Things I Remember...

Today my grandpa passed away. Grandpa Gil. He was in his 90s. Had a full life. But still I am sad. I know he was "ready to go" as he had said a couple times in the past year or two. Even though I know he is in a better place(praising God and enjoying heaven and getting to see his mom and other friends), part of me wasn't ready for him to go. Part of me was hoping he would make it a couple months longer or just not die ever. Part of me wished we could have conversations like we did when I was in high school and would dust my grandparents house for a little extra cash. I still can't stand to dust.

I'll never forget all their knicknacks after knicknacks I had to dust under in display cabinets and also the room divider on the second floor with all the little intricately cut wood decorations that had to be dusted. LOL I also will never forget how my grandparents always had a gallon of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of the freezer of their side by side refridgerator waiting for me when I'd visit. I'll never forget how my grandpa liked to take my picture while eating ice cream which made me feel less ugly as someone was wanting to take my picture. I'll never forget how hard my grandpa worked on their property building things, loading wood into their heating system's fire, cutting wood, driving his little tractor type thing with the little trailer, wearing his blue coveralls with sleeves, working in his rose garden, sitting on the swivel chairs on the back porch looking at the lake, driving his pontoon boat, driving his giant conversion van, smiling, pretending that his finger got bit off when he was picking his nose and laughing about it(was either a table saw or bandsaw incident but I was little and it made me not want to pick my nose. lol), swimming with his swim belt on in the lake by their home, feeding fish with him in the water in front of their beach, how he gave me advice, how I overheard him talking to my niece once about how he loved her and that's one thing that people can never take away from her and how Jesus loves us and that no one can ever take Jesus' love from us(don't know if you knew about that Aunt CB), I'll never forget how he gave me his poetry books from his childhood when I was in high school or middle school and how he encouraged me to write my own poetry.

When I was born he gave my parents a cradle he had made with some of the spindles that were left from an old headboard that had been my greatgrandma's. All of my kids have slept in this cradle that's in my living room now.

Grandpa loved me. And I loved my Grandpa. He was my mom's stepdad that for as long as I have known she has called him "Daddy" and for as long as I have been alive I have known him as my "Grandpa". I will miss him but am looking forward to the day when we are reunited in Heaven. What a day that's going to be! Who knows, he might even have some ice cream waiting for me. :)


Here's my grandpa on February 20th(a few Mondays ago) holding our little MageeWT...

Things Toddlers Say

Saturday, MageeBoy and I were playing in the 'tent' we made with chairs and pillows and the Thomas the Train tent and other blankie and things. MageeBoy had some spider rings from last Halloween and said, "Spider is hungry." So I ask what we should feed the spider and he replies, "Hot dogs." LOL

Also of note, MageePrincess is adding to her vocabulary daily and improving her speech. I love to hear her talk and my favorite word to hear her say lately is pillow which sounds like "paw whoa". So cute!

Trip Pictures!

Things are just now starting to settle down and get back to a routine here at the Magee household! It's been a busy but fun week. Here's some pictures from our trek through Arkansas last week to see all the grandparents and show off our sweet little MageeWT. :)

MageeWT got to see lots of family on his first big trip... spent the night at Aunt "B" and Uncle John's, picked up Aunt Chelle on the way to Mamaw and Papaw's, saw my grandparents, traveled on to Grandmama and Papa Al's, saw Great Uncle John and Aunt Sue, and even got to see Aunt "B" and Uncle John again! WHEW! It was quite a trip and unfortunately sweet MageePrincess had to go to the hospital. But the good news is she feels much better. And other good news is all the attention MageeBoy got and all the cuddles and being held that MageeWT got the entire week. He's still sufferring from "grandma-itous"(you know, cries if he's not continually being held). And I think that means it was a successful and great trip! :)

Back in the car! Excited about the trip to start...

Then not too far in the ride... nap time!

Where In the World is MageeBaby?

Ohhh what a crazy week or two it has been for the MageeFamily! First I'd like to update all the things my sweet little MageeWT has been up to... coo'ing, has started taking the bottle, and even just tried rolling over yesterday! Yep, he was on the play yard mat and almost rolled onto his belly! So cute!

