Maddy's 1st pedicure!

We had so much fun at Maddy's 1st pedicure.  

Maddy getting ready to go!  She was so excited to be leaving the house.  Had her shoes on in no time flat!  :)  

 Picking out her color

Got it!

 Soaking her feet

 She loved it!

Deciding on which pedicure she wanted!  :)

It would be a lie if I told you she sat nicely the whole time!  

BUT, she did do REALLY good for an active 2 year old!

 This was so funny.....He brought her over there to paint her little nails and she plopped her foot up there!  

Getting ready to blow on them!

Big girl in the chair by herself with finished pretty toes!  (she chose purple!)

p.s. her little legs are scraped up from falling on the jungle gym.

I loved taking her with me and I'm looking forward to doing it many more times in the future!  Girls are so fun!  ;)  

Article about Chris!

  I wanted to share this article that was written and published in the Ft. Riley newspaper about Chris.  I'm happy his hard work hasn't gone unnoticed.  Love him!   (It had a cute picture with it, but I can't get it to download-so just imagine a cute picture of him, and you're set! ;) )




AFFAIRS
Being the first person in his Family to join the military since the Civil War, Staff Sgt.ChristopherCrotts, a Soldier with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion,
28th Infantry Regiment,4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, rose through the ranks in four years. Although the Marine Corps was his first choice, Crotts said he soon decided the Army was a better fit. “I always felt like it was in my blood,” said the Greensburg, Kan., native.
“I always did history reports about the military … soI knew it was something that I wanted to do. I felt like it was my calling.” Crotts said he quickly realized there was more to the Army. As a private, Crotts said he strove to meet and exceed the benchmark set by his first platoon sergeant, and he knew what was expected of him by watching the example his leadership lived by.
“To me, that is the epitome of a noncommissioned officer– striving for excellence inevery aspect,” he said. “Coming into the Army and seeing (that leadership) – that’s what I wanted to be.”
Realizing the Army has no gray area in excellence, Crotts said he soon pushed past his peers and became a leader himself. Within a short time, Crotts served in the positions of team leader, squad leader and now serves as the battalion
retention NCO. Crotts was nominated to become a Sgt. Audie Murphy Club member. The Sgt. Audie Murphy Club is home to the top 1 percent of all NCOs in the Army. To become a member,
the Soldier must be nominated by a member and compete at a tri-level board.
Utilizing his knowledge to help other Soldiers become members, Crotts with the help
of Staff Sgt. Jason Brannan, the staff operations NCO in charge of HHC, 1st. Bn., 28th
Inf. Regt., would have study sessions for nominees during their lunch hour. For this reason, while
Crotts juggled the responsibilities of being the battalion retention NCO, a group of his peers in the Sgt. Audie Murphy Club nominated him for a higher position.
“I was nominated as the president – that says a lot about my ability to adapt,” he
said. With all of the responsibilities on his plate, Crotts said he has never lost his desire to lead
Soldiers. “My career goal is to lead Soldiers into combat, complete our mission and bring everyone
home,” he said. ‘Black Lion’ NCO strives for excellence in military career





 Sgt. Gene A. Arnold | 4TH IBCT Staff Sgt. Christopher Crotts, retention NCO, HHC, 1st
Bn., 28th Inf. Regt., left, discusses possible retention
gifts with Capt. Daniel Hartman, assistant operations
officer, HHC, 1st Bn., 28th Inf. Regt., right.
By Stephanie Hoff

Madeline's Minnie Room Makeover!

I'm so excited to blog about Madeline's room.

I made a birthday banner for Maddy's birthday and fell in love with the zebra, polka dot and pink combination.   I was thinking about re-doing her room, but had decided against it.  After I seen the finished banner, I had to do this!

Yes, I redid her room when we moved into this house.  Problem was that I had her in a toddler bed, so her bedding was toddler sized.  Her walls were a yucky blue, but matched with the bedding so I decided to leave it.  My OCD kicked in and every time I looked at her walls, they drove me crazy.  Also, I had decorated with light pink and owls and while it was super cute, she isn't a light pink type of a little girl.   She is a hott pink, spunky, sassy, wild thing.  Her room just didn't fit her and she was outgrowing her toddler bed.   So- there are my reasons.  ;)  or at least that's what I'm telling myself  (and my husband!)

I'm in love with names in their rooms.  I ordered her name in a vinyl decal.  Spray painted a piece of thin wood black, applied the vinyl, and here ya go!  So simple!!

I love this.  I decided to frame it at the last minute with an old frame I had lying around.  I bought a piece of thicker construction board at hobby lobby, drew circles, added a "real" bow and was finished!  I will admit, I would have loved having the real mickey ears decal-but at $40 a piece, I don't think so.    Doesn't look quite as good as the real thing, but a 2 year old doesn't know that.  :)

Curtains!

