Introducing... the Madsen Bros!!!

This is the newest