Thursday, January 29, 2009

A snow day...

Yesterday was a snow day for me. There was no school, therefore, no work! I love snow days, especially when Frank is off too. We get to spend the whole day together, and now we have a beautiful daughter to spend it with. She really makes it the most fun. She is always doing something new and funny, and being home all day, i get to capture it on photo and on video!



Sometimes she gets very camera shy, and she has learned to "sniff" out the camera no matter where you hide it at. I've tried hiding it behind pillows, way far to each side, below her, abover her, even behind me! Nope, she always finds it and stares at it, and she doesn't like to smile for the camera for some reason. Does this mean i don't have a model on my hands?

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Laughter lives Tuesday...

Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.
Laughter LivesThis post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.


Today's edition of laughter lives tuesday comes brought to you courtesy of Madylinn and Frank. It all went down on Saturday night. All three of us were in the living room downstairs. We noticed that Mady's diaper was a little ripe, and she needed a change. We all moved into the computer room to change her...and yes, sometimes it's a team effort with us. Frank opened up her diaper and she had pooped pretty good, and she wasn't done. If you think you know where THIS is going, i think you'll be a bit surprised. He waited until he thought she was done pooping, and, with wipe in hand, he went in for the wipe. He got 1 wipe in and then it happened...she wasn't completely done pooping after all, but she had to fart too! It was kind of like a cannon. It's hard for me to say exactly what the scene looked like immediately after that moment, or for the next few minutes for that matter, because i was on the floor laughing so hard my eyes were watering. That was our first explosion, and i'm sure it won't be our last.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Congrats Maria and Joe!!

So i have a baby story to end all baby stories, at least in my sheltered little world it does. This is how the story happened, according to the people involved. None of the names have been changed to protect their identity. This is a true story...lol

My friend Maria is 36 weeks 6 days pregnant, which means no baby for 22 more days...or so we thought. Sunday morning at 5am, Maria woke up. She felt, what she thought at the time, was a mucus plug or clot or something (those of you who are mothers will know what we are talking about and be less grossed out than the other people reading this blog). When she went to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, her water broke. Maria was home alone at the time because her hubby was at drill in Lehighton. She called her sister Gina to take her to the hospital. While Maria was getting ready to go, Gina got on the phone to call Joe and let him know what was happening. Joe's sgt answered the phone and proceeded to tell her that he could not put Joe on the phone...military protocol. "Fine" Gina said, "Just tell him that his wife's water broke and she is having the baby". Of course, that was a different story, and they put Joe on the phone. He said to let him know what to do and call him back when they figure it out. Well, Gina called back on the way to the hospital and the sgt again said he could put Joe on the phone again. This time Joe wasn't there. Here is where the story gets better. Joe and his military buddies had gone out drinking the night before, and they had gotten home a bit after 2am. Joe must have been pretty drunk, because (according to him), he slipped on the ice. He had to crawl to bed because he couldn't put weight on his leg. When they woke him up for the first phone call, he realized that his leg hurt like h*ll and he should probably get it looked at. Well, in between calls, they assessed that his leg was broken, and they were transporting him to the hospital to get it casted. He just so happened to be going to the same hospital that Maria was on her way to. The sgt told Gina about all of this and said Joe would be there when Maria arrived. Seriously, does that really happen?! So Maria got there and got set up, but didn't get to see Joe, she just got to talk to him on the phone. Well, she was stalled at 1cm for about 7-8 hrs. Here is where the story gets really good. Near the end of this time, she was informed that Joe was going into surgery to get plates and screws put into his leg. Who knew the brake was that bad! And what luck for Maria, to be going through this without her hubby. She had to put her sister's name on the paper for people allowed in the delivery room, just in case Joe wouldn't be out in time. They said he should be in surgery for about an hour, then in recovery for about 1-2 hours. Luckily, Maria made it until Joe was out. They brought a bed up to the labor room, and at 4:45pm, Octavia Christine Templin was born. Joe got to hold the baby at first, then when they took her to clean her up and test her and all, they took Joe away. He would be gone all night. Needless to say, both he and Maria were pissed. I would be too! Joe's nurse told him he could call Maria. If you know Joe at all, you would know that that didn't fly well with him. He was his usual sarcastic self. I'm surprised he didn't make a break for it and come up to her room on his own. They finally let him back to see his daughter this morning at 11am. Nothing like almost 24 hours until you can see your baby. His leg is casted, and he has to keep it elevated. The final kicker to this story is that Maria will be discharged Tuesday afternoon, and Joe will be in the hospital, most likely, until wednesday at the earliest. What a story to tell your baby about her birthday.

