Before/After

On Tuesday November 23, @ 9:30am we headed over to one of my friends houses to do something NO ONE else knew we would be doing ... NOT EVEN DADDY who was outta town ... hehehe!

These are the RESULTS-

BEFORE:AFTER:{i didn't get a DURING because I was holding him}

BEFORE:DURING:AFTER:BEFORE:DURING:AFTER:

I am ABSOLUTELY in love with how Handsome and Beautiful all my kids look!!!
Emma has ALWAYS wanted "short hair like Mommy", and I have always wanted to do it, but just never have.
I finally did it and we both agree ... "WE LOVE IT!!"
Now she ACTUALLY asks to get her hair done in the morning and doesn't fight me!!
{I am so proud of her too ... EVERY TIME someone has commented on her new hair cut she politely says, "THANK YOU!!"
I didn't even talk to her about that!
I am just so proud at what a Little Sweetie I have been blessed with!}


We didn't tell ANYONE about our little seceret until they SAW us!!
I just LOVE SECERETS!!!!
{Sorry Ashley and Luis, you'll see it here first and not in person}

B-Y-U

Yes, I know I have many friends who probably saw the name of this post and just wanted to CRINGE!!!

Oh well!

We went, we cheered, we had a good time, and yes, we WON!!!!

We went on a Mommy, Daddy, & Zachary Date.

Zach loved watchin' "Baseball" with us!

{yes, that's what he called it before, the whole time we were there, and ever since. No matter what I tell him it was "Baseball"}

My Boys:

Enjoyin' his FOOD of Choice:

The 3 of us:
Yes, it was cold.
So, we bundled up and enjoyed sipping HOT CHOCOLATE!

No, he NEVER stopped sipping until it was GONE!

It was so fun to hang-out with the Boys!!

I love Zach's personality.

-He would Dance to all the music being played

-Loved doing all the cheers, 2 seconds after everyone else

-His eyes would light up with excitement and worry everytime everyone would cheer REALLY loud for some play

-He is such a chatter box, especially when he doesn't have anyone to compete with

-He REALLY wanted to go on the field and play with the "baseball"

We love you Zachary, thanks for hangin' out with us!!!!

Aprons, Aprons ...

... Who's got the Aprons??!!!

I do, I do, I DO!!!!

We had so much FUN?!?! sewing aprons this month!

Yes, that is a question ... It was a much more complicated pattern, but somehow we made is through it and most people even FINISHED!!

That is truely a

Thanksgiving Miracle!!

I sewed:They Sewed:She & She Sewed:And Yes, even Phoebe sewed:Megan ...

Well, she came to play with the kids and be our MORAL SUPPORT!Look how GIDDY she is!

She finished 1st Place ... GrrrrHere's the 2nd runner up

{Although I think she may be the TRUE winner since she STARTED and FINISHED her apron upon arriving at Jennie's! Charisse did get a mini head start at home.}

And the 3rd runner up is:

{Take note of her BOW, she spent like 15 min. tying the blasted thing before she would allow us to take a picture.}

And yes, I came in 4th and 5th for the night:

{sporting both my apron}

{and Megan's that I sewed for her}Sew, Maybe I am the TRUE winner finishing 2 aprons in 1 night!!!

{Mom finished 2 as well, but I did 1st, hehehe}

And because Dave Seeew wants to join in all the fun, he even made an apron:

Now that this apron is DONE,

I LOVE IT!!!!

I will have to admit, amongst all the sewing, unpicking, sewing, ruffelling, sewing, unpicking, unpicking, & unpicking I wanted to DIE!

But it's such a fun apron to wear, I would just MODIFY the pattern to MY liking next time and it would be so much easier ...

Don't worry, there will ALWAYS be another Apron to make!!!!

Field Trip --- #3

To the:

FAMILY FUN CENTER!!!

This was one of the most fun field trips.

It was full of suprises and lots of treats!

First every kids got to bowl twice, and then we got to go behind the bowling pins and see how all that works. It was very interesting for me to watch the pins fall and be set back up.Then we toured through the arcade games, mini-golf, and laser tag.

We were then treated to a spoonful of ice cream ... YUMM-O!Then it was off to the kitchen to watch them make a pizza and feel how cold the BIG box fridge and freezer can be.

