My First...

PAINTING!!!

I got some tempera paint at Bradburns last week and I have been dying to get Madeline all messy. My first thought was to do it outside, but then I thought it through... she is only 15 months old. Her attention span is very short for these sorts of activities. I would have spent 30 minutes setting up the painting and then cleaning it up afterward, only to have had her paint for what, 5 minutes tops?!? So we settled for the high chair.

Isn't it a master piece?

mg

Thanks Dad

Yesterday was kinda crazy. I taught and then ran some errands. Then because the weather was wonderful, I decided to take Madeline to the pool. I invited my dad, Poppy, to go along with us.

We had a grand old time. At one point my dad asked if I was wearing make up. I totally forgot that I was wearing mascara from teaching in the morning. Not water-proof of course. I asked how bad it was, and his answer, "Oh, not that bad."

I spent the next hour or so hanging out in the pool. I even approached a very stylish mom, to ask where she had gotten her swimming suit. (Because is was very cute.)

When I got home, this is the horror that I found:


Look at that hair! (I can assure you my new hair cut is so much cuter than that in "real" life!) And although it doesn't look so bad in this photo I can assure you that I look like I have two black eyes! No wonder the young lifeguard manning the pool house gave me a weird look when I told him the ladies room trashcan was full.

So thanks dad. Next time I'll make sure to wash my face first!

mg

Happy Anniversary M & D!

My parents are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary today. Yep, 30th!


My mother called this morning and informed me that the 30th anniversary is the "pearl" anniversary. I don't know if she is expecting real pearls, or just pearls of wisdom, but after 30 years of marriage you'd think she should be the one to be giving me the advice.

My advice, have a great time at dinner tonight!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. Madeline and I will have a "cheers" for you at dinner tonight.

mg

Dinner with my 'first' family

A long time ago in a land far far away I worked as a nanny.

Ok, so it wasn't that long ago, or very far away, but from where I am in my life now compared to where I was when I was nannying it seems like it! This weekend Kevin, Madeline and I had dinner with the family I nannied for. They are an amazing family and I don't get to see them nearly enough.

Madeline got some serious swag too! They got her the coolest toys as a late birthday present!
Sophie, 8, is in the blue shirt and Molly, 15, is just to the left of me.

Sophia was just 2 months old when I started nannying for her. It is amazing to see how much she has grown up! I call her my practice baby. I think she turned out pretty good, but I can't take all the credit of course!

Sophia was so sweet to Madeline. She watched over her all night long and kept her entertained. She is going to be an excellent babysitter in the very near future!

Sorry about the wide shot of my backside but I wanted to make sure to get a photo of Kiki on here too. (Somehow this is the only one we got... she is on my right.) Kiki was 4 and in preschool when I started watching her and now she is an almost 13 year old young woman! For some reason I see the change in her to be a lot more dramatic. I guess when I stopped watching them Molly was already on her way to being a teenager, and Sophia is still a kid in many ways, but in the time I have been gone Kiki has gone from a kid to a teenager. That change seems really very dramatic to me! She is a beautiful young woman... (as they all are) but it is amazing to see how much she has grown!

Thank you my 'first' family for a wonderful evening! We love and miss you!

mg

Happy Birthday Granny!

July 28

I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing day. (Even if I did stick you with your grandbaby for a few hours!)

I know it is a little late in the day but we have been busy... more on that tomorrow.

We love you!

Maureen, Kevin and Madeline

*********
I have more photos from July 28th that I don't think I ever shared and they are funny so I am usurping this birthday post to blog about my daughter... It's my blog right.

Madeline, playing an outdoor marimba with Granny.

We forgot our swimming suit...

But she just wanted to head to the swings anyway.

We let Poppy chase her down.

mg

8.8.08

Happy 8.8.08 to all. Anyone else totally stoked about the Olympics starting today?!?! I am going to a jewelry party tonight, so I won't get to see all the opening festivities, but I can't wait to see all the coverage over the next few weeks. Normally I don't have the TV on during the day at all. But I think the Olympic will be the exception to this rule! WHOO WHOO!!

I feel a little behind in my blogging so let me catch you up. So Madeline spiked a fever of 103.6 on Tuesday afternoon. We took her to the dr. Wednesday morning and he said it was most likely a virus and although her throat was a little red her fever had gone away on its own and not to worry.

Thursday afternoon however I noticed a bunch of splotches on Madeline's neck. I lift up her shirt and she has a rash all over her torso! ARGH!! I call the dr. and they say it is probably b/c of the virus and fever she had on Tuesday and it should go away. This morning she still looks like this:

(click on the photo to make it larger... I know it is hard to see.)

She has red bumps all over her front and back, down in her diaper and on her face. They don't seem to be bothering her. She isn't scratching and she hasn't been particularly fussy but they look horrible.

She is using the thermometer as a phone. She kept saying, "hi Dada, hi Dada..."

When I call the dr. this morning they said that if she doesn't have a fever and if they don't get any worse they don't need to see her. Although that is good for my wallet (I don't need another $30 co-pay) it is not really good for my piece of mind. It is hard to see your baby looking like that!

Lounging on her sofa.

Although as you can tell from the photo above she is no worse for the wear. I didn't put her in clothes until after lunch today so she's been hangin' out in her dipe. I love nakey babies!

mg

Dear Madeline,

It is 6:15am. Two hours before you normally awake for your days. What did I do wrong in this world? Oh the humanity! I usually have these two hours to check my blogs, shower, dry my hair, put on my "face" and eat breakfast.

So please excuse me if I plop you in front of the TV and make you watch Sesame Street while I get ready for my day. You may only be 15 months old, but it is never to early to start you watching the boob tube right? That should buy me a good 15 minutes. That's enough time to shower, dry my hair, eat breakfast, put on make up. Right? My Blogs will just have to wait. Argh.

Love,

Mommy

mg