Not Me! Monday...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Here is my weekly dose of the Not Me! Monday's. I'm going to keep it short because i plan to post another post, and i'm sure you don't want to be on here forever reading things.
* I most certainly DID NOT laugh until i was ready to pee in my pants when Mady had her "cannon explosion"...for more details about this, read my laughter lives post tomorrow.
* I definately DID NOT order Mady a bunch of clothes for next winter already. Seriously, even though they were on sale, i would be nuts to order clothes that far in advance, not knowing what size she would be by then
* We most certainly DID NOT go out and buy ourselves 2, yes count them 2, iPod touch's this weekend. Why would we need 2? That would just be a waste of money, and i don't waste money anymore.
* I definately DID NOT walk out the door to go to work and forget my keys. My life is so care free, why would i ever let something slip my mind?
*~The following is Frank's addition to the post~
We most certainly DID NOT take our baby to visit my friend in the hospital, who just so happened to have her own baby just yesterday...Frank thinks this was wrong of us. He compared it to someone proposing to their girlfriend at someone elses wedding. I personally don't think it's bad, but like i said, this was his addition to the post, so i let him go with it.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

My Week in 3 words...

Gimme a break




I've decided to make Saturday's my official "My week in 3 words" day, just like they do on Good Morning America on Saturdays. So from now on, you will get to enjoy my week in 3 words and a photo...and probably 200 or more words to explain my week in 3 words, lol.

This has been an exceptionally long week for me, work wise. Having to work a saturday is no fun, especially when you work from 7am to 5pm. To top it all off, i was at a wrestling tourney. Now, this would be ok if it were my varsity boys, or even that i would just have to take care of ONLY my boys, no matter the age. But this was our junior high tourney, so i had to take care of 12 teams worth of little wrestlers. Everyone was bleeding, or swearing that their ____ (fill in this blank with your preferred body part, they all applied today) was broken and completely immobile. And to top all that of (yes, it gets better), there was a group of 5-9 year olds running around that i always seem to have to watch out for. I've made it a point to not look out for other peoples kids, as i always get stuck doing this and end of missing something important. I just had to basically stand guard at a door to make sure they didn't go inside where they weren't allowed. Why do some kids refuse to listen and curse at adults and throw a tantrum? Where were their parents? Did their parents ever tell them not to do those things? I still don't know where the parents are, or if they even knew their kids were missing.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

To buy or not to buy...

So Frank and I have been debating back and forth for a few days now. Should we or shouldn't we. It's all over the Bumbo. Yes, you heard me correctly, the Bumbo. A foamy plastic seat for Mady, and it's causing all this question. We don't know if we should buy it or not. Some people say their babies have used it once or twice and then, kind of, rocked themselves out of it...and others say their babies love it. I don't know what to do. Maybe if she were a month younger, i would be all over this. But at this point, she is almost...and i say almost carefully here...almost sitting up on her own. She just wobbles a bit side to side. I don't know...she's gone this long without one. I am giving myself until this weekend to make a decision. That's when we do our grocery shopping, and that's when i'm either going to buy it or not, at least that's what i'm saying now, until this weekend comes and i haven't decided and i want more time.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Laughter Lives Tuesday...

I've become pretty dull apparently, because i've resorted to doing all these "day" things to fill space. Well, actually i do it because it's so fun, and it's even funnier to read, so i thought i would join in the fun. Don't worry, i'm not abandoning the regular Stiffie family antics, i'm just adding some other antics to the mix. Enjoy!


Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Laughter LivesThis post is part of "Laughter Lives! Tuesday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check our their blog to read everyone else's "Laughter Lives!" posts.


~*~This weeks theme is "Things our Kids have done"~*~

My moment of the week isn't so much something Mady has done, but more of something WE did to Mady. Frank is frustrated on a daily basis when it comes to Mady. Well, not Mady per say, but her clothes. Her socks in particular. See, here is our problem. Mady has long toes, but her feet are more on the narrow side, so most of the socks we have don't fit her right. It seems that they are all made for babies with really wide feet. Well, i want to put socks on her that match her outfit, that's just how i am. Well, in doing that, that means we will have to constantly be pulling her socks back up onto her feet. That annoys Frank after the first 10 or so times. Well, here is our moment of the week. Yesterday, i put socks on Mady that matched her outfit, but were too big. Well, instead of letting Frank get annoyed, i fixed them. Wanna know how!? I took a piece of tape, ripped it in half, and wrapped it around the sock to hold it up. Don't worry, i'm not abusing my child. I didn't wrap it tight or anything, just lightly, very lightly, up around the top of her ankle...so the sock would only fall down to a certain point and then stop. If you could have seen her taped sock, you would be laughing as hard as we were. We did manage to fold the top of the sock down over the tape so you couldnt totally see it. Problem solved!

Monday, January 19, 2009

Not Me! Monday...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So here it is...my very first (of many, i'm sure) Not Me! Monday. Feel free to add your Not Me's to the comment area, or grab the button for yourself!
*I certainly DID NOT wait until friday of last week to finally get all of my Christmas decorations down. I mean, after all, Christmas was in fact 3+ weeks ago, and pretty much everyone is un-decorated by now.
*I certainly DID NOT make myself late for work 3 times last week because i was sucked into a television show that i've seen before. I mean, honestly, i've already seen it, who would want to watch ANY show more than once?!
*I certainly DID NOT have to chase my dog up the street because he jumped the fence. Ecko is a good dog, why would he want to chase his favorite friend up the street to play when he could stay in the yard with his obviously boring brother.
* I certainly DID NOT buy my daughter even more clothes for the summer. She totally has enough, and any mother with any sense would not buy her young baby more clothes when she already has enough to wear..knowing full well she may not even fit in the come summer.
* I most certainly DO NOT still have my christmas decorations still sitting in their tubs in Mady's room. Of course i would put them away right once i got them down. Why procrastinate? Not me!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Our not-so quicky of the day...

I just wanted to take this time really quickly to say thank you to everyone. Thank you for supporting us and sticking by us, through thick and thin. Both Frank and I understand that we are new parents, and we may not do everything right all the time, but we're trying. We are definately learning as we go, as neither of us had any experience with a baby before Madylinn was born. We only want the best for Mady, and we would never in a million years do anything to put her health or well-being in jeopardy. We love her more than anything. That being said, we just wanted to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts. It's good to know that even if we screw up, we'll always have friends and family to support us and to help us get back up and do the right thing.

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This morning marks the end...of the christmas decorations. I know i said on saturday that i was almost done with them, but it took until today to actually finish. My mom told me on sunday, "Make sure you get those decorations down tomorrow morning, it's supposed to be below zero by the end of the week", and being the daughter i usually am i thought "Yea yea yea, i'll get them down, no problem!" And here we are, friday morning, and they just came down. Yes, that was me folks, the crazy lady standing on a chair on her front porch, pulling lights down and wrapping them up. Yup, that was me. Nothing like waiting till the last minute to do things.

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Mady has a new thing now. Sucking her bottom lip. I know, it's weird. Some (like anonymous) may say that she's only doing it because she's hungry and we don't feed her. Well, she does it randomly, not only when shes hungry. It's very cute though, almost like a shy thing. I am still attempting to get it on camera, but those of you who know Mady know that whenever she sees a camera now, she gets all shy and stops smiling/laughing/doing cute things. She'll just stare at the camera doing nothing. I told Frank the other day that i think she is going to be a shy little girl. The kind that hides behind daddy's leg when strangers come along. I guess only time will tell.

