...no matter how tall....ah, but I digress....easy to do when you talk about your kids, don't you think? The party was wonderful....both sets of grandparents, Aunt Leah and cousins Parker and Hannah, and of course Mom, Dad, and Garrett were all in attendance. His favorite part was blowing out the candles...

And of course, opening presents is ALWAYS a big hit around here....

Of course mom, with her ever present camera, was capturing it all...Here is one of my favorite photos of him enjoying a piece of his cake....

I still can't believe that he is three years old...in a way in seems like three hundred years...lol...but I realize that he is growing up sooo very fast....Before I know it he will be thirty instead of three....I love you my little Grant....I hope you enjoyed your Birthday Party. I hope you have a fun year full of playing, loving, and learning. Hugs, and kisses.....Momma.....

Now, to plan for Garrett's party which will be on the 24th.....he will be six years old....and guess what? He wants a skating party....ten six year olds on roller skates?......AAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Longing For Spring

2007-02-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

Ahhhh....today was a glorious day here in North Louisiana.....Sunny skies, 68 degrees, and very low humidity....in other words...a perfect spring day. Only problem is this is early February....way too early for Spring....but oH, today gave us a taste and now we want it soooo bad.

We couldn't help but get out this afternoon and soak up the sun and play outside and of course, mom had the ever present camera.

Grant had me push him in the swing for about 40 minutes and my arms were so tired!!!

Garrett had a GREAT time playing fetch with our schnauzer, Ally....

Then of course, Garrett, who has seen mom take so many pictures in his short six years knows his way around a camera and asked to take a photo....I think it is awesome!!!

We had such a great time playing in our lovely back yard....PLEASE, Spring....hurry....we need you!!!!

Facing Your Fears

2006-11-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

I came face to face with a big one recently. As many of you may know from reading my posts or just from knowing me, I am NOT a good flyer...never have been and probably never will be. I just don't get the whole big metal tube staying up in the air thing....Anyway, a good friend of ours recently acquired his very own plane. COOL...most people might say....well, his wife and I weren't exactly thrilled. You see, I don't do well on big jets, or little jets, or jets of any size...I do not like them here or there...I do not like them anywhere.
So you can imagine my chagrin when Chad and Ryan expected us to actually get in this little bitty PROP plane...yep....not even any jet engines....just a tiny little fly of a thing that could be swatted out of the sky by even the slightest puff of wind...or so it appeared to me.
Karissa and I steadfastly refused to get in the thing for a LONG, LONG time...don't remember exactly when he got the plane but it may have been close to a year ago as he has had time to get his pilots license etc...
I had never even laid eyes on the plane but Ryan had been up with Chad many times and even took Garrett up a couple of times in it and declared it safe....hmmmm....yeah.....right.
Well, one beautiful Sunday afternoon I was trying to be a good and pleasant wife and mom and said lets do something fun...anything you wanna do we'll go do....TOTALLY WRONG THING TO SAY....because the next thing out of Ryan's mouth was....Karissa is in Houston visiting her parents and Chad's invited us to come flying...ummmm....is that laundry or dishes I hear calling my name?

TOO late....I really couldn't back out...besides....I want Ryan to think I'm a cool kind of wife right? I think? So....we all four load up in our jeep and head to the airport...the whole time I am shaking in my boots...When we arrive the sight of the plane does not comfort me at all....tiny, OLD, and in my opinion....rickety looking....

Can I really do this? Garrett is so excited...unfortunately I have discovered that he is an adrenaline junkie just like Ryan...NOTHING scares him....

so we get in and I close my eyes as Chad speeds down the runway....Karissa is REALLY gonna hate me for this...my stomach hits the floor as I feel us leave the ground....what was I thinking....open my eyes just a bit....hey, is that my house?....there's Louisiana Tech and I see WalMart....kind of cool....wait...what was that? Wind? A little turbulence....Are we going to die?....No...we're okay...I see more and more landmarks that I know...

this is so different than a jet...you can see stuff and I get to wear these super cool headphones to talk to everyone else in the plane....

Maybe this wasn't so bad...in fact, I'll admit...it was kind of fun...Grant got bored with it fairly soon but we were only up for about 45 mintues...

ok...I'll admit...I'd do it again....but ONLY if there was like NO wind anywhere on the planet....
This is one fear that I am glad I faced and put to rest.....NOW.....telling Karissa that I am a traitor is not gonna be so easy....Sorry, my friend, I caved....it really wasn't so bad!!!!

Where Did The Time Go?

2006-08-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

This morning was a momentous occassion in the Madden house...Garrett started kindergarten today. He really was excited about going to school again. He wanted to see his friends from last year in pre-k and he wanted to go to recess and yes, for now, he is even excited about learning new things. I woke him up, fed him breakfast(yogurt and granola bar along with his coffee milk) and got him dressed. The whole time he was smiling and eager and raring to go. I did pretty well too...on the outside. I smiled and answered his questions and pumped him up about his new
teacher Mrs. Underwood (I've heard that she is a wonderful teacher...strict but loving) which I think will be WONDERFUL for Garrett as sometimes he needs to be reminded that he is NOT the one in charge all the time. But inside I was a
little bit sad. He looked so big and grown up in his
school uniform. Where has five and half years gone? It seems like yesterday Ryan was handing this tiny little bundle to me and I looked into these wide staring eyes and fell in love instantly. I remember being taken aback that he looked at me so intently and for so long. I didn't know that newborns could look so inquisitive or convey such emotions with their eyes. He stared and stared and we had a little conversation between the two of us. He seemed to be saying, "Well, here I am, Momma." and I said, "Yes, my beautiful boy, here you are. I don't know, my son, if I'm quite ready for this journey. I thought I was but now...looking at how tiny and helpless you are, I don't know if I can do this." His little eyes were steady and they measured me up and slowly, slowly, slowly they closed and I felt him say, "Oh yes, you can do it. I trust you to take care of me. I feel safe and warm and loved and I know you'll do fine, Momma. God brought you and me together and he knew we needed each other." Oh how it seems like that moment just happened yesterday and here he is waving goodbye to me so excitedly as he left for school with his Daddy. I know he went to pre-k last year and it shouldn't be such a big deal to me but it is. In Pre-K it wasn't real. I could keep him home with me anytime I wanted and no one would say a word. Kindergarten is for real and he has taken another step on this journey towards independence. Please, God, guard my boy today and everyday. Help him to always have a happy heart, a willingness and hunger to learn new things, and a friendly and outgoing spirit so as to comfort those who need it. Thank you, Lord, for the precious gift you gave us when Garrett was born. We will do our best to raise him into the young man you want him to be.
Garrett, I hope your first day has been wonderful....can't wait to hear all about it when I pick you up. Only two more hours for this anxious Momma to wait.