Tough Kids Class

Last week Madden finally started his Tough Kids Class.

He's been looking forward to this for MONTHS!

Its basically like a kids version of "boot camp"

Its once a week for one hour for 10 weeks.

The teacher has all kinds of obstacles set up throughout her front yard, her backyard and her garage.

Besides the fact that I thought the class sounded like fun, I thought it would be good for Madden because he is kind of a sensitive kid and not super adventurous or brave.

(which is basically a nice way of saying he can kind of be a wuss sometimes)

But I was so proud of how he did on his first day!

There were some kids who cried or who refused to do some of the things the teacher was asking them to do, but Madden tried everything and never once cried or complained or said it was too scary.

She even had them walk on a balance beam across her hot tub!

I could tell Madden was a little nervous about that one, (to be honest, I was even kinda nervous about that one!) but he still did it!

And then every time he completed a task, he'd get a huge smile on his face and look at me, like "Mom!  I DID it!!" 

At the very end, she introduced them to the zipline...she had a shorter, slower, lower-to-the-ground one and then a bigger faster one.

At first Madden said he didn't want to do the big one, but I told him to just try it once and he did and LOVED it!

He wanted to go on it over and over!

And of course he wanted me to catch it on video so he could show his dad what a "tough kid" he is :)

march

Even after moving away from Chicago nearly 10 months ago, Madden still sometimes randomly requests to move back.

He'll say things out of nowhere like, 

"Mom, we've lived in this e-partment for a really really long time, so can we go back to our Chicago e-partment now?"

Or when the nearby Morrison Ranch is stinky (like cow poop stinky) and it blows over our direction and into our neighborhood, he'll walk outside and say, 

"Ewwww!  It stinks here!  It never stunk in Chicago!  So can we go back to Chicago?"

A few days ago, on a beautiful March day in the 70's he said, 

"Can we go back to Chicago now??  Cuz I'm too hot here."

This was the current weather forecast at that moment, Arizona vs. Chicago:

Pretty sure if we had been in Chicago that day (which by the way had a wind chill that brought the temps down to -4!) he would have requested to be back in Arizona!

Cuz in March in Chicago, our friends our still getting dumped on by snow...

But here in AZ in March, we are lounging by the pool and getting a tan!

what we did over spring break

::park playdates with friends::

::indoor bug-free camp-outs::

::Bachelor finale::

::new playground tricks::

::late nights up with Mom and Dad::

::leprechaun trap building::

::St. Patty's day party with cousins::

::drive to Lake Saguaro with family::

::date night::

::St. Patty's day fun::

Now spring break is over and its already in the 80's every day and steadily creeping up to the 90's.

I can handle the 80's but...the 90's already??

Its only March!

Come on AZ, what happened to Spring??

time for a date night

I feel like we need to be better about scheduling regular date nights.

Sometimes life just gets so busy and hectic.

And its not that we don't want to go on dates, I think part of it is that because we only have one kid who just happens to be very well-behaved, we just always take him with us when we go "out" on the weekends.  And then we just don't think to schedule "alone" time for us.

And we still get "alone" time every night after Madden goes to bed, obviously, but there's just something special about getting dressed up, getting a sitter, and going OUT on a date with JUST your spouse.

No other couples, no other friends, none of your kids, just the two of you.

Quality one-on-one time.

Even though I've lived in Arizona for 9 years (almost 10 total if you count this past year that we've been back), there are still so many restaurants on my bucket list that I haven't been to yet.

I'm kind of a food snob sometimes...I always tell Randy, if we're just going out to grab a quick bite to eat as a family, I'm fine with whatever...Chipotle, Red Robin, Olive Garden, In N Out, whatev!

But if we are getting a sitter and going out on a REAL date night, I ain't going to no Red Robin.

I like to go somewhere neither of us have been to and usually one on my bucket list.

Most of the restaurants on my list are in Scottsdale and Phoenix, so sometimes that means a little drive for us...but of all nights to drive 30 minutes for some really damn good tacos, then why not on a date night when we don't have our 3 year old with us and we are in no rush to be anywhere else?

