Christmas Trains & Grandpa

My grandfather collected stuff. Most notably trains. He picked up a lot while in Germany after World War II. He favored the Marklin HO scale trains. I can remember trips to my grandparents house always included a trip to the shed to see what new things grandpa had done to the train set up since the last time we were there - and of course sneaking a coke without grandma or mom knowing. He came to live with us when I was in high school after my grandma passed away. He was grouchy until we cleared a space in the garage for him to set up his trains - ok he was still grouchy after we cleared the space, only just slightly less. We couldn't ever find the train cars that he wanted to purchase (or rather, we couldn't find the train cars that he wanted for the price we wanted to pay for them... the brand he liked was not cheap or easy to find) so we ended up finding him things that he could use for a village/town set up. We wanted to include him & his trains in our Christmas festivities, so we focused on town items that were Christmas specific. Since he has passed, my mom and dad have continued to purchase items to make his Christmas town so we could have our Christmas train have a nice Christmasy town to pass through. After several years of not being put up, my dad had the time to put things together this year. He did a great job - Madi loved it!

Stop growing please!

So it seems like every few weeks I need to purchase pajamas for Madi. I decided that I would give myself at least two months this time and purchased some that were two sizes too big in hopes of not shopping for pjs until at least April.





There are at least 6 inches of pant leg hanging on the bottom, but that will be reduced to at least 4 once they are washed - right? So maybe I won't make it to April afterall...

More craft things...

I am tired of telling Madi "no" when it comes to touching Christmas tree ornaments. So, I decided I would put ornaments on the tree that didn't matter if little people took them off, touched them or ripped them off the tree. We made some snowflakes in two different sizes out of red and white felt. We also made use of the plethora of pinecones that have been collected at our house with some glitter. While I would do a few things different if I were to make these again, I'd say they don't look half bad.

Proud of myself

So, I don't consider myself very crafty. Give me some food, a knife and a few hungry people and I'm a happy camper. Things involving hot glue guns, moss, ribbon, creative cutting equipment - then I start to feel a little overwhelmed and lacking the talent department. I do enjoy doing crafty things, but I wouldn't be starting a new business venture based on my craft skills. Anyway. I have been attempting more crafts lately. Mostly it is driven by the fact that I open catalogs and realize that I am too cheap to purchase the items that I like. (For example the advent calendar that was made for this year...catalog cost - $68, my cost $25) I am very proud of my latest craft attempt because it is not only a heck of a savings from the item I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog, it is useful! Since I am finding it useful, I thought I would share with others. Here's the final product.



Now I have a place to put all those wonderful Christmas Cards!

Picture of the Day

Naps are finally getting better. I guess she wanted it to be really dark. I think I should invest in some curtains that are a little darker rather than worry that she will suffocate. Eh?

The carriage ride that wasn't.

While visiting family we went to see the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. There are carriages that take people around the square for a fee. On our way to the entrance to see the lights, Madi was very excited to see these carriages. So when we got home and I found out that the District at Green Valley Ranch was offering short FREE carriage rides, I thought I had struck gold. We ventured over there yesterday afternoon as part of our advent calendar activities. Madi refused to get on the carriage. So we settled for an elephant on the carousel.



and a family picture in front of one of their huge Christmas trees. (Madi is trying to get away for another ride on the carousel.)

Santa...take 1

Does someone know why we do this to our children? That is, subject them to sitting on some crazy white-haired, red suit wearing stranger? If you really think about it, it is kind of strange, so we shouldn't be too hard on our kids when they have a healthy degree of stranger danger...

Conversations with Madi...

This morning I was greeted by Madi:

"Good morning mom. This is my crazy dad."

Such an observant child.

A few days ago, I was talking to my sister on the phone. Madi took the phone from me and began to talk to her. After saying hello to my sister, she said:

"This is my friend mommy."

I hope that we stay friends for a long time despite the terrible twos and other years.

Christmas crafts...

This year for Christmas, (- yes, I know it isn't even past Thanksgiving yet) I have been trying to think of ways to give nice gifts without heafty price tages. I know that a lot of people are trying to do the same, so I thought I would share what we were able to come up with. I saw this advent calendar in the Garnet Hill catalog. I don't have $68 to spend on it but thought it was a great idea. So we came up with our homemade version...






I wouldn't recommend doing this with your kids unless they are older.

Now all I have to do is fill all the buckets. Any suggestions: items to put in the bucket, things to do as a family that cost little money, things to read as a family...

Happy Halloween!

I was surprised to discover that Madi wanted to wear her costume. During its construction, she threw a fit when we tried to measure it or try it on her. She even wanted me to paint her face - and she held still for me to put two french braids in her hair! She wanted her nose painted too, so I let her do that part all by herself.



I told her clowns make people laugh. She thought that if she laughed that would make others laugh. Smart kid because it worked - even if it was a fake laugh.



Dancin to "Ghostbusters" at our church Trunk or Treat. In the car on the way home, she reminded us that we were to call, "Ghostbusters!"



Round two of Halloween was spent trick or treating with some friends in their neighborhood. She even wanted to wear her costume again.



Now to just get rid of all the candy so I can stop making her cry by telling her she has to eat something healthy before she has any more candy...

Things that have been keeping us busy...

