Water Weather

We're having such a cool summer. I think the high today is around 83. This is great for most summer activities, but not for swimming. My boys just get too cold at the pool if it's below 80 degrees or windy at all. And of course I bought a summer pass. *sigh* (I'm sure it will be plenty hot once we leave for our two week trip to UT. Of course.)

Anywho, just because it's not quite pool weather doesn't mean it's not water weather! These boys sure love the water table and the hose. (Kudos to Misty for coming through on the free water table. You rock!) ((Yes, it actually is a sand and water table - but I have neither the time nor the inclination to clean sand out of my boys and house all summer.)) (((Yes, I am the world's meanest mother. It's a fun club. Wanna join?)))

Here are some pics I took this afternoon. My two little guys crack me up - Spencer is so thin you can see his ribs, whereas Josh is, well... well fed, to say the least. Also, they discovered a couple of Japanese beetles in the water table, which they have been happily harassing and tormenting... I mean playing... with for an hour. Don't feel bad for the bugs - they've been munching on my basil.

More Joshisms

For being 21 months old, Josh talks really well. (Well, at least we understand him!) And it's not just that he talks well - his thinking process is pretty impressive. (Again, at least to us!) It's so fun just to listen to him every day, especially when he and Spencer talk to each other. Unfortunately, that usually leads to arguments and comes to blows. We're working on it.

Here's a sampling of a few non-violent Joshisms I've enjoyed recently:

Josh was sitting at the counter eating a banana when he looked up at me and said, "Mommy! I'm George!" (As in Curious George.)

Today Jurassic Park was on the TV while I was making dinner. From the living room I could hear Joshie excitedly exclaim, "Mommy! Dinosaurs eat them! Grrrrr!"

I love this kid.

Ready... Go!

Who knew Joshie was a gymnast? Look out summer Olympics - here comes Josh!

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In other news, I spent four hours this afternoon cleaning out the Primary closet. I couldn't believe the amount of stuff in there! (And by stuff I mean junk that no one else had the courage/foresight/desire to get rid of.) I found things in there that had to have been at least ten years old. Amazing.

I went from a closet crammed full of things (which, by the way, completely covered two large tables once I emptied it all out), to a closet that's maybe a 1/3 full.

I rock.

Hangin' With My Gnomies

We've lived in the Midwest for just shy of four years now. I have to admit, it's grown on me. I like it here. It's beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall. (But not winter. Winter is ugly.) Rush hour 'traffic' in Lafayette is having to wait through an entire light cycle at an intersection. And the cost of living is hard to beat; what we paid for our house here would barely buy us an 800 square foot shack in California.

And the people are great! Talk about friendly! (No really - talk.) Plan an extra fifteen minutes for each errand you run because you have to factor in the conversation times of the people you meet in the aisles, in the check-out line, and with the cashier. (Who will, undoubtedly, tell you all about her children, how she met her husband, and why she chose to wear her denim culottes instead of white capris today.) It took me off guard when I first moved here: who were these people and how dare they say hello, let alone make eye contact with me?! I'm over it now, and the boys have truly embraced it. (We have to say hello to everyone that comes within a 50 foot radius of us, which makes going to the mall gabby, to say the least.)

Hoosiers are also very kind. Most people are willing to help you out if they see a need. And they're good people; they go to church, they volunteer in their community, they look out for one another. It's pretty nice.

But they also have some strange habits that I drive me a bit crazy.

For example, what's up with the way streets just suddenly change names at some random point and for no apparent reason. Seriously, how hard is it to pick just one name and stick with it? And how in the world do the streets just end and then magically reappear in other places. (Like 19th St here?)

Also, they totally mispronounce names on purpose here. We used to live by Schuyler Ave. How would you pronounce that? Like the German pronunciation 'shoo-ler', right? Not here; here it's 'sky-ler'. And Hungarian Kossuth (ko-shuth) is 'co-sooth'. And it's not just in Lafayette, it's all over. Versailles (vair-sigh) Indiana is pronounced just like it's spelled (ver-sales). New Palestine? New Pal-eh-steen. I know there's more, I just can't think of them right now. (Back me up here, past and present Hoosiers.)

But the thing that really gets me? The thing that I actually noticed right away, our first day here so long ago? The thing that no one ever warned me about?

Lawn ornaments.

They're everywhere.

It's like an obsession. I think true Midwesterners are genetically wired to need at least three lawn ornaments of some sort. And that's the minimum.

