A Little Bit Canadian

Can You Handle the Truth?

2009-05-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

So....We had Jeris' boss (Russ) for dinner a few night ago. This was our beginning conversation.

Russ: So Holly tell me what you think about Marianna. You can tell me the truth.

Maddox: You can't handle the truth.

I swear he has not seen A Few Good Men. He has an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie that does a take off on the Jack Nicholson scene.

More Pirate Pics

2009-04-13T18:11:00.001-07:00

Maddox's 3rd Birthday

2009-04-13T17:53:00.001-07:00

This being the first birthday Maddox has celebrated in a town where he wasn't surrounded by his cute little friends, we decided to hold a much more intimate event with just his cousins (that live two hours away). We really missed all of our Gainesville friends but we still had a blast.
The party started Thursday night when the Emerson crew arrived just before bed time. Maddox had his first slumber party which started with three cousins in the bed and ended with only two. Owen gave up on bunking up with Maddox and Dawson pretty early and opted for the floor in the play room.
We were all up bright and early on Friday morning. (If you know Bets you know that her crew is up at the break of dawn and has eaten half the groceries in the house by 8 am). We packed a yummy picnic lunch and headed out to Caverns State Park only to discover it was closed for recent flooding. We went with plan B and took our picnic to Citizens park which had been covered in flood water for a week but was now reopen. The boys had a blast....I can't say the same for Betsy and I......we couldn't distract ourselves from the overwhelming fishy smell that remained on the playground from the recent flooding.
We brought the boys home,threw them all in the bath tub (as we were sure they had all sorts of microscopic fungus growing on them from the fishy playground), and dressed them up in their easter duds for their Easter photo shoot. (pics soon to be posted on Betsy's blog)
We ended Friday with pizza, cake, and ice cream. We didn't want to take the cake to the Pirate Ship for the real party the next day.

Saturday we got out the door with amazing speed considering the crew we were corralling and were on our way to Panama City Beach to ride the Sea Dragon Pirate ship.
Tickets bought, we boarded the ship with no idea of the excellent investment we had made in the 15 dollar ticket.
The crew of the ship entertained the little guys with water gun fights, swabbing the deck, shooting a cannon, dolphin watching, a treasure hunt, and a pirate dance party, complete with limbo and a congo line. We loved it.....Cullen excluded. He was no fan of the Pirate Adventure and repeatedly clarified on the way home "No like pirate ship."
Fun times with family. We only wish it would have been complete with our two Canadian cousins.

....and just a few more

2009-03-12T14:25:00.001-07:00

Maddox had an accident at dinner.....that's why he doesn't have pants on in the bottom picture. It is a little chilly when you loose your pants in Canada . Not quite as bearable as losing your pants in Florida!

More pics

2009-03-12T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pics from our trip.

Canada, Cousins, and Cold Weather

2009-03-12T13:57:00.001-07:00

We just returned from our fun two week trip to Canada. Maddox had sooo much fun playing with his cousins. He got to play in 6 inches of snow, ride a ferry boat to Vancouver Island to visit Gi Gi and Grandpa, feed Auntie Poops' horses, and go ice skating. It was quite an adventure.

I didn't drop off the planet.....it just feels like it.

2009-02-16T18:09:00.001-08:00

Friends,
If you haven't given up on me ever blogging again and still stop by here every once in awhile.....only to notice there are no new updates......I am trying to get back in the blogging game. Our boxes are officially unpacked. Our pictures are hung. We have a little routine and are settling into small town life. I have found myself trying to focus on the positives of life in Marianna...so here are a few.

1. I use very little gas which is good for the environment and our budget.
2. I am home with Maddox again for the time being.
3. There are virtually no restaurants in town that tempt me which is good for the budget and my health.
4. I met a friend at the park....forgot to get her number....but don't worry the same girl was at a play group I was invited to the next week. No, it is not that big of a coincidence. It really is that small of a town.
5. I am 40 miles from the beach and have been 4 times in the two months I have lived here.
6. I think I am so close to my sister (130 miles) that I have seen her 4 times since I have lived here.

There you have it..... the positives for now. I'll update you as I think of more. Hopefully that won't be too long.

Here is a completely unrelated picture for those of you who haven't seen Maddox in awhile.

Funny Quote and FYI

2008-11-18T08:20:00.000-08:00

Last night at dinner.

Maddox: I am going with Seth (another two year old) to see the Wiggles.
Mom: You are?
Maddox: Yeah, do you want to go to?
Mom: That depends....Who is paying?
Maddox: Seth is.

And FYI the lack of posts lately is due to the fact that Jeris is working out of town and has our computer with him.

Stall Tactics

2008-09-30T17:18:00.000-07:00

Maddox has a list of ways to stall when it comes to bed time. Here are just a few of them.