Response to anonymous.....

Let me start by saying that our doctor says our daughter is eating properly and gaining weight PERFECTLY. So, unless you have a medical degree in pediatrics, I don't really care what you think. We have also read many books on child care and according to them babies should be eating 5 to 6 times a day at this age. She often will sleep for more than 15 minutes during the day if you wait until she is good and asleep before you put her down. All in all she gets more than enough sleep. She likes to put her hands in her mouth because she is learning and she is curious. She is also at the age when babies begin to teethe and that also has alot to do with it. I really don't like people like you. You have these opinions however you don't have the back bone to sign your name. I would bet that you are the kind of person that likes to talk about people behind their backs but if confronted you would cower in the corner and deny. You are probably disliked by many. And if I had to guess, you are probably unhappy with yourself and your life which is why you feel the need to assert your negotive opinons but don't have the balls to share your name. All our friends, family and the doctor say we are doing a wonderful job. You are the first and only person to have anything negotive to say so congrats on that achievement. It most likely makes you happy. We love our baby very much and want nothing less than the best for her and that's what she will get. You say you stumbled across our blog so please do us a favor and don't stumble again. We don't want to set our blog to private but we will to keep people like you away.


Mady's loving father(Frank Grindstaff)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Playing catch-up

So i've been MIA for a few days, as you can see. Frank doesn't like when i spend time on the computer now that he's home, even if the baby is sleeping. Go figure. Well, i'm getting on the computer anyway...i have to blog, it's like an addiction now!

So yesterday, the people from the water company came to the house to mark where our cut-off thingy is at outside. If you've been following my drama with the man on the corner, you know what i'm talking about. Well, they got here and they couldn't find the circle thingy in the pavement. I didn't think we had one, but then again, what do i know. Well, they came in and looked at the line in the basement and they talked to Frank about it. These guys didn't really have much to say though. They didn't really understand it, as they said they have never seen a pipe that comes into a house like that before. Great, thanks for being so helpful! So that just leaves us with some phone calls to make. This guy is really getting on my nerves with this whole thing.

New with Mady: so we've switched her feeding times. We thought it would be better for her, even though it's more work for us. We are now feeding her 5 times a day instead of the previous 4. We aren't feeding her the same amount we used to though, since it's more often now...it's the same TOTAL amount though, it's just less at each bottle to balance it out. She seems happier, but that's probably because she has something in her mouth to suck on more often, and she's being held more often (if that's even possible). She is also taking pretty regular naps now too. About every 2-2 1/2 hours she'll take at least a 15min nap. That seems to help her a lot too, she doesn't get as cranky. She is also starting to enjoy her toys more and more lately. It's so cute to watch.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

It only took 19 days...

That's right, you heard me correctly, it only took me a mere 19 days to de-christmasify my house. And to be completely correct, we're not done yet. We still have the lights hanging up outside, i just can't bring myself to bundle up in many many layers and go outside to struggle to bring lights down. Can they stay up until its warm out?! Unfortunately, Frank doesn't think they can, so i'll have to go out and take them down SOMETIME this week, just not right now, not today. But all the lights inside the house are down...some of them have been technically down for a few weeks now (for those of you who don't know, most of the lights on my windows have been half down since before Christmas. For some reason, the suction cups didn't want to stick what-so-ever this year, and Frank and I were completely sick of re-hanging lights every single day..so we left them dangling by 2 cups. It was interesting, that's for sure). I also managed to un-dress the tree, and we put Mady down for her afternoon nap yesterday and we got the tree outside. And we didn't even make a mess! Every year we make a total mess of the house, just trying to get the ginormous tree outside. This year, we bought our tree bag from the tree place, and it totally fit over the humungo tree, no problems. We were both impressed.