OK, so what else has been going on? Well, let me start about a month and a half ago, when we started going to the doctor and had gone at least twice a week for four weeks. So two weeks ago Friday, we went to the pediatrician with all three kids to get an all clear to get to leave town and visit family in Arkansas. MageeDaddy had a whole week off work and we headed off for our trip.

We stopped for the night visiting Aunt "B" and Uncle John. It was fun getting to see them and the kids had a great time playing with them. Then woke up and headed to my parents. So we had a great time at Mamaw and Papaw's. On my birthday, we had a wonderful day relaxing, watching TV, having ice cream cake!, opening presents, going on a walk, and even getting to visit a neighbor to feed chickens. So fun and laid back! Then the next day we went to visit my grandparents and also make a trip to Toys R Us. The kids had a great time and so did I! :)

Then Tuesday we left in the afternoon to visit Grandmama and Papa Al. But... by the time we got there MageePrincess had a giant temperature of 103. eek! So we tried to treat the fever and in the middle of the night she didn't have a fever then it was back with a vengence and her breathing was laborous. Sooo... off to an urgent care type place... and then to the ER... and then checked into the hospital until Saturday. Yep, until Saturday. Not exactly what I thought would happen on our little vacation. sigh. But the good thing is that MageeDaddy has great parents and we were not at our home when our sweet baby came down with pnemonia. So Grandmama and Papa Al helped us so much with our other babies!!! THANK YOU!!!

So we've been back from the trip since Sunday night and recouping. MageePrincess is doing SO much better. Still coughing a little and has taken giant naps lately but doing SO much better. MageeBoy and MageeWT have seemed to avoid getting sickly since before the trip. whewww!

So that's what we've been up to! Getting well. Hibernating away from other kids in our home until the flu season has passed. And even spending time outside playing today in the 70+degree weather and sunshine. It was great!

Pictures soon from our trip! :)

EPIC!

I'm getting to participate in Blogelina's 100 Comment's epic event! :) I don't really know what to write about and am going on very little sleep. So I guess the "epic" part of my post is the fact that I actually have 5 minutes(or less) to spare between folding clothes while MageeDaddy distracts the kids, tiptoeing around my littlest that had shots today and isn't sleeping good, MageeBoy asking for milk in his sippy just now, MageePrincess screaming from a breathing treatment thing, about to be bedtime routine, then clean the kitchen, and get ready to start all over again tomorrow. WWWHHHEEEWWW!

Sometimes, some things seem just like no big deal and other days it's just epic for me to get to get 5 minutes to myself. Hurrah! for today's 5 minutes! I'm enjoy the peace in this tiny window of my day. :)

Happy commenting everyone!

Calendar Quotes: Inspirations for Life

Our local electric company is so nice to give us a calendar each year. This year the title is Inspirations for Life by famous people. So I thought it would be fun to post these at the beginning of each month.

"Think you can, think you can't; either way, you'll be right." Henry Ford

Delay in Picking Winner!

So sorry everyone for the delay in picking the MrChewy.com giveaway winner. My little princess has been in the hospital and hopefully will be getting out tomorrow. I'll contact and post the winner asap. Stay tuned!

Family Trip!

I'm visiting family for my birthday week. Yep, we like to celebrate for about a week. Even sometimes celebrate half birthdays. :) Anyone else do that? Well, Saturday, from Little Rock we picked up my sister at the Ft. Smith airport and then headed onto Mamaw and Papaw's. We were worn out by the time we got to their house. So everyone took a nap and I even got to take a bath - uninterrupted!!! :) yahoo! I don't remember a whole lot else about Saturday since it took us 24 hours to get from our home to Mamaw and Papaw's. WHEW!