I'm not so much into lawn ornaments. I'm an au-natural kinda gal when it comes to my lawn. Decorative rocks (preferably dug from your own land) = good. Cement cherubs = bad! Let's let the plants do the the decorating, people!

I still vividly remember the day we first drove into Indiana. We had only been in the state for about five minutes when we passed not one but two cement lawn ornament factories. Talk about foreshadowing.

Seriously, I think we're one of maybe three people in the neighborhood who don't have at least one lawn ornament. Everyone else has tons: awkwardly-large fountains, Virgin Marys, Tweety Birds (*shudder*), Precious Moments (oh, how I loathe Precious Moments!), animals, globes, statues, wolves holding baskets (don't ask), chipmunks, sea monsters, gnomes (for reals!), family name signs and the geese. Oh, how they love the geese! I wanted to take pictures of all them, but then figured that the neighbors didn't need to get even more suspicious of their weirdo Mormon-doesn't-believe-in-lawn-ornaments-or-mispronunciation-of-foreign-names neighbors.

But I couldn't help but take pictures of these ones. (I pretended to be taking pictures of the boys in their wagon. Clever, right?)


That's right - they're gargoyles.

Gargoyles.

Gargoyles.

I thought they were up just for Halloween. But eight months later they're still standing guard in these flower beds.

Seriously, I just have to wonder about the thought process of these people.

'You know what would really complete the look of our front yard? Some grotesque medieval French monsters. Made of cement. Sweet.'

Well, to each his own. Who am I to judge?

My point in all of this? I don't think I really have one. Other than if you're coming to my house, it's easy to find. It's the boring, decidedly un-Midwestern one without all the lawn statuary.

Because gargoyles? Really?

More Eyes

Today Josh was sitting quietly (a miracle!) and playing with Mr. Potato Head. Randomly, he picked up the eyes, held them up to me, and said, "Mommy! Elmo Eyes!"

Smart, cute kid.

p.s. Ever since this episode I have had the song "Hungry Eyes" in my head, only instead of 'hungry' I think of 'Elmo'. What, like you wouldn't?

How Cool Is This?

(Answer: very.)

Look what I found - you can now put photos on M&M's. AWESOME!

These would be so fun for all sorts of things: birthdays, family reunions, parties. But at $12.99 for 7oz, it's pretty pricey. Best to use them for the M&M connoisseur in your life.

P.S. It just took me eight tries to spell connoisseur correctly.

Peppermint Explosion

Remember last summer when I had basil growing out the yin-yang?

Well this year it's peppermint. What started out as a scrawny little plant barely clinging to life in my kitchen windowsill has exploded into a healthy, vibrant, taking-over-the-sage-so-I-have-to- constantly-prune-it peppermint plant.

I've been looking online for recipes with fresh peppermint in them, but have been coming up empty-handed. Would peppermint work in place of fresh mint? Anyone have any ideas?

At least the peppermint makes a pretty centerpiece.

Book Worm Update

Thanks so much to everyone who gave me ideas for what to read. Really - thank YOU.

Am I the only one who gets in these reading slumps? And then all of a sudden I have more books to read than I know what to do with? (I suspect that's what is going to happen now!)

I'm so sad because our book group kind of disintegrated about a year ago. People just stopped coming, and it's not really a group when only two people come to each meeting - that's called a date. And 'Book Date' just didn't seem or sound as fun. Especially because I'm pretty sure that Lance is the only person I'm supposed to go on dates with now. And he won't read any of the books I read. (Mock? Yes. Read? No.)

I'd like to start a new book group, but I just don't have it in me. I'm already in charge of: Picnics In The Park, The LAN Widows and Orphans, two little banshee boys, four visiting teachees, the world's best computer geek husband, and the entire 3rd Ward Primary. I'm all out of "being in charge of...". But I would totally read the book and come if someone else started a group.

Hint hint.

C'mon, people. Step up and start a book group for my amusement. I mean, so we can better ourselves through good literature and intelligent conversation. And yummy snacks.

Self-portrait Tuesday

Eyes bug me.

Not all eyes, mind you. Just single eyes. All by themselves. It's just not... natural. Single eyes = unnatural. Yuck. They just bug me. Like on the dollar bill with that eye on top of the pyramid? Hate it. The all-seeing eye? Creepy. A picture of just my left eye?

Eww.

A list of a few other random things that bother me:

• Fake birds that look real (especially when they're staring at me)
• People staring at me
• Bright yellow cars or trucks
• Lawn statues (Oh, we've got a post about that coming, as soon as I have some time)
  
• Christmas lights still up after New Years. (ESPECIALLY if they still turn on at night! Oy!)
• Samuel L. Jackson (He's creepy.)

