Yardwork: It's A Family Affair!

This past weekend, Jeremy and I, along with my brother and the Madore-ables did some yard work at my Mom's house. It was a family affair and we all had a great time...even the girls. (Which I have to say now that they WANTED to help), so we accomadated for them of course!

Sarah understands the importance of getting the tools set up to do the job.

Sarah directing us where to dump the piles

Jenn: "Where do we go Sarah?"

Sarah: "Over there Daddy!"

Samantha loading up the wheel barrow




Off to dump the piles of bark mulch to Daddy and Uncle Chris.

Playing peek-a-boo

After a long afternoon of slave labor, we decided it was ok for the Madore-ables to play some hide and seek.

Even after a long afternoon of yard work and bark mulch, Daddy still had energy to run around with his girls.

Oh The Funny Things Kids Will Say

Taken from a conversation Samantha had with Jeremy recently:

"Daddy, I think you should stay a boy since you've already turned into one"

Memorial Day 2011

"Freedom of speech and freedom of action are meaningless without freedom to think. And there is no freedom of thought without doubt" ~ Bergen Evans

Thank you to those who have served and have given up so much so that we may not only have the freedom to think but the freedom to LIVE.

Thank you to those who fought the ultimate price for me so that I may get to see this:

and this

Maga Doo Doo?

When Sarah woke up this morning, and after she was changed I brought her downstairs. She was pointing to things and asking "What's that?" to some various things that were in the living room.



Next thing we knew, Sarah was really excited and shouted out "MAGA DOO DOO" and proceeded to reach over and pick up:

"Maga Doo Doo" (a.k.a Magna Doodle) Of course!

Oh The Cute Things Kids Will Say

As I may have mentioned, Jeremy and I have found a new fun past-time:

"Words With Friends" a.k.a online Scrabble.

Every time I play during the daytime, Sarah gets really excited.

Why?

Because, Sarah LOVES to shout out letters that are on the board.

"MOMMY! Look at all the ABC's!"

Five Things Friday

Five Things That Made Me Smile This Past Week:

1. The weather this week has been just awesome. Kid tested and mother approved as my favorite breakfast cereal slogan states. The sun has been out the last 3 days in a row and the Madore-ables and I have frequented many trips to the playground. Last night, Jeremy, the girls and I decided to do a dinner time picnic at the playground. It was nice to enjoy the fresh air while we ate, and see the girls running around. We are just weeks away from Summer time, but this is certainly a welcomed sight!





2. This past week, I had separate dates with both of the Madore-ables. On Monday, Samantha and I took a tour of the local community television studio. The editing room and the sound board room were a little over Samantha's head, but when it came time to look at the television cameras, Samantha pipes up with, "Mommy! These cameras have view finders just like our cameras!" Only Samantha :) Samantha also was able to learn what "Green Screen" was, and boy did she get a big kick out of that. Then we went to visit Daddy at work and snagged a small bag of pretzels. On Tuesday, Sarah and I did a exploration with magnets activity with the FCC. She had a great time "fishing" for magnetic fishies in the big tub. Afterwards, Sarah and I picked up lunch and went to go visit Daddy again at work. It was nice to have a break from the monotony.





3. My fabulous husband was able to fix the brakes on my car. The only benefit to having the car parked for 3 weeks in our driveway was the fact that I didn't have to fill the gas tank. So everything is running well and smoothly. Now to get rid of the pock marks in my windshield so I can get my inspection sticker.





4. Jeremy and I have both found our new obsession: "Words with Friends" which is essentially the game of Scrabble on our iPad. LOVE this game. We've even joined in on some games with friends too.



5. Our photography business is going to be extremely busy this year. Right now, we have 8 weddings lined up for the 2011 season. We're so excited! Feel free to view our website. http://www.capturedinmoments.com/

Oh The Sweet Things Kids Will Say

So this morning when Sarah woke up, the first words out of her mouth (other than the usual big hugs and the always very sweet "good morning Mommy!") was how hot it was in her room. Seeing that Boston is facing some warm temperatures today and for the next few days, I thought it might be a good idea to take out some Summer'y clothing. Sarah saw a really pretty coral colored sun dress and decided that is what she wanted to wear today. When we put it on, she announced to me in the most sincerest of voices:

"Oh Mommy! I look so byoo-full!"


Oh Sarah, you have no idea how beautiful you truly are...but you don't need a sun dress to make you beautiful, you do it all on your own with your laugh and your smile.

And that is why we love you.

Oh The Funny Things Kids Will Say

Recently, Jeremy was writing something that included some exclamation points at the end of the sentence.

So, Samantha decided she wanted to write down some letters and include some exclamation points at the end of her sentences too.

"Look Daddy! I just wrote down some question points!"