And today, Frank called the water company to talk to them about our ongoing problem with the man from the corner. If you don't know the full story, here's a brief update. The water main is cracked under the building on the corner. The man that owns that building thinks that all of us on the block should help him pay to tear up the street and pavement, fix the main and re-pave his pavement and replace all his fancy-schmancy ammenities that are there. If it were MY water pipe that was broken, he wouldn't help ME, so why should i help him?! Did i mention the building is the district magistrates office? Yea, that's why he thinks he can push me around. Hi buddy, my name is Stacey, and nobody tells me what to do...just thought i'd fill you in. From what the people at the water company said, we have our own shut off valve to our house, and he can't get our water shut off for not helping him. They also told us that they don't believe we are responsible for fixing the main. Granted, that is just one man's opinion, but i like that man! We are going to talk to a lawyer and see if he can MAKE us help pay, or MAKE us do anything else, and if not i am going to tell him where he can shove it. He mailed us an estimate, which was extremely high. He only got one estimate too, he didn't shop around. I would also like to see a copy of that said estimate, to see what he is trying to charge us for. I'm sure it includes a bunch of stuff that i shouldn't be responsible for, like a new handicap ramp and new sidewalks. This is our on-going war, wish us luck.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Sleigh riding...

So yes, as you've all been dying to know about, we DID finally take Mady sleigh riding. Well, sort of. It was, in fact, sleigh riding, but we only went around the corner to my mom's house. We decided that it was too snowy for her to be out in, so we left her at my mom's and we took the dogs down to the band field and played with them for a while. It was still very fun to take her around the corner though. Maybe tomorrow i'll take her for a better ride, when it's not snowing so fiercely outside.
Here is Mady, all bundled up and ready to go sleigh riding!

Here I am with Mady

Here is Frank and Mady

Friday, January 9, 2009

*UPDATE*

So i was sitting at the computer, enjoying my free time while Mady slept on Frank. Well, she woke up and it was time to change her diaper. Frank started to change her and, for the first time in her whole 3 months, she peed all over him. Not just him, cuz she's done that before, but all over her onesie, her socks, her butt, her back, even up to her hair! It was so funny! Needless to say, we had to give her another bath today, even though she just had one last night. I know i should enjoy these little things now, because one day in the future, it will be poop, and it will NOT be fun anymore.

Solving the mystery...

So i found this meter on Lane's profile, and thought it was perfect. See, we too have this problem a lot. One person will say "Oh my, Mady looks JUST LIKE Frank", and the very next person will say "Oh my, Mady looks JUST LIKE Stacey". Did anyone ever think that it was because she looks like both of us still?! I can see both of our features in her. So here it is, inconsiquential, unconclusive, nonsensicle proof that Mady looks like both Frank AND I.

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

So much for the big storm...

Well, i didn't have to go to work yesterday. There was a 2 hour early dismissal because of this "big storm" that was supposed to be coming yesterday. Well, we waited and waited and waited, and nothing really happened! I mean, yes, there was some ice and all, but no snow! What the heck. I thought this was supposed to be the worst winter in a while. All we've gotten around here is some ice and a dusting of snow. And now today i don't have work either, and i'm not going to complain about it at all...but where's the snow!! I'm dying to take Mady sleigh riding for the first time, but i can't drag her on the ice. Well, i guess i could, but i'm not going to. I could really use about 4 inches of snow, then Frank, Mady, the dogs and I could all go play in the snow. That's what i call family fun!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

And now it's time for the big 1...

No, i don't mean Mady is 1 year old already. Time is definately flying by with her, but not that quick! What i mean is, we have about 4 newborn diapers left, and then we are putting our "big girl" in size 1 diapers. She is such a big girl already. This is such a monumentous occasion at our house. We are excited and sad all at the same time. I know all you first time moms understand what i'm talking about here.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

That cute little boy has earrings...

