Toss Josh

Because sometimes you gotta toss a kid around, just to show him who's boss.

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Little Helper

Joshie has decided to take on a new job: setting the table.

I get everything out and set it on the counter, and then he puts everything in the right place on the table. Well, pretty much the right place. He takes more of a Picasso approach to table setting.

I admit, it takes all the self-control I can muster to not move the plates or cups away from the edge of the table. This is highly insulting to toddlers, and a mistake only made once.

It's so darling to see him strut around, puffed up and proud of his accomplishment!

Blankie Boys

My boys are blankie boys.

Blankies are magical things. They can instantly heal injuries (both real and imagined), fix a broken heart, and protect you from things that go bump in the night. If we're going in the car, so is blankie. (Although it's a family rule that blankie stays in the car.) If it's naptime or bedtime, blankie's there as well. I'm pretty sure blankie would go in the tub I would let them. (Maybe I should; blankies are often dirty and smelly.)

Wherever my boys are, their blankies are not far behind them. And that's okay by me.

My dad sent alink to a short cartoon called "Pajama Gladiator". The boys watched it and instantly fell in love. The idea of a blankie defeating alien space monsters is just too good to be true. They and their blankies are at this moment fighting monsters and other assorted bad guys.

Now I just have to convince them that this doesn't necessarily mean they'll be getting cookies at the end of their adventures.

Watch it here.

Peace

For 60 minutes today Josh finally stopped whining, crying, destroying, and causing general mayhem.

It was, so far, the best part of my day. And, I suspect, his.

Self-portrait Tuesday: Election Day Excitement

Today was exciting for the Madsens. And not because of the election.

Although that was pretty fun, too. I took the boys with me to vote. The line was short, I knew who I wanted to vote for in most of the contests, and the boys basically behaved themselves. As we were leaving the small church gymnasium, Spencer loudly asked me, "Mommy, who did you vote for?" In my peripheral vision I could several interested faces turn towards us. I calmly answered, "We'll discuss this in the car."

And we did. We also discussed how some things aren't really meant to be talked about in public, and what the world 'private' means. Spencer said he understood, but I suspect he would still tell you who I voted for if you asked him.

The excitement for the day didn't end there. The weather here has been wonderful, so we spent the afternoon at the park with our friends the Souths. There were lots of kids to run around with, lots of dirt and mud to play in, and even a huge mountain of bark to climb on.


Kid paradise.

Since Lance was working late I decided to take the kids to McDonald's. (Because what's the point in making a 'real' dinner if you're the only adult home? Does anyone else feel that way?) I scored some major "Best Mom in the World" points.

We ate our dinners, played with the Happy Meal Toys, and called it a day.

But wait, the excitement doesn't end there!

I strapped the kids in the car and... no dice. The car was dead. Dead. Wouldn't even turn over. So I called Lance, asked him to come give me a jump when he was done at work, and took the boys back inside for ice cream sundaes.

Because when your car dies in a McDonald's parking lot, you deserve an ice cream sundae. That's just common sense, people. Plus, I scored even more "Best Mom in the World" points, because we never get ice cream sundaes at McDonald's.

Why didn't I ask someone there to help me? I don't know. I just didn't feel comfortable doing that. Ordinarily I would have. But not tonight.

We waited. And waited. And waited some more. Forty-five minutes later Lance finally came. (In his defense, he was right in the middle of a project that he couldn't just leave when I called.)


We popped my hood. Hmmm... are batteries supposed to be that corroded? Oh well, I just wanted to get a jump, go home, and put the boys to bed. I figured I would look into replacing the battery tomorrow.

Instead, I had to look into replacing the battery two minutes later.

I pulled out of the McDonald's parking lot, drove onto 350 S, and then nervously realized that the car was dying. Again. In the middle of the road.

With Spencer in the back seat yelping, "What's happening?! What's wrong?! I'm scaaarredd!", which was a little annoying.

With Josh in the back seat singing "Ring Around the Rosies", which was a little creepy.

So my car died and I pulled into the first turn I could, which is VERY hard to do when you have power steering and no power. And what parking lot did I pull into? An AUTO ZONE. I kid you not. An Auto Zone that had opened only a month earlier. Huzzah!

Not only was it an Auto Zone, but it had no cars in the parking lot, which was good because I had no control over where I could park; I couldn't steer and I couldn't stop the car well. The car died smack-dab in the middle of the car-less lot.

I took this as a sign. A sign that: a) Heavenly Father watches over me (things could have been A LOT worse), b) He has a sense of humor, and c) it was time to get my battery replaced. Now.

So I scooped the boys out of the car, marched into the store, and bought a new battery. The manager took pity on me and even had one of his guys come out and replace the battery, free of charge. (They might always do that, I don't know. But I prefer to think of me having special treatment.)

Lance hung out with us while the battery was being replaced. (I had called him, just so he didn't worry.) Inbetween bites of his cheeseburger he said, "You must be doing something right."

I hope so.

Who Knew I Gave Birth to a Democrat?

Today Spencer's preschool class held a mock election. All of the children were allowed to vote for either Obama or McCain by taping their namecard underneath a picture of either candidate. The teachers posted the results on a cute poster outside of class for the parents to see. Obama won by a clear majority. Who did Spencer vote for? See here:

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Hmmm. When pressed, he coudn't really give a reason why, just that he liked him best. Which is probably what a majority of voters will give as their reason when they vote tomorrow, so no judgements here.

Indiana has surprisingly turned into a battleground state; traditionally a Republican state, Obama has a strong and growing support base. Literally every other ad on TV is political, and I receive no less than 5-7 political fliers/postcards/waste of paper political ads in the mail each day. McCain is stopping in Indianapolis today and causing quite a brouhaha, as did Obama when he visited a few days ago.

I just want this election to be over. OVER. I'm hoping and praying that whoever loses tomorrow will bow out gracefully and not demand a recount or any other sort of repeat performance from 2000.

If the election is too close, then instead of a long, drawn-out legal battle, I propose the following ways of deciding the election:

• Presidential paper-rock-scissors. Best two out of three. No take-backs or do-overs.
• A Rock Band-off. Whoever gets the highest collective score on drums, guitar, and vocals wins. The event would be televised nationally, and people could call or text in their vote. (Voter turn-out would be astronomical.)
  
• If worse comes to worse, a caged deathmatch. Obama has youth on his side, but McCain looks pretty scrappy to me. I think it would be a pretty even fight. Winner is president - loser... well, we just won't have to hear from him again.

What would you like to see the candidates do in the event of a tie?

A Few Questions for Josh

Why?

Why? WHY? WHY? Why?!?!?!?

And also, How? HOW? (The drawer was baby-proofed.)

But mostly, why?!

p.s. A question for Spencer: You were in the room - why do you tattle about Josh's every little move, but decided to be quiet while we was doing this?