Oh The Funny Things Kids Will Say

(On Samantha blowing her nose recently)

"Daddy! My boogies are buried like a treasure chest!"

Five Things Friday

Five Things That Really Made Me Smile This Past Week

1. The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer has come and gone. What an amazing experience. 2,300 participants all in one place. This might seem a little overwhelming and crazy to some people, but honestly, we're all in it for the same reason: to raise money for breast cancer research and to help those who can't afford treatment. The weather was perfect on Saturday, and was pretty Sunday up until just before we crossed the finish line. I raised $3,300 this year and as of last night, I've registered for the 2012 walk! (For those of you who are interested, I'm still accepting donations for the 2011 walk: www.avonwalk.org/goto/jennifer.madore).



2. After coming home from walking 39.3 miles, I came home to Jeremy and my Madore-ables to a very unexpected surprise. Jeremy called it a "Micro-surprise party": a party for 4 and it involved balloons and cake. What more could I ask for? I blogged about it on Monday, but if you missed it, click here.



3. I had a moment yesterday morning where I actually stopped and thought for a moment how I love to be excited in the small things. Samantha has really become interested in letters, and their pronounciation. She's especially become interested in writing her letters down, including her name. I was getting ready for work, and Samantha was using crayons to write her name down on a piece of paper. When she yelled out, "MOMMY! I WROTE MY NAME!" she sounded so excited that I just had to go and see for myself what she wrote. Sure enough, she wrote the perfect "S", "A", and "M". The excitement in Sam's voice matched the big smile on her face. I was not only proud of Sam, but I was also excited that she was proud and excited of what she had just accomplished. I seriously wish I could have captured that smile on camera. If you had asked me 10 years ago, I probably wouldn't be as excited. It warmed my heart beyond words can say.



4. Sarah is speaking so well these days. She's saying crazy sentences like "Hmmm, that's delicious!", "Mommy, let's make Jell-o...purple Jell-o maybe?" and "Mommy, I'm tired". She gives out the most amazing bear hugs and "I love you's" too.



5. Yesterday after work, I went grocery shopping. When I came home, I think my girls were more excited to help me want put the groceries away then they were to actually see me home from work. Of course, they were excited at the fact that I picked up applesauce, and waffles, but again, anybody think it was Christmas when they saw that I bought some new boxes of Jell-o.

Our Energizer Bunnies

It's very interesting to see how different the Madore-ables personalities are.

Sarah has no problem going into the toy room and start playing with toys by herself.

Samantha prefers to have company and would rather help in the kitchen than play in the living room.

The girls have many things in common, but one specific thing is: they like to talk. A lot.

Both girls however are go go go from the time they wake up in the morning until the time they lay their heads down on their pillows at night. However, there is one thing that can keep Samantha quiet, sitting down and entertained for at least 10 minutes.

Can you guess what that is?

Jeremy downloaded the app onto the iPad, and now Samantha has a field day (no pun intended) harvesting cranberries, tomatoes, squash, cotton and the latest is rye. Sam LOVES it. Jeremy will "plant" crops at night so that they are ready to "harvest" by dinner time the following day. We don't tell what Sam will be harvesting. It's a sort of surprise from day to day.

There is nothing like quiet and free entertainment...even if it lasts for a few minutes.

C'Mon Mother Nature...Bring On the Puddles!

I think Mother Nature doesn't like New England.

She's decided to give us clouds and rain all this week.

Yes, all this week

How nice of her.

I need to find some entertainment for this week, otherwise I'm going to be seriously outnumbered.

I need to keep positive.

At least there will be plenty of rain puddles, right?

My Micro Surprise Party

What a weekend.

It was fun.

It was exhausting.

It was emotional.

It was challenging.

It was all worth it.

I will post a larger post with more photos and details later on, but for now here is a photo of my favorite part of the weekend: coming home to Jeremy and my Madore-ables and finding this:

The best surprise party I have had in a long time : )

Complete with pink and white balloons, and cake!

I luv you Jere, Sam & Sarah...you are my foundation and my support.

I couldn't do it without you.

The Big Pink Weekend!

Guess what I'm doing this weekend?

I'll give you a hint...

No? Need another clue?

Here you go

No? Ok, well I have one more






This is the BIG weekend! As you're reading this, I will already be on the road. I'll begin my journey at the University of Massachusetts Boston campus and end today down in Canton, Massachusetts at the Reebok Headquarters. Then we'll make our way back tomorrow.

Saturday is 26 miles and Sunday will be 13 miles. That's a marathon and a half in the span of 2 days.

It's not too late to donate! Feel free to visit my personal page:
www.avonwalk.org/goto/jennifer.madore

Feel free to find Charlie's Angels on Facebook ("Team Charlie's Angels")

or our Avon website www.avonwalk.org/goto/charliesangels






I thank you for all of your prayers and your support!!!