I found this zebra valance on Ebay for $5 including shipping!  Steal!  I only hung the black curtains to block out sunlight, so the Minnie lover could sleep at naptime.   As for her name (again!) She had this set in her "old" room painted light pink.  I loved spraying over that boring little color.  ;)

Dresser!  Once again, spray paint!  It was originally white, then was spray painted by my wonderful husband light pink, and then again hot pink!  You would have loved the look on his face when I asked him to do it again.  Thankfully, he did it happily with only a little mumble or two!  

This was so fun, because I HAD TO buy new knobs for her dresser.  When we took them off to paint, a few didn't screw back in, like they were suppose to.  (give a round of applause for cheap furniture!  :) )  I was planning on just getting cheap, boring ones-but happened to be in Hobby Lobby and their hardware was 50% off!   I got these for $1.50 a piece-pretty much the same price as the boring ones!  Happy Lady!

This was another HAD TO buy!  The lighting in our house, well, sucks-for lack of better words.  I scored this sweet lampshade at Dollar General for $5 and the base for $7.  Spray paint saved the day again!  

Her banner from her birthday!  

The mickey ears also have a zebra bow.  ;)  

 Her bedding and rug!  

WILD room for a WILD girl!  

She loves it!  

Madeline Kaye turns 2!

I said my next blog was going to be about her room, and it will be this time!  You might be lucky enough to get two blogs in one day.  Contain your excitement please!

On February 26, Miss Mayhem turned 2!  I know it REALLY cliche' to say, but where did the time go?  I look at her today and can't believe that just two short years ago, I was holding my tiny baby girl-so thankful that she was here and healthy!  (and dressed in pink with a big bow on her head!)  She just amazes me everyday.  She is so loved!  :)

My sweet newborn baby!

Madeline on her 1st birthday

2nd Birthday!

Maddy's loves at age two!

Her daddy-  She cries everytime he walks out the door without her.

Her puppy Sasha-Sasha has been protecting her since she was a baby and continues to this day!  Example:  We had a plumber here fixing our bathtub and of course Maddy was all about the strange man in our home.  She LOVES strangers/men.  Kind of a scary thought actually, and this is something I hope she outgrows soon!!  Aside from that strange fact about her, Sasha was by her side the entire time.  Always between the strange man and Maddy.  We ALL love you, Sasha!

One of my favorite pictures!!

Her brother Mason:  She loves everything about him!  Likes what he likes, does what he does!

Her mommy-  This is a given, right?  :)

Ahh!  I do remember her being this tiny.  Here comes the tears.......

Favorite toys:  MINNIE MOUSE!  Spiderman and "Tommy" (thomas the train)  she also loves feeding her baby and although they aren't "toys" she loves playing with Kherington and Graham during the day...feeding them bottles in particular.  She would make a great big sister, huh?



Favorite Movie:  Jake and the pirates and Toy Story 3

At age two, Maddy can/is:
Count to 10
Sings the ABC's Maddy's rendition.  (she is getting there!)  :)
Somewhat potty trained-When Mads is naked, she is 100% potty trained.  Says she has to go/goes both peepie and poopie.  Has no accidents.  When she has "minnies" on or a pull-up, she has accidents.  Weird child!  But at least she is getting closer everyday.  We will keep her for a few more months I guess, but the diaper money is coming out of her piggy bank!  ;)

She Calls:
towels-superwhys
Underwear-Minnies
Hopefully we can get this changed by 7th grade!

Maddy singing the ABC'S!  (sort of)

More like the X, Y, Z's!  

I love how she says "x" 

A happy room!

Its been awhile.  I have been swamped with endless amounts of craft ideas.  I am finally finishing Masons room and re-decorating Madeline's room.  They have been a project, because I wanted to make and design some of the things I put in them.  I hope that when my children get older-they look back and tell me how much they enjoyed me customizing and hand-making their birthday cakes, rooms, etc.  I love doing it, but I love doing it for them even more.  We finished up Mason's today and the joy and happiness on his face was priceless!  I am not quite done with Maddy's...but close.  Her room will be the next blog and in my opinion---it's cccuuuuuuttteee!!!  Can't wait to blog about it!

I'm very excited to show Masons room.  He is into Toy Story, Thomas and baseball, so I wanted to incorporate all.

I have always loved this quote!  Mason received this louisville slugger bat from Cleveland (and Jess!) when he was just a baby.  It has his name on it. We have had it in storage from moving 3 times and I was happy to get it out of its box and onto his wall.  That little hat is Mason's from when he was a baby.  (it's tiny!)  This saying is a vinyl decal and I just bought some thin plywood-painted it and applied the vinyl!   I love how it all came together.  I'm sure it will be in his room as he is growing up and hopefully this quote can give him inspiration when life sends him troubles.  :)

I guess I haven't finished his room completely.  I still have hopes of taking pictures of Mason and Mads with some superhero gear on.  This quote fit him perfectly, he loves his superheroes, but he also loves playing superheroes with Maddy.   My parents brought a happy birthday balloons for the  M's yesterday.  1 superman and 1 tinkerbell.  Guess which one Maddy wanted.  hmmmm....

One of my favorites.  I loved making this for him!  He loves that his family is on the wall!