We have been keeping ourselves rather busy lately. We decorated pumpkins from the farm we visited at Grandma & Grandpa's.



And we took advantage of $1/pint raspberries! My personal favorite...raspberry jam.

The Farm

While visiting grandma and grandpa we went to a farm to check out the pumpkins and the animals. Here are a few pictures of our trip...

Shoes...

My dad served a mission for our church in Japan when he was younger. One of the many things he brought home was a cute little kimono with a beautiful obi and matching shoes. Madi had a great time trying to walk in them. My dad tried to tell her what they were called to which Madi responded, "No grampa, shoes."

What we've been up to...

We've not been up to much excitting, but we did go to the park this last week. It is still blazing hot outside so thank goodness they still have the water features still on. Madi was trying to duck to get away from the water...should I tell her that it doesn't always work or let her figure it out on her own?



The ground is made out of squishy material that is endlessly facinating to kids (and big kids alike). It makes for fun noises and less hassle when they slip and fall.

Dad has cool toys too you know...

And now Madi knows too...

Waiting for Guffman...aka dad

This morning the weather has not broken 100 degrees (which is perfectly fine by me!) so we had the door open to the patio. I came inside to do something and realized that it was quiet. (Cue the retrieval of the camera because this is an indication that she is doing something camera worthy or time out worthy...)


After I took her picture she informed me that she was waiting for daddy. Ok Madi, you wait all you want.

Misser Tater Head

One of Madi's friends gave her a Mister Potato Head. This one has so many more parts than I remember him ever having! Still included are the glasses...


and no I did not ask her to do this because I thought it would make a cute picture. If you look closely, you can see that she is going cross-eyed to look through the holes.

Birthday number 2

So last year for Madi's birthday we went to a Mexican restaurant. We had a great time, so we thought we would make it a tradition. Somehow this year didn't go over as well as last year. She wanted nothing to do with the big birthday hat or the singing...(I know this picture looks like something out of a dream sequence but we realized that Madi had gotten hold of the camera and put her fingerprints on the lens. At least it was an inexpensive fix.)



The cupcake was a big hit (sans candles...of course. I guess it is a good thing that my kid doesn't like fire at this point in her life and mine.)



The presents seemed to go over well this time around as well.





We can hardly believe that Madi is two! Time has flown by. We love our little Ms. Independent.

A week with Grandma

Madi was able to have her grandma stay with her this week. Grandma got to join us for all sorts of fun things. So many fun things in fact that we neglected to take pictures of them! One of the fun things we got to do was go to the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens.


We got to celebrate Madi's birthday with Grandma while she was here. Madi wasn't too thrilled with the idea of a birthday party, until she realized that it meant she got to eat a birthday cupcake. She didn't like the candles or the singing - or the idea of presents at first.





Thanks for a fun visit Grandma!

The Ongoing War...

The battle over rest continues at the Nelson house. Madi has resulted to a laundry list of concerns or problems when put in her crib. Some of the items on her laundry list include:

1 - I dropped my milk
2 - I dropped my bear/blanket/book/etc
3 - More Milk/chocolate milk/water
4 - I pooped (yes, she does say this...)
5 - I just need my diaper changed
6 - All done sleeping (sounds more like sweeping...but those "l"s are hard sounds to make...)

This afternoons battle was a hard fought but ultimately futile effort on her part. I have gotten to the point that I stop listening to whatever it is she dropped or needs if she is screaming. When she finally calmed down enough to sleep I went in to check on her. I realized as I walked in exactly what she had been saying...



"I dropped my bear, I dropped the milk, I dropped the duck..." you get the picture. At least she is telling the truth...she did drop all the things she said she did.



I guess she ran out of things to throw out of her crib and just gave up. Hopefully she will soon learn that sleep really would be best. Then again she has both parents stubborn influence. Boy are we in for trouble...

Family Outing with Friends

It has been rather hot here in the desert. (*I know, "imagine that"...) Saturday morning we decided to beat the heat and head for the hills. We ended up heading to Mount Charleston for a picnic. We got a late start but got to clean out our Fridge for sandwiches. I'd call that a good day despite the bad tempered toddlers and light rain showers. Here are a few pictures of our outing.

Here is the beginning of our trip...with both kids happy and in the very back of the car. (Smart idea dad!)



Here is our little hiker. This kid wanted to climb all the way to the top of this mountain path. I was impressed.



Here is the path from the bottom.



Pudding or dirt...?



Both kids finally fell asleep in the back of the car on the way home. Brad would slow down and both their heads would bob forward and snap back into place. I didn't get a picture of it...although I wish I had.

110 degrees...no problem...

These pictures make 110 degrees a little easier to live with...





My brain is fried so I have no whitty captions...

San Diego Zoo & Grandma's house

We decided to spend Independence Day Weekend at Grandma's house. We all had a good time. We were able to go to the San Diego Zoo. It was good weather and that not too many other people had the same idea as us, so the zoo wasn't that crowded. Here are a few shots of the day...




We were a little busy making sure that she didn't walk into people or cross under the railings and such to remember to take pictures of her looking at the animals, so we had a photo shoot when we had lunch.

After a very long day, Madi decided that Grandpa made the best bed and fell asleep. Grandpa decided that he had a long day and the best thing for him to do was fall asleep too.