After the pizza was cooked we all got to ENJOY!!!We were then treated to the bouncey toys and the wall-to-wall trampolines.

The kids enjoyed the bounce houses and race-bouncey toy.

I enjoyed bouncing on the wall-to-wall trampolines, but Emma was not such a fan.

It was such a fun-filled field trip ...... Until next time!!!

Buzz & Woody

I love PAJAMAS and I think I am passing my LOVE onto my sweet children!

We were passing by the little boy section when Zachary and I spotted these delightful jammies and couldn't pass them up!!

{partly because of their $8 price}

The minute we got home Zachary insisted we put on the "WOODY" jammies --- PRONTO!
CUTE!!
I love it when he puts these jammies on and runs around insisting we call him
"Buzz or Woody"
There's a snake in my BOOT ... Too infiniti and BEYOND!!!

FYI --- This little boy is POTTY TRAINED!!

I never new it could be this easy!!!

Field Trip --- #2

Black Island Farms

This field trip was supposed to be before Halloween, but due to crappy weather it was post-poned until November 2nd.

It was a PERFECT day to be out and about enjoying the crisp, fall weather!

Here's Emma with her friend Saimie:

I took Zachary along on this field trip because Black Island Farms is a FUN place, but EXPENSIVE ... normally!

On this field trip it was CHEAP, so along came Zachary!

Here he is with his cute PUMPKIN:Here's Emma with her PUMPKIN:The whole pre-school:After picking pumpkins, the kids got to PLAY.

They had some really cute things to play on and my kids enjoyed it all!

Happy Fall, Y'all

My Life as I know it ...

I have had MANY people comment to me in the last lil' while about my blog.

They have talked about what a FUN life I must have & that it must be WONDERFUL to live at the Madsen's!

{or something similar}

I'm not going to say it's not WONDERFUL to live at the Madsen's ...

But I am here to tell ya, we aren't PERFECT!!!

{i know shocker}
We are:

just PERFECTLY in LOVE!!!

Now I know that may sound REALLY cheesy, but it's how I feel about life right now. We have been through MANY struggles in the last 2 years. Not easy at all, but things I wouldn't want to trade. We have our trials, struggles, difficulties, bad days, and heart breaks just like EVERYONE else! I just choose NOT to be public about them ... at least not very often!!!

Almost 2 years ago, our life of easy going came CrAsHiNg down!

{much like the economy}

It has NOT been easy sailing since then, but we are making it and LEARNING.

{isn't that what matters most!}

Alan IS the man of my dreams!!! He has PROVIDED for our family doing EVERYTHING and ANYTHING!!
I have such a greater & deeper respect for him because of the trials we have faced together ... I LOVE HIM, ETERNALLY!

Our family life is FUN .. YES, very fun!

Having fun together is what I LOVE to document, cause it's what I want to remember and it's what I strive for my kids to REMEMBER!!

I DO have bad days, but those days are put in prospective because I have KIDS!!

Kids are not easy, but as EVERYONE would agree ...

THEY ARE ALL WORTH THE EFFORT!

I wouldn't trade the days full of tantrums, sassy-ness, dis-obeying, frustration, moodiness, name calling, monday blue-ness, & whinning {amongst the many other things} for ANYTHING ... ANYTHING!!!

{I am writing this on a very GOOD day!!!}

Life is HARD!!!

I am not going to preach that it isn't ...

I have 3 kids who are YOUNG, I loose my patience.

But these 3 kids forgive me ... all the time!!!

It's hard to go all day without talking to another adult person,

and then have my husband rush home just to leave again to fulfill a calling ...
I do get upset in the moment, BUT in prospective I wouldn't want it
ANY OTHER WAY!!!

These kids are what my life is ALL about NOW!! They won't be young FOREVER ... At least that's what EVERYONE says!?!

Sometimes I feel like a SLAVE!!!

... Then I just realize I am their MOM!!

... and I really don't want them to GROW-UP!!!

We have had MANY things put into prospective for us through our job loss.

The only thing that really matters is OUR FAMILY!

That's what I strive to tell myself on the good days and the HARD days!I love 'em and want them

F.O.R.E.V.E.R.!!!