Another favorite!  Ok, so they ALL are my favorites...but I do love this project!   We went to "A day out with Thomas" last June.  I already had this shadow box, I kept his ticket and his jr. conductor award. (he he) and that blurry spot is a picture of him from that day.  I also included (and so far he hasn't asked for it!) his very first Thomas toy.

I LOVE this!  If Maddy wouldn't have her name already 3x in her room-she would have a set as well!  These are yarn covered letters!  Beware:  It's really not as easy as it looks.  If you look at them up close, it's kinda a sad sight, but nonetheless, adorable (and different!)

So here is the finish product pictures!  I really did this pretty inexpensive.  Curtains and rug were from Maddy's room makeover-matched perfectly!  I already had the shadowbox, Thomas stuff, and letters.  I love when i can do a fun project, make things myself and love it even more than "store" bought items!

Spoiled!

I admit it, I have spoiled children.  Mainly, because I want them to have things, more than they want them.  In this case, this new toy was definitely for me!  ok, ok, maybe not for ME, but for my sanity.  With all of the snowy days, extremely cold temperatures, days off from school, I was going nuts.  No really, like NUTS!  I realize that we just got back from a major energy reducing trip, but that opened my eyes even more that my kids need things to burn off their crazy amounts of energy.

I went crafting at a friends house the other day, walked downstairs and there stood the best invention ever!  ok, maybe not best invention, but pretty close.  It was an Indoor/outdoor enclosed trampoline for 3-10 year olds.  How cool is that?  My search was on and thankfully rounded one up the following day.  I wasn't even going to take time to think about it.  My sanity was worth any amount of dollar sign anyways!  (it was actually pretty cheap!)

The best part:  They kids have been playing on it non-stop for the last 3 days.  Seriously, they play on it all the time.  Today, Mason grabbed Maddys hand and said "come on Maddy, let's go jump!" (did I mention how much I LOVE having these two close together?)  Mason also told me that I was the "funniest mom"   That alone....worth every penny!!

Can't wait for Spring when they can jump outside, and summer with a sprinkler under it!  FUN!

Who else is spoiled in this house?  

Sasha thinks she is a 5lb lap dog.  

Man, is she LOVED!  sweet girl!

Ok, my turn.  

I wouldn't necessarily say I'm spoiled, because I have been waiting for this camera for about a year.  I've wanted one so bad and just when I thought I would get one, something else would come up, or I would talk myself out of it.  Not today!   Here is my new purchase, and I'm so excited about it.  I have loved photography for a long time.  So get ready; the 100 pics a month I take, might very well turn into 500.  ;)  

This bad boy can take 4 pictures per second!  

Just what I need for my high-energy loves!

Disney Vacation-Day 1!

Day 1 of our WONDERFUL vacation started off at Chef Mickeys!  What a fun way to start the day.  There, we ate breakfast (topped with Mickey Mouse waffles!) and met our favorite disney characters for the 1st time!  It was so neat!  I loved watching all of the kids faces when they came around to our table.  Maddy was REALLY excited to see them and she thought they needed to stay by her and pay attention to her the whole time.  ;)  Her favorite was "Mickey Minnie Mouse"  aka:  Minnie Mouse!  Mason didn't know what to think at first, but was excited to see them as they came around.  I loved watching Grace as well.  That little girl sported a huge smile the entire trip!  Love it! 

The girls in their matching dresses patiently (or for Maddys sake, NOT so patiently) waiting to eat!

Minnie was the 1st character to come over!

Kisses for Goofy!

The gang!

Adorable, huh?

Love these kiddos!

Our next stop:  Disneys Magic Kingdom!

I can honestly say that this place is the most magical place on earth!  I could hardly wait to get in there and to be honest almost cried when we were leaving.   I love the music, parades, atmosphere, food, shopping, fireworks and most importantly the smiles on everyones faces (the women and kids, anyways.  ha!)  Its so fun to see kids so excited about seeing a princess, or Mickey Mouse.  I love the make-believe in all of it.   If I was single and kid-less, you would probably find me working there after this trip!  Seriously..... :)   Or, maybe I can talk Chris into quitting his job-I'm sure there is a need for someone to play Goofy! 

 

One of my favorite pictures!  I love this statue. 

The girls loved the street party!  It was really cool!

Mason could hardly believe his eyes!  He was so excited!

One of Masons favorite rides.  He was so funny though, everytime we got onto a ride he would say:  "I want to go home" or "Let's get in the stroller"  he would never say he was scared.  Ha!  He was a champ and loved them all!

Gorgeous, huh? 

One of the best memories was the fireworks show over the castle.  It was so insanely awesome.  Tinker belle even zip-lined from the top of the castle to the ground to get things started.  We were right under her, and it brought back memories from when I was a little girl.  At that time, they just had a little light fly down-but I just knew that it was really her.  I couldn't wait to see it again and was suprised to see the "real" tinkerbelle fly down.  Awesome!  Awesome trip, Awesome memories!  I'm already starting to save to go back in a couple of years.  Already, can hardly wait! 

                                          Here are a couple of videos from the dance party!  Enjoy!