planting seeds

Sometimes lasting memories just happen out of everyday life. Like the time that I raced my sister down a nearly vertical ski-slope, went the stupid way down, and ended up laid out center-slope underneath the "X'ed" skis signaling to everyone the injuries to my head and my ego. Then my mom says, "Quick! take some pictures! She'll be glad later when this is funny!" Then she gets a little worried when I can't move, they wrap me up in a yellow-burrito and ski me down to the infirmary. Then another friend in our party falls off of a ski-lift as the family is trying to get to the infirmary on skis, and she and I ride the ambulance together. In the ER, my uncle meets us there, his daughter becomes ill suddenly, and my family takes up 3 adjacent rooms in the ER. We still laugh about that story... I don't think any of us will forget it.


Sometimes memories for me come out of specific planning, and it has almost become a personal hobby to think up different ways to put my family in these scenarios. Last weekend, my idea of letting Jane Bradley plant her own garden came to life. 


Brad and I took JB and B to Lowes, and we bought all of the ingredients to build and plant our own mini-garden. It's been a hit for sure. Here's the photo-story...


Here's the site we chose that gets the most sun. Not that it's that interesting, but I figured I'd start at the beginning.

Brad got the job of hauling all the stuff from the car. Jane Bradley hopped on for the ride. 

We bought a big gardening box, but when Brad opened it, he realized the box actually contained his nightmare - a thousand little pieces of wood. We laugh at Brad that he can sew your head back together, but he cringes at the sight of a box full of random parts that he has to assemble. 

He likes to read the instructions all the way through before he starts, which I think is smart, but unusual for most men I know.

 He started on the construction, and after I took pictures of him, I jumped in to help solve to puzzle. 

Turned out to be perfect! Then Brad and Jane Bradley planted rows of zucchini, yellow squash, jalapenos, eggplant, basil, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Even though it was just a garden in the backyard, it was real and special.

Here's the finished product! 

Funny thing of the day: Last summer, I planted a small container garden of pretty flowers. I love sweet potato vines to spill over the sides - I think they are the coolest shades of dark purple and  green. I made them spill over in stripes last year, and I loved it! Well, this weekend I cleared out all of the remains of the dead plants from the pot to plant our new ones. I was super surprised when I found my pot FULL of huge sweet potatoes! Who knew? I really thought it was sort of like planting those big banana-leaf trees - it was just what they are called - they don't actually grow a fruit or vegetable. I had no IDEA these actually grew sweet potatoes... (I really don't have a problem telling this story, I have tons of stories like this about myself... I'll have to jot those down too in the future)...

Here's a sample of my crop!

Here's my newly re-planted flower pot for the summer - Maybe my thumbs aren't so black after all :)

I hope your weekend is as fun as finding a pot full of old sweet potatoes :) And Happy Easter!

soak it up

I love quiet weekends. I love it when we get to just hang around together and make our own fun. It's simple family time, and it's really important to me... This weekend was one for the books... 


On Friday, Jane Bradley came home with a new fireman's hat. You can guess who claimed it.

Friday afternoon consisted of playing outside, but first a good round of "horsey went to town" knee-bouncing with Mrs. Raya.

Saturday morning started off just right... with chocolate chip pancakes...

Followed by some running around in mom's shoes and wearing packing tape bracelets...

Then we wandered down the street to visit with friends, and the kids saw the pool. It was cold, but for some reason, kids don't seem to care about this. I need it to be pushing 90 degrees before I like to stick my toe in... 

Even though she didn't want to admit it, this one thought it was a little chilly...

Saturday afternoon we made something special (next post), and followed it up with fun in the sand. 

Sunday was Big Daddy's birthday party, and the Maddens all came over to celebrate. While Brad grilled, Beckham took advantage of Big Daddy's lap and reading skills...

After a calm weekend, T-ball practice was rained out on Sunday. I didn't mind. It let us have one more night of uninterrupted time together, which I've come to realize will become much harder to come by in the future with sports and extra-curriculars. So, I'm trying to soak it up... Brad took JB to look at the rain after dinner. I don't know what they talked about, but you can't put a price on moments like these.

sandy heads and pre-Easter fun

Beckham goes to Mother's Morning out twice a week, and his only complaint is that he can't go every day. My friend picks him up on the days that I work, and when she gets there early, she lets him finish out his playtime on the playground. She snapped some pictures this last time, and as you can tell, the tub on Tuesdays and Thursdays is extra dirty. Here's why... 

It's great to know that while I'm at work, he's having so much fun. But seriously, what is more fun than riding toys, cars, playgrounds and playdough? I felt so much guilt sending JB when she was small, but I've gotten over it :)

* * * * * 

My mom (Nanny) and Jane Bradley have a lot of special things that they do together. One of them happens to be raiding the dollar store for seasonal decorations. This week, JB scored some new Easter goodies... She brought home pinwheels, silly easter eggs, and Easter party decorations which she used to turn her room super-Easter-fancy.

Beckham doesn't quite have the blowing concept yet... 

 This weekend was full of new stuff... I'm going to spread it out over a few posts, so stay tuned. I hope your week is as exciting as a bucket of plastic bunny heads :)

And so it begins...

Lately we began the next 18 or so years of our lives. I knew that marrying Brad was going to put me in the sports-mom category (I think it's in my kids' genes), and let me just say, we have arrived. Jane Bradley has started her first team sport this week, and appropriately enough, she is on the pink T-ball team.