So, what random things bug you?

By the way, my hair is still growing out. And still getting curlier. And still bugging me. I want to cut it all off again. Want to see? (Warning: I let it air dry today.)

Book Worm

Okay people, I need some help.

I have nothing to read.

I know, the horror, right? But seriously, I keep getting these books at the library that are just sooo boring or poorly written or just whatever. I can't read them. And nothing on my 'to read' list sounds good; or isn't in the library.

So, do you have any recommendations? I'll take anything. I'm going to the library Wednesday afternoon and the bookstore later this week.

Help me out! I'm going crazy without something to read! (Then again, I am getting more done around here and going to bed on time...)

One Last Hurrah

When Lance started graduate school four years ago we were blessed/lucky/fortunate enough to become friends with a great group of people from his program. We've spent the last couple of years hanging out together, having grilled cheese jamborees, helping each other move, having babies, buying homes, getting married, finding jobs, and even graduating. (Imagine!)

Graham and Ashley are moving to Baton Rouge later this summer, so we thought it would be good to get together for one last hurrah with just the original members of our group. (Yes, we're cliquish. If we were in high school, we'd be the cool crowd that everyone else envied but that no one else could join because we'd be to cool for them.) ((Yeah, who am I kidding. We'd totally be the AV club. But we'd be havin' fun!))

We had a BBQ at our house Saturday night and enjoyed a nice evening of eating, chatting, and holding both the new babies. (I am thoroughly convinced that I now need a little girl at home, because they were just tooooo sweet and cute!) Oh, and discussing whether or not the new Indiana Jones movie was good or terrible. You know, important stuff.

It was kind of sad, knowing that this will be the last time for a while that we'd all be together. But that's the great thing about blogging - we'll be apart but still know what's going on in each other's lives. (Hint hint, Maura & John!)

A few pictures from the evening:

The grillmaster! (With a few 'Cajun' potatoes. Oops.)

Enjoying the cool evening

It's all about the babies. As it should be. :)
See, don't I look good with a baby girl?!? I need one, Lance!

Graham and Josh having a deep philosophical conversation on the slide.

John and Maura - the only childless and (more importantly!) blogless couple of the group. Get crackin', you two! I wanna see a blog! (Although they do appear to be naturals at the whole parenting thing...)

Our attempts at a group picture.

AV club rocks! I mean, we love you guys!

T-Ball!

My dad reminded me that I have yet to post any t-ball action.

How very foolish of me!

Actually, I keep trying to get better footage. Or perhaps not have a game rained out (as on Saturday). But then I realized this was just wishful thinking, because in t-ball it is next to impossible to get good footage, and it seems bound and determined to rain every weekend this summer.

Anyways.

T-ball is great. Each player on the team gets to bat in each of three innings. They take turns playing the different positions. And the kids are slowly but surely catching on to the rules and such. But the practices and games all seem to follow these 'other' rules:

1. Hitting the ball on the tee? Harder than it looks.
   
2. If you're within 10 feet of the ball once it's hit, try to get it! (Even if you're the one who just hit the ball.)
3. Tackling is a little-known defensive play in t-ball.
4. "Fighting" while in line to bat is a good way to kill time.
5. It's hard to remember where to run. First, second, third, and home... those can be confusing concepts!

Spencer loves t-ball, and we love watching him. Way to go, Spence!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hot Firemen

Our church hosted a great Emergency Preparedness Fair yesterday. I got a lot of great information, am now inspired to start seriously working on my food storage, and Lance and I even donated blood.

But the best part, as far as the boys were concerned, was the firetruck. So here are my cute little fireman. (Except for the one in orange - he's hot!)

Swedish Furniture Name

Anyone who knows me knows that my 'Mecca' is Ikea. Love it.

Which is why this website I found (via Kirtsy) is right up my ally! It's a Swedish Furniture Name Generator. Type in your name - are you a bed? A lamp? A toothbrush holder?

Here's my family:

Maren

Lance

Spencer

Joshie

Which makes perfect sense, as Spencer does take more after my chair-ish side of the family, whereas Josh resembles the table-esqueness of the Madsens.

p.s. I was in Ikea few years ago and they had a toilet seat named Maren. (With an umlaut over the 'a'.) What an honor, right? I wonder if they pronounced it correctly...

Again!

Josh has had problems climbing up the ladder to our slide. (Neither of my kids have been climbers, for which I am very thankful!) So he's found a new way to get up.