Now... on Sunday, it was awesome!!!!!! Everyone let me sleep until 9:30AM - huh??? Miracle! Then had some breakfast and opened some presents. :) It was great! Pretty much our day consisted of eating, watching Gold Rush, watching cartoons, feeding the neighbor's chickens, taking a walk, and opening presents! What a great birthday! MageeDaddy spoiled me with china to finish off my six piece place settings for service of 12!!! yeeehawww! I'm so happy! And he got me some phones for our house. We've needed them for some time as the display on our phones stopped working a while back. I also was very spoiled by my family with all the presents they got me AND the ice cream cake from Dairy Queen! It's my birthday tradition and I LOVE it! yummmm!!! Had several pieces already and really really have to get a treadmill soon. LOL

I loved how relaxing Sunday was and today wasn't so different. We had leisurely morning, MageeDaddy took a nap, the kids played, Mamaw got some cuddles with her newest grandson, and had lunch. Then we all loaded up to go to visit my grandparents. Mamaw and Papaw took my grandpa to the doctor's while we made a big trip to Toys R Us. YIPPEEE!!! It was FUN! Then back to Mamaw and Papaw's. We got back about 10 minutes before they did and started up Tom&Jerry cartoons. It was so much fun to listen to and watch MageeBoy laugh hysterically. He literally couldn't control himself laughing and laughing. It made me laugh so hard just watching him. After cartoons, we had a very delicious steak dinner and now the little ones are in bed and thinking about sleeping. And Mamaw is happily holding our littlest. She's got a great grin on her face and that makes me so happy!

It's been such a wonderful trip so far and I can't wait to see what's coming up! Happy Monday everyone!

Mommy Tips Mondays

Thank you so much to the MageeBaby guest contributor today - the author Cherie Bright from Another Day, Another Story. Would you like to submit a Mommy Tips Monday post and highlight your site here? Please email me at MageeMommy at gmail dot com. Here's more information about Cherie:

Cherie Bright is a stay-at-home mom, who refers to career as a holly homemaker/ mommy extraordinaire. She is the author of the blog and the book titled “Another Day, Another Story.” She is a graduate from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Computer Science and Communications, both of which she uses daily trying to outwit her children. Bright moved to The Woodlands, Texas in 2004 from El Dorado, Arkansas. She is the mother of two children and wife to one understanding husband. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering, camping, and sitting around the campfire exchanging stories. “Another Day, Another Story,” is available at bookstores nationwide or by visiting barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com. A download version is available direct from the publisher at lulu.com.


How can you get more fruit in your diet?

Make it fun!

Let me just say that grape-ciles are sooo yummy. Just skewer seedless red grapes and blueberries and pop them in the freezer. They are delicious.

Of course everything is better with something to stab and dip. Set out skewers or toothpicks. And fruit dip (aka strawberry yogurt). I used Greek strawberry yogurt, just to take it one step further on the healthy train. And I always keep my skewers and toothpicks in a bowl ready to set out. It's quite handy and when company comes, they are always impressed how quickly I pull out something fun to eat. And really I'm just dumping stuff on a plate and sticking out some toothpicks.

Do you have a tip to share? Some great advice to give? Please email me your submission post including a link to your blog and short bio to MageeMommy at gmail dot com THANKS!

Happy President's Day!

Wondering about this holiday? Well... According to http://usparks.about.com/od/historicalparks/a/Presidents-Day.htm Presidents' Day is intended (for some) to honor all the American presidents, but most significantly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. It is also know to be an excuse for businesses to put out sales ads. LOL

But you know what? I don't know the past US presidents and this holiday makes me want to learn again! I was terrible in history in school. Actually, I was also awful in geology but that's another story! So if you're like me and don't know the list of past presidents... Here it is... :) PS Was there really a president named Millard Fillmore? (heehee that one just made me laugh!)

George Washington (1789-1797)
John Adams (1797-1801)
Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809)
James Madison (1809-1817)
James Monroe (1817-1825)
John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)
Andrew Jackson (1829-1837)
Martin Van Buren (1837-1841)
William Henry Harrison (1841)
John Tyler (1841-1845)
James K. Polk (1845-1849)
Zachary Taylor (1849-1850)
Millard Fillmore (1850-1853)
Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
James Buchanan (1857-1861)
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
James A. Garfield (1881)
Chester Arthur (1881-1885)
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889)
Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
Grover Cleveland (1893-1897)
William McKinley (1897-1901)
Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
Harry S Truman (1945-1953)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961)
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969)
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Gerald Ford (1974-1977)
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
George Bush (1989-1993)
Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Barack Obama (2009-present)