1. During our prayer...."It's my turn to pray mommy." Then he sits there with his head down, not saying a word, and won't let me say Amen.
2. While closing the blinds...."That one (blind pull) doesn't make it dark. This one (the other blind pull) makes it dark." This one can really go on forever.
3. Right before being placed in bed....."I need a kiss, and a hug, and rub noses, and another kiss."
4. After he is in the bed......"Cover me up, get my pirates, sing my songs."
5. This one was new to the routine last night......"I just need to watch Dancing With The Stars." As if I am going to get him out of bed, let him watch Dancing With The Stars, and then put him back in bed. And for the record...he has not ever seen Dancing With The Stars.

I had an ordered life

2008-09-14T04:59:00.000-07:00

Before I had to get up at 5:00......... I had an ordered life.

Before I had to be out the door by 6:30 with lunches made, brushed teeth, brushed hair, and clean and ironed clothes.......I had an ordered life.

Before I had to wake a two year old up, convince him to eat breakfast, and assure him that we do have to go to school everyday despite what he says......I had an ordered life.

Before I had to arrive at work at 7:30 and ensure that 15 six year olds were safe, behaving well, and instructed at their instructional level.....I had an ordered life.

Before I had to pick up my two year old at 3:00 despite the amount of lesson planning I did or did not get finished.....I had an ordered life.

Before I had to put Maddox to bed at 7:00 then stay up until 10:00 working on school work (not housework).......I had an ordered life.

Needless to say there has been no cooking or cleaning at my house in the last two weeks.

This blog was inspired by last Thursday morning.
I let Maddox sleep in until 6:20. Because I let him sleep in late, I decided to leave immediately and feed him Chick-fil-a for breakfast.
With his drinkable yogurt in hand we exited the house and the crying began. It escalated when I did not open his drinkable yogurt correctly. He became more agitated when he had to wait on two cars in front of us to pass through the drive through (he was yelling at them, "No, you can't have my juice box.". Then, being the horrible mommy that I am I did not put his chicken mini box on the correct side of his lap.
By the time we arrived at preschool his clothes and car seat were covered in drinkable yogurt and he had not eaten any of his breakfast. I stripped him down to his diaper for him to make his grand entrance to school only to find that he no longer had an extra change of clothes at school (another reminder that I didn't have it together).
I left Maddox in his mismatched, borrowed(from the My School clothing bank)clothes sitting at the puzzle table, crying, and still not eating his breakfast. What a great mom!
I arrive at work 15 minutes late everyday as it is (an exception made for me because of my childcare arrangements), but Thursday I was 25 minutes late!

I HAD an ordered life.

Maddox's Book Club

2008-09-07T17:20:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share a few of Maddox's favorite books from our last trip to the library.

"Mama Don't Allow"
"The Big Red Barn"
"Casey Jones"
"If You Give A Moose A Muffin"
"Song And Dance Man"

His absolute favorite is "Mama Don't Allow" much to my dismay, as it is about gators. I am trying to shield him from as much gator influence as possible.

Lawyers and Tractors

2008-09-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

The newest song in Maddox's repertoire is "Mommas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys." (I don't actually know what the title is.)
So today on the way to school he said, "Momma, do lawyers drive tractors?" I said, "No Maddox, lawyers definitely don't drive tractors."
He replies, "Yes they do momma, lawyers do drive tractors."
O.K. Whatever.

I think somewhere lost in translation was the line...."Let em be doctors and lawyers and such." Some how doctors became tractors and now in Maddox's mind lawyers drive tractors.

Grape Pickin with Wiley

2008-09-01T17:51:00.001-07:00

We had a blast picking grapes with our friend Wiley on Saturday. The boys were really cute and definitely got the hang of it.

More Summer Pics

2008-09-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

Cullen's visit, Trip to Disney with Candace and kids.

Finally Some Pictures

2008-08-31T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. I still do not have a usb, but I have the pics on cd now. Baking cookies with Grandma, Playing soccer with Grandpa, Riding a Pony with Grandpa Dawson, and The Backyardigans Live with Mom.

Last Night at Dinner

2008-08-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Maddox: "Momma were you a baby?"
Me: "Yes Maddox I was a baby."
Maddox "Were you a baby in a manger?
Me: "No,I wasn't a baby in a manger."
Maddox: "I was a baby in a manger."

Oh, the attachment issue!

2008-07-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

So, we have our sweet little cousin Cullen visiting this week while his parents are on their 10th ann. trip. Maddox has had mixed emotions over the added full time play mate. When I dropped him off at school this morning(essential to maintaining his two year old schedule) he was quite upset that Cullen was staying with me. His teachers told me that about 30 minutes after I left he walked up to Ms. Joanne and said "Ms. Joann, Cullen took my mommy away." The child has serious attachment issues.

Farewell to Oprah pending

2008-07-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know...My admiration of Oprah may be on its way out. I'll keep you updated.

Knife in the Heart

2008-07-16T11:19:00.001-07:00

Today at nap time after much bargaining as to what it was going to take for Maddox to be ready to retire (items bargained: milk, pokemon, thomas, and two books) he began crying after about 10 minutes. Apparently none of the afore mentioned items were comforting enough to him. When I reentered the room I told him I loved him but he was not getting out of bed because little boys needed their rest. His response and I quote "No, you don't love me momma." KNIFE IN THE HEART

The Truth According to Maddox

2008-07-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Well until I get a new usb chord stories from M's first two weeks of school will have to suffice.