Five Things Friday

Five Things That Made Me Smile This Past Week

Exploring, Frolicking & Playground Fun!

Now that warmer weather is coming, we've been increasing our trips to the playground. We let the Madore-ables have their fun, and the camera just does the rest.

Samantha is airborne!

Sarah insisted on pushing me on the swing

Right after Jeremy shot this, Samantha announced that "Dandelions smell funny"

This is just a tree that fell over by the lake

"Where's Daddy? There he is!"

Oh The Funny Things Kids Will Say

(A recent conversation between Samantha & Sarah during playtime).


Samantha: Oh no Sarah! How will I get you to the other side [of the mountain?]


Sarah: Don't worry Sammy! I have sticky tape! I'll help you!



(Can you tell my children LOVE Dora the Explorer?)

Oh The Funny Things Kids Will Say

An actual conversation with Samantha:

Samantha: Mommy, if I put my toy on the moon then it would get really dusty and dirty!

Me: That's right Sam.

Samantha: Mommy, if I put my toy on the sun, then it would get burned and melt and get all yucky!

Oh It's Love

I'm in love.

These girls are the most sweetest, thoughtful girls anyone could ever ask for.

Sure, they test my patience on a continuous basis, but what child doesn't?

It's not always fruit snacks and sunshine at house of Madore-able...

But we always have love.

There is always room for hugs and kisses.

And love.

Happy Mothers Day!

I remember as a child reading the Sunday comics in the newspaper. Family Circus was always one of my favorites. It wasn't until I had children of my own that I truly understood what the comic really meant. So, I'm going to do my own It's Apparent You're A Parent segment.

This is dedicated to all the Mommies of the world, and especially to all the stay at home Mommies.

It's Apparent You're A Parent If:

(and yes, all of these have happened to me at one point)

1. You constantly have the "Dora The Explorer" theme (or insert any children's theme song here) in your head.






2. You constantly talk in the 3rd person.






3. You can carry heavy babies on your hip all while wearing high heeled shoes.






4. "Sleeping in" on the weekend means waking up at 8.






5. The sweetest words you'll hear during the day is "Hi Mommy, I love you".






6. You stick the key in the ignition even when you don't have your child/children with you, and the sounds of Laurie Berkner blast through the speakers.






7. Kisses can make everything feel better






8. You realize your mother was right all along....darn it! (Ha ha)






9. You find yourself saying or doing things that your Mom used to do or say, and you vowed you would never EVER do that.






10. You can multitask (i.e - hold a conversation on the telephone, make lunches, and monitor what's going on around you all the while getting lunch on the table within 30 seconds of starting it.)






11. The sight of poop, puke and drool don't even phase you anymore.






12. 5 minutes of "Peace" means 2 minutes of using the bathroom by yourself and 3 minutes to check your email and Facebook messages.





13. You find mysterious things in your purse like a can of tuna, or a box of macaroni and cheese or your shoes are found in the bottom of the bathtub.




14. You spend an hour cleaning all of the windows or the kitchen floor and they're dirty within a few hours. (Dirty windows can be trendy, right?)




15. You could have had 2 hours of sleep and that one smile or that one "Hi Mommy!" makes you just melt.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!!

Wedding Preparations : The Weekend Is Here!

Well, the weekend we have been waiting for has finally arrived! My sister in law and my future brother in law are getting married tomorrow.

Samantha is going to play the part of the flower girl, and I am honored to be the Matron of Honor :) Jeremy (and our friend Jeremiah too) will be photographing the big event, so I am sure at some point, I'll be posting photos of the Madore-ables.

Samantha has been practicing so very hard this past week on being the flower girl. She's so excited about wearing her dress (she's asked me 4 times total in the last 24 hours when can she wear it).

Here are some photos of her practicing this past week. (Mind the spaghetti sauce stain on her shirt).

HOORAY!

(I should point out that Samantha was nervous at first. She was upset at because she didn't want to make a mess at the church. She soon recovered when we told her that this was "a fun mess". Samantha decided she needed more practicing).

Congratulations to Paul & Jessica!!

Five Things Friday

Five Things That Made Me Smile This Week:

1. This week we've been preparing for my sister in law's wedding up in Maine. Samantha has been practicing very hard for her role as flower girl. This also marks the beginning of a busy wedding photography season for our photography business as well. Looks like cloudy skies are forecasted, and rain later on in the afternoon. Overcast skies are perfect for photographs and rain is good luck for a wedding.





2. Samantha has really been practicing writing her letters and her name and she's doing a fantastic job. She's also sounding out words and putting phonetics together. For example, Samantha saw that I use Yahoo for my email and she wanted to know how to spell "that" word. So she took a few minutes and discovered that the word was "Yahoo".