Actually, it's not so surprising that he's doing this. You spend enough time at the playground and you're gonna see at least 10 kids doing this same thing. But Joshie has a whole routine that goes along with this. (Because just climbing up and sliding down would be pointless, right?)

Here's his process:

1. Throw the balls up to the 'house'. Many will bounce out and you will have to throw them again. And again. And again. But eventually you will get all of them to stay up there where they so obviously belong!
2. Climb up the slide. If Mommy is watching, all the better - it's good to give her ol' ticker a jump start every once in a while.
3. Throw all the balls that you so carefully got up to the house down the slide. You don't even have to watch them go down. The balls are not the point of this whole thing. Wait, yes they are. Oh well, whatever.
   
4. Slide down to the balls.
5. Repeat. Again. And again. And again.

Just in case you want to see this spectacular display, here you go:

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Laundry

Spencer: Hey, Josh. Have you noticed mom acting differently lately?

Josh: Different? What do you mean?

Spencer: I dunno. Just different. She's always reading and stuff.

Josh: I think she just likes to read...

Spencer: Nope, ever since the weather got nice she's stopped doing all the things she loves, like mopping and vacuuming and doing laundry. She loves doing laundry - she used to do it all the time! Now she just reads and gardens and takes us swimming.

Josh: You really think she liked doing laundry?

Spencer: Why else did she do it s much?

Josh: Can we help her?

Spencer: Let's make more laundry for her! Let's get all messy all day! That way she'll have lots of laundry to do and she'll be able to do all the laundry she wants!

Josh: I know of a perfect mud puddle in the back flower bed we can start with!

Spencer: Sweet.

*Later that week. Both boys are in their underpants/diaper by the end of the day, every day.*

Me: No, you may not have more clothes. You've reached the maximum in your daily clothing allowance. Now get outta here, I have to do more laundry.

Spencer: See? We've made her so happy! Bang bang bang! I got you with my gun!

Josh: Eat feet.

Tagged. Again. And again. And again. And again...

I've been tagged close to 238 times now, so I figured I might as well give in and just do a post for the most recent tag. Enjoy, because it'll probably take another 238 tags to get me to do this again.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Working for my dad's company during the first part of the summer, doing inventory in a massive walk-in freezer. (It was bigger than our house. Awesome, huh?)
2. I was having some of the best experiences of my life in Israel (through BYU's Jerusalem center). That trip changed my life, all for the better.
   
3. I was a junior in college, studying marketing communications (advertising).
4. Dealing with the Craziest. Ukrainian. Roommate. Ever. She wasn't crazy because she was Ukrainian. She was just crazy. Really. Stacey, back me up here.
5. Lance left on a mission ten years ago. We weren't dating or anything, but I did go to his farewell. (He had baptized my boyfriend the day before!)

5 things on my to-do list

1. Figure out who is in charge of setting up the chairs in the primary room Sunday morning, and then get after them for not doing it for the past few weeks. Grrrr...
2. Put away the folded laundry. (Oh wait - that's Lance's job!)
3. Vacuum
4. Go buy two 'summer list' books from Borders (A little summer tradition I have - I lurve it and am starting to do it for the boys, too.)
5. Laundry... again.

5 favorite snacks/foods

1. LOVE Thai food. Pad Thai, curry, panang, mmm...
2. Cookies
   
3. Warm homegrown tomatoes with a little salt and pepper
   
4. Warm homemade bread
5. Vanilla soymilk on rice crispies

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire

1. Travel
2. Pay off all debts
3. Travel
4. Hire a personal trainer/chef/maid (Doesn't have to be one person, although I guess that would be a bonus!)
   
5. Travel some more

5 bad habits

1. Reading way too late at night
2. Blogging/surfing the Internet too much
3. Losing my patience with my kids too easily
4. Biting/picking at my nails
5. Staying in the shower too long to hide from my kids (Well, at least on the days they're not bugging me while I'm in the shower!)

5 places I've lived

1. Provo, UT
2. Goldsboro, NC
3. Fairfield, CA
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Lafayette, IN

5 people I'm tagging

1. Yeah, I don't really do that, so...
2. 
   
3. 
   
4. 
   
5. 
   

Eat Feet

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Wordless Wednesday - A Day at Columbian Park

(I know it's supposed to be wordless; especially because I'm totally wiped out. But I just have to say that I especially love the last two pictures because that is totally my boys. Having them sit still and smile would have been more unusual than fighting and crying!)