According to Maddox here are a few things that happened at school this week:

1. He "just cried alot"
2. "sang Jesus loves me this I know for t he Bible tells me so"
3. "sang Veggie Tales Songs, broccoli, celery"
4. "ate pancakes and watermelon"
5. "sat on the bunny"
6. "cried because Ms. Maria opened my powerrangertransformer(he does think it is one word) lunchbox.
7. "said I like peanuts"

What actually happened:

#4 except it was cupcakes and watermelon
#6 except it is just a transformer lunchbox (no representation of power rangers anywhere on it)
#7 they were actually talking about peanuts this week.

I guess I'll have to stick with the famous teacher motto: "If you don't believe everything that your child says happens at school, I won't believe everything he says happens at home." ......except for the first time in my life I am on the other side of the equation.

huh?!

2008-07-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

My sister Betsy has been reading the Narnia series to her boys for the past year or so. She always tells me stories of how their sweet little faces light up as they recognize the Christian symbolism.

Maddox and I have been reading twice as much since we have begun the daunting task of potty training. We are usually sitting there for at least 15 minutes, so tonight I picked the longest book we have..."You Are Special" by Max Lucado. It is a really sweet story about a woodcarver (symbolic for God) and wooden people (us of course). The moral to the story is that you are special because God made you and you don't need any merit to prove you are special to him.

Anyway, Maddox was so good to sit through the whole book and appeared to be fully engaged with his sweet little pensive look. The closing line of the book is " you are special because I made you, and I don't make mistakes.".....I pause and look into his little eyes hoping the book I just read taught him a valuable life lesson. The moment lasted about 2 seconds then he screwed up his face and said "Huh?"

I guess I'll have to wait a few more years to share a spiritual moment with him.

P.S. I'll be posting about his first week of school soon...I want to add pictures and I can't find my usb cord.

Tan you fix me?

2008-07-01T17:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finally got around to Maddox's two year check up. We were escorted to the room by the nurse. He wanted to get right up on the examining table, then he promptly asked the nurse "tan you fix me?". She didn't really hear him so I had to translate.....Apparently the nurse failed at the task because Dr. Kelly was presented with the same question "tan you fix me?" . She did understand the toddler lingo and loved it! She was so impressed by his behavior and his speaking in sentences that he was given a special book for being such a good patient.

Thanks Fwend

2008-06-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

My little Maddy. He can be so sweet....and sometimes he can be NOT so sweet.

Maddox and I set off for Dallas for Candace's wedding last weekend in which I was the matron of honor. I had high expectations for his behavior. That was my first mistake.

(Let me clarify that the bride was well aware I would have my toddler in tow the whole weekend and was completely supportive of it...Candace and I both should have our heads examined)

The Plan....in my head, was for him to hang out with me during the pre wedding activities, graciously letting me perform my "matron of honor" duties and participate in pre wedding photography. During the wedding I pictured him sitting angelically

Maddy had a different agenda. He insisted that I hold him and would LOSE IT every time I would set him down to be in a picture. Needless to say, about halfway through picture taking. I lost it and picked up the phone for HELP.

I am so thankful for all of my friends, but this weekend Heather gets the gold star. As soon as she got my emotional phone call she was there to help. She kept Maddox during the remainder of the wedding until I got to the reception......Despite the fact that Maddox was crying the entire time(except for the 45 minutes that he curled up in her lap and fell asleep) AND informed Heather he did not like her.

Thanks Heather...I hope I can return the favor some day.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

True to his roots

2008-06-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

This morning at the breakfast table .....asking himself a question....Maddox says "What animal do you like?" he replies "Caribou and Armadillo".

True to his Canadian and Texan heritage.

Timmy Timmy He's Our Man

2008-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

This morning we got the phone call that I always looked to receive on Saturday mornings when I was growing up. An invitation to the lake.
My aunt Melinda and uncle Tim have always taken us out on the boat in the summer. Some of my best childhood memories are of trips to the lake with Bets, cousins, and .....if we were really lucky we would get to take friends.
So, this morning when we got the call we packed our swim suits, lathered up in sunscreen and hit the lake. Maddox loved it. As soon as we got on the boat he said Argh....I'm a pirate. He got to tube, swim, and help uncle Tim drive the boat. By the end of the trip uncle Tim was his new favorite....Today we owe all the fun to uncle Tim.

Quote for the morning

2008-05-13T05:11:00.000-07:00

Maddox: "Can I have pizza...... No, we're having oatmeal."

He often likes to answer his own questions :)

Just Like Everyone Else

2008-05-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

Just like the rest of the stay at home moms I know......I have begun blogging to share the life of my child and theoretical other children with my family and friends. My big sister Bets has encouraged me to do this as to never forget all of the daily cuteness that is occuring in my life right now. So, here it is, life with Maddox. Who is a little bit Canadian, a little bit American, and all boy.