3. 8 more days to go before my Avon Walk. I'm SO close to hitting my personal goal. I've been looking at photos from my walk last year and watching videos on youtube of other people who have walked and let's just say the butterflies and the excitement is there! There is still time to if you haven't already. www.avonwalk.org/goto/jennifer.madore No amount is too small! My team, Charlie's Angels to date has raised almost $62,000 and as of right now, we are part of the Top 10 teams for rasing the most amount of money!!!





4. The girls and I spent a lot of time outside this past week. We were given a pair of rain boots from a friend of a friend and we bought a pair of boots for Samantha for Easter. I'm so glad that even a few rain puddles don't scare the girls away. They LOVE to jump and splash around!




5. I wore a pair of shorts earlier in the week and they were actually too big! HOORAY for weightloss!!

Dear Sarah (29 Month Update)

Dear Sarah,

Today you are 29 months old. You're just one month away from officially being 2 1/2 years old. You're growing up so much and so fast.

You're speaking in complete sentences now. Even if Mommy and Daddy don't understand what you're saying at first, you always find a way to communicate what it is you want or need.

You're doing a great job at your letters, numbers and your colors too. Your favorite past times are play doh and crayons. You're even paying attention to Samantha while she's writing her letters and even attempt to write letters on your own. Granted, they're scribbles, but they are the most beautiful scribbles we've seen to date.

You're very observant, especially in the car. You let Mommy know when there's a yellow school bus, or a trash truck or even balloons in the area. They're doing some road work down the street from us, and you've been very helpful to let Mommy know when the bull dozer is driving by, or when the police officer is directing the traffic. (Mommy can see that stuff already, but it's always helpful to have a 2nd pair of eyes).

Mommy and Daddy especially love the big bear hugs you've been giving us. You always begin the day off on the right foot by saying, "Good morning Mommy/Daddy!" The hugs and "I love you Mommy/Daddy's" are very nice too. You don't give the 2 second hugs either, you give the 10 second, I'm not going to let go for awhile type of hugs.

Thank you for continuing to make Daddy and I laugh. Thank you for laughing and giggling when you're not throwing your tantrums. Maybe by next month, we can learn what the word "no" means. I know it's sometimes frusterating, but we need to learn our big girl words because sometimes Mommy and Daddy don't understand those high pitched screams.

Always remember we love you. We're so proud of you and what you've become. Daddy and I look forward to seeing what milestones are next to accomplish in your life. Thank you for reminding us that even something as simple as putting on a pair of rainboots and dancing around the kitchen and the living room is all you need to just laugh.

We love you sunshine,

Love always,

Mommy & Daddy

This is what you looked like one year ago in May 2010

This is what you look like today in May 2011

Dear Samantha (46 Month Update)

Dear Samantha,


Yesterday you turned 46 months old. Mommy feels awful for not posting this update yesterday, so I apologize a hundred times. We have a lot going on this month though, don't we?



You're going to be 4 in a few months, and with being 4 means big responsibilities for such a big girl! You love to help Mommy out in the kitchen, and love to just help in general. Your heart is as big as your smile. Let's try to work on being just as excited to clean up the 'toy-nado' that's in the living room every day.



In just a few days, you're going to be in your Aunt Jessica's wedding as a flower girl. You should be very proud of yourself as you've been practicing really really hard this past week here at home. It's really cute to see that you're so excited to wear your dress and your shoes that you wear to church.



You're also getting excited about starting school. While Daddy and I haven't decided on where you'll be attending school, we've begun the process. You've been doing a great job at writing your letters and you're even spelling your name with crayons and sidewalk chalk too. Daddy and I are so excited that you're excited for this new chapter in your life. Just remember we're so proud of you.



Daddy and I bought an iPad a few weeks ago and we don't know who loves it more, you or Daddy. You do a great job with helping Daddy run the farms and planting crops on Farmville Daddy downloaded an application onto the iPad where you can play the piano. You're learning to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It makes Mommy and Daddy think about the things that you will do when you're older. Will you take piano lessons and be a famous pianist? Will you take soccer lessons and be the next Mia Hamm? Already you're talking about what you want to be when you grow up. Just do us a favor, don't get there too quickly.

Thank you for all of your help here at home. You take after your Daddy and putting so much effort into something. Remember to take time to play and have fun too.

We love you so much Sam.

Love always,

Mommy & Daddy

This is what you looked like one year ago in May 2010

This is what you look like today in May 2011

My Little Red Wagon

About 25 years ago, my grandparents gave me a shiny, new, red wagon.

Today, the wagon is still red, but it's no longer shiny or new.

That doesn't seem to bother the Madore-ables.

I think they had fun, don't you?