So this weekend we crossed Blanco Tacos and Tequila off my list.

I've heard lots about this place...and it did not disappoint!

Just their beans and rice alone were to die for!

Best beans and rice I've ever had in my entire life!

Randy got the carne asada tacos and I got the fish tacos and we tried each others.

They were both amazing!

We also got their famous chips and guacamole as an appetizer and that was delicious too!

After dinner, we walked around the shopping center and soaked up this PERFECT evening weather.

We were at The Borgata...which doesn't even look or feel like you are in Az, but more like Italy or something (I wish!)

As we were walking around, we stumbled upon the store where I bought my wedding dress 6 years ago...which got us to reminiscing about our wedding day and our dating days...such fun memories :)

We sat on a bench in the courtyard and just talked and talked...which is exactly why its nice to go out without Madden sometimes...cuz when we're with him, we don't get to just sit there and talk un-interrupted.

Ya know that book, "chicken soup for the soul"?

Date night is like chicken soup for the marriage ;)

And its important.

yesterday

yesterday was a good start to our spring break...

Woke up and went and got breakfast with Randy and Madden.

After Randy went to work, Madden and I ran our usual errands together...Target, the grocery store, the post office.

Once we got home from errands, it was way too nice out to stay indoors.

So we went out for a bike ride and found a new park in a nearby neighborhood.

Surprisingly, the park was empty, so we had the place to ourselves.

Madden wanted to sit on my lap on the swing and we both couldn't stop laughing as I tried to pump us as high as I could and he held on to the chains for dear life and tried to keep himself from slipping off my lap.

He's way too big for me to swing us both like that, but it was fun trying.

I do love having playdates with our friends.

But sometimes, like yesterday, I really love when its just me and him.

We have the funniest one-on-one conversations and he's always saying the most hilarious things that make me laugh out loud!

I love being a Mom so much.

And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

funny stuff

(some of these funny stories have already been shared on insta, so sorry for the repeats...but I have to document them here as well so they can be printed in my blog books :) )

Lately, when Randy or I get impatient with Madden, he tells us to "just chill."  One day, Madden was the one losing HIS patience and I told HIM to "just chill" and Madden looked at me, shocked and said, "You don't chill me!"

One day, while looking through our DVD shelf, Madden found the church DVD "The Testaments."  He said, "Mom, who gave us this movie about Jesus?"  And I said "I think Grandma Brimhall gave that to us."  Madden said, "Why didn't she give me a SUPERHERO Jesus movie?"  I laughed and said "Because she thought we would like that movie about Jesus, its a really good movie!" And Madden said, "But doesn't she know how much I love superheroes!?"

On a recent Drs appt, I had to pee in a cup and Madden had to witness the whole thing.  He seemed really confused and disturbed by the whole thing and I told him not to worry, that only grown-ups had to do it.  Then he ripped a huge fart and said "When I'm a grown up, I'm gonna fart into cups."

At another recent Drs appt (there's lots of those these days), I had to pee in a cup but I just couldn't go.  So I asked the nurses if we could wait in the waiting room while I finished my water bottle until I had to pee.  I kept drinking more and more water and re-filling my water bottle cuz I just couldn't go.  At one point, Madden finally asked me why I was drinking so much water and I told him I was trying to make myself have to pee.  And he shouted, in a waiting room full of strangers, "Mom!  Just DON'T pee your pants!!!"

One afternoon, while Randy was at work, I built Madden a fort and he turned to me and said, "Mom, you're really pretty and I wanna cuddle you, but don't tell Daddy, K?"

A few evenings ago, Madden was sitting between us on the couch watching a show while Randy and I were discussing the possibility of buying a house.  We didn't think Madden was really paying attention or listening to us and at one point I said something like, "...well since we don't have enough money for a down payment right now..." and Madden, outraged, shouted at me "Yes, we DO, MOM!"  Randy and I laughed and I said, "Oh, we do?  Where is it?"  And Madden said matter-of-factly, "Its in your purse!"