Beckham thinks he is too...

So, Beckham had claims on JB's new batting helmet. She was prepared to fight back, so my neighbor, also the head coach of her team, offered Beckham a much more masculine replacement... You can't really tell what this is in this picture, but the thing that looks like a black wig is actually a black t-ball helmet turned around backwards. He thinks he sees better out the back...

So far, Jane Bradley is the only Madden on a team, but Beckham is really ready to join them all...

I hope your weekend makes you as happy as Beckham with a pink t-ball helmet :)

Thanks for coming back!

So it's been a while, and the photos of the week were scarce. Brad was out of town for 5 days last week, and I was doing great to keep the kids fed, rested, and out of the middle of the street. 
* * * * *
Brad is a quirky guy. One of the ways to his heart - pack for him. The man hates to call people he doesn't know on the phone, and just under that, is trying to find all of the things that go in his suitcase. So... in true honeymooners-lovey-dovey-starry-eyed-fashion, almost every time, I pack the two small kids and also the one larger one... 


This time Beckham got involved...

While dad was gone, there was a lot of living-room playtime... I was cleaning up the house one day, and saw Beckham watching TV. Then I noticed his feet. Then I ran for my camera.... Snapped one just in time, because the nanosecond after my camera flashed, he got tired of standing in them... I can totally sympathize, B.

Afternoons weather was gorgeous. On days like that, I don't ever want to live anywhere else... For the other 350 days of the year, it's debatable...

Saturday morning couldn't get here fast enough. The hours crawled by. That morning, we had some construction work done in the middle of the living room floor... Many towers were built, and many were re-built...

Not sure that B knows the difference between a kaleidoscope and a telescope...

After building got old, Jane Bradley invited Beckham to join her for a living room dance party... All before 10 am. They got down to "We Are the Dinosaurs" for a while....

After we got Brad back, I really wanted to keep us all in the house for a long time and not let anyone leave. I did let us all out for church and took JB to a birthday party, but everything else got wiped off the schedule. I just wanted us all back the way we belong after a long week... We've been letting the kids go back for seconds of sunshine since it's still out after dinner. They had some backyard fun before they crashed... That's what childhood is made of, right?

Jane Bradley made Brad this card when he came home. I'm pretty sure that she drew him as a saints football player, and this is his jersey with a fleur-de-lis and his helmet. I especially love that she said, "Thanks for coming back..." Brad and I got a good laugh, but really, I was pretty thankful he was back too...

One last thing, We are about to shop for another vehicle for me. I am looking for something that holds 4 kids (like to be able to carry an extra), and will hold luggage for travel. I've never been a minivan fan, but it's looking to be a pretty practical option. Also, the other options seem to be the full sized choices like the expedition or the suburban. I know I have some friends who drive the mid-sized vehicles with 3 kids, but how do you travel? Trying to figure out the logistics and wondering if I have any other options. I would love a comment if you have any thoughts! Also, if you particularly loved working with a specific person at a dealership, please let me know - I hate going to those places blind!


Have a great week! Thanks for coming back :)

St. Paddy's Days

We had several birthdays on the cul de sac this week. 


The spree ended with a complete razor scooter gang on our street. All of the birthday girls got them for their birthdays, and the older kids already had them. That left one kid on the street who was a have-not... Jane Bradley. I came home from work that day, and she was mid-break down. I tried to convince her that I thought there was a good chance that the Easter Bunny might want to know that this was her biggest request (actually, he already knew... he told me that he had ordered it already and he wanted me to hold on to it for him until Easter Morning). She tried to be strong, but on the second attempt to ride alongside the others, she came inside and sobbed. It was sad, and I was weak... So Easter came a little early, and the squirms and squeals of delight made it all worth it. You can see the puffy eyes and the happy smile in the picture. Awww....

I wish I could say we finished Spring Break with lots of scooter rides and enjoying the weather. We did not. JB came down with the stomach bug on Friday, the last one of us to be struck. We stayed in, missed 2 birthday parties, and I lysol-ed my house. Again. For the fourth time - not that anyone is counting. Friday night, she was feeling a little less green around the edges, and after all of the village kids went inside, we went out to get some fresh air. Glad I had my camera because Brad was in a super good mood. He likes Fridays - and all of the other non-work days :)

JB didn't want to smile so much. She'd had a lousy day...

That's okay. Brad brought enough silly for all of us...

Beckham took a spill. He looks to make sure we saw him, and then he gets up saying, "I'm okay! I'm okay!" Little toughguy...

Brad's after-work Heisman...

And his NBA-esque dunking skills... 

And Beckham has the gene - we are sure :)

Thankfully, Saturday was not a bust. JB felt great, and we even ventured out for a light lunch. There was just one major mishap. In the midst of all of the changed plans and sicknesses, we sort of forgot about St. Paddy's day. I really still can't believe it. I attribute all such things to pregnant brain... It's so real.


Jane Bradley discovered the mistake after church on Sunday when she told me she knew exactly what she was going to wear on St. Paddy's day. We told her she had a long time because it was yesterday, and she was horrified. Then she decided that she wasn't missing out, so we all had to put on our green clothes for the whole day. And we did. 


The creepy ice cream truck came by on Sunday. Seriously, this van just looks like something off of a horror movie to me.

Here's the evidence of our March 18th St. Paddy's Day get up. 

This guy makes a pretty good little Irish leprechaun, even if it is the day after St. Paddy's day :)