So this is my "because i say so" moment of the week. I have them often, i just don't always talk about them, but this one is a bit funny...and a bit sad in a funny way. I bought Mady an outfit for Christmas, no shocker there, i bought her quite a few things. This particular outfit was meant for a little boy. I know, i know, she's a girl! But this outfit was just too cute to pass up, and it practically SCREAMED her name...at least to me it did. It was a grey sweatshirt with a basketball on it and it said Rookie. It came with a blue pair of sweats (everyday attire for babies, apparently...that's a whole other story), and a blue vest with a basketball on the right chest pocket. Well, with the entire ensamble on, she looked similar to a boy, if you didn't know better. So naturally i had to dress her in this outfit to go to the basketball tourney today. You understand why, basketball tourney, basketball outfit! Well, when Frank brought her out in it, i immediately took the vest off of her, it made her look girlier. I was a bit disappointed in how boy she looked. I didn't see THAT freight train coming. Of course, Frank HAD to bring it up practically constantly (or what i felt was constantly, which was in all actuallity about 2 times) that she looked like a little boy with his ears pierced, and that people were probably wondering why we had our little boy's ears pierced. I was very self-concious FOR her at that point. I'm thinking i should have put a pink onesie under the vest...that would have made it better. For once, Frank was right. This PARTICULAR made-for-a-boy outfit really WAS made-for-a-boy. Unless he reads this, however, i will never admit it and i will deny deny deny.

Friday, January 2, 2009

A new year, a new me...maybe

So it's officially 2009. I still wonder to myself, could it get much better than it is now? 2008 was, by far, the best year of my life to date. I was blessed with the most wonderful, beautiful baby girl in the whole world...who could ask for more? The Lord has truly blessed Frank and I with more than we could ever ask for or deserve, and i'm sure it'll just get better from here.

I've decided that i'm not doing New Year's resolutions this year. I always forget them anyways, so why even bother to take the time to think of them just so i can forget them or break them in a few weeks. I'm just going to make a broad statement resolution...To Be Better. I want to be a better person, a better cook, a better wife, a better mom, a better friend, a better ATC, just better in general. I am going to make it a point to work on this every single day, not just broadly and in general.

I am going to have McDonald's for lunch today. Why did i feel the need to tell you that today? Here's why...on New Year's Eve, Frank and I pretty much stayed home all day long. But by dinner time, we were sick of the food in the house, and we were craving other things. So we get showered, changed and we packed up Mady and made a break for McDonalds. Like typical us, we had to goof around and waste time at home before we left, so by the time we made it to McyD's, it was 6:55pm. We got out of the car, only to find the doors locked. LOCKED. Locked at 6:55pm! The sign on the door said 7pm closing, but yet it was only 6:55pm. We did, however, notice that there were cars in the drive through. We immediately got in the car, thinking that the drive through would be open until at least 7pm, if not a bit later. We got in line, made it to the speaker, and nothing. The lights were all on, but nobody was home. They weren't answering us at all! We sat there until 7:01pm and decided to bail before we ate each other. Burger King it was (since it was on the way home). Well, just as we were pulling into the parking lot, the lights were turned off...crap!! Closed for 2008 they said. Ok, we need another plan and fast because we were really hungry by now. We finally decided on Subway. We turned into WalMart, and drove past the doors first to make sure it was open before we got out of the car into the cold. It was. So we went in and ordered our subs, ready to sit down and feast on sub-goodness. Nope, shut down again!! "We're closing in 15min, so you'll have to be out of the dining room". Did she realize that it would take us that long just to get situated at a table and open our subs up?! So we just took the food and brought it home. Of course, by the time we got it home, it was cold, but at least we had something. So basically, thank you McDonalds, for NOT serving me the Big Mac i so craved. Thank you McDonalds, for closing at 7pm on New Years Eve...would 8pm kill you? Thank you McDonalds, for employing teenagers that feel the need to be out of there at 7pm, even though they can't go drinking for New Years anyway. Way to go McDonalds! Screw us all!

Thank God the rest of the night didn't go as badly. Even though Frank and I stayed home alone all night long, we had such a good time, it was like the best party of the year happening right in our living room! We drank, we watched the ball drop, and we hosted our own karaoke party staring US!





Picture of the week...

Picture of the week...