Last weekend I told Madden, "Did you know that your cousins Teigen and Ashlyn and Corbin are moving to Mesa this weekend?" And Madden said "Did you know Lorenzo is moving here too?  He really is.  Tomorrow." (Lorenzo is his friend from Chicago)  I laughed and said, "Oh really?  Who told you that?" And Madden said, "No one.  I just made it up myself."

Whenever I take Madden to the playground at our apartment, he loves taking all his Disney Pixar race cars and we race them down the slide.  He sits at the top and sends them down, and he likes me to stand at the bottom and tell him who was the fastest or who "wins."  He raced Francesco and McQueen down the slide and I said, "Francesco WON!"  And Madden said, "So Mcqueen sucked??"  I was trying not to laugh and I just said, "Well....no...he just didn't win."  And Madden said, "Oh.  I thought he sucked."

A few weeks ago, at Target, I was checking out and paying for my stuff when Madden started freaking out and talking excitedly about something "really really cool" that he saw.  I was half listening, half ignoring, as I was busy checking out, but I was catching bits and pieces like "its really really tiny!" (he loves tiny things), "it has a tiny red shirt" and "a tiny mustache" and its "so so cool! you gotta see this!" I thought the whole time he was talking that it was a cool toy he saw, but as he kept describing this "really cool" thing to me, I started to realize it was a PERSON he was talking about.  A midget. (a small person?  midget?  I don't even know what the politically correct term is).  As we started leaving Target, Madden was so bummed that he didn't get to show me this "really really cool" thing he saw and then out of the corner of my eye, I saw him...he was indeed very tiny, wearing a red shirt, and had a tiny mustache.  He was a Target employee and he stood on a step stool at the cash register. When I noticed him, I didn't want to draw Maddens attention to him again because I didn't want Madden to point and freak out.  So we just walked out to the car and once we got out there I talked to Madden about how its not nice to point and talk about people like that who look different than us.  Madden couldn't understand why it was bad cuz he wasn't making fun of the guy or saying anything that he thought was mean, he just thought he looked "really really cool" but I kept trying to explain to him why it was still wrong and could still hurt that persons feelings.  As we started driving away, I could just see the wheels turning in his head and he asked me "what was he doing there mom??" and I said "I don't know...same thing everyone else does at Target I guess." Madden thought a little bit more and then said "I think I know what he was doing....I think he was buying really really tiny things..."

I wish...that I could time travel

Today I stumbled upon these old pictures of Madden on my cell phone.

Taken maybe 3 summers ago in Chicago.

We used to go on long walks in our neighborhood with the BOB and Madden always wanted to stop at  the big grassy field behind the middle school to run on the grass and pick dandelions and blow on them, which really just meant spit raspberries on them.

These pictures brought back so many memories and for a second I just wanted to go back in time so badly.

Not because I don't love our life right now or love the age Madden is at

But because I just miss him being a little boy.

He's not a little boy anymore and it breaks my heart sometimes.

There's the baby stage, then there's the toddler stage, then theres the little boy stage and then all the sudden they're just, like, a real kid!

A kid whose completely independent and way too damn big for me to carry on my hip or push in a stroller!

I can't even tell you the last time I pushed him in a stroller...I think it was last Mother's day when we went on a walk to our favorite Downers Grove park!

Today Madden was running too fast as we left the post office and he tripped and fell hard on the sidewalk.

He was crying and his knees were all skinned up and he reached his arms up for me to hold him, so I did.

And I felt like my back was gonna break!

I looked down as I held him on my hip and his feet dangled all the way down past my knees!!

I remember a stage when he was little and he always wanted to be held and I just wanted my arms to be free, to have a break and to be able to get things done around the house!

Now, I would give anything to have a baby on my hip all the live long day.

And I know that when I do have that, I won't take it for granted.

I will enjoy the ache-y arms and the hurting back and the inability to get anything done around the house.

And I will remember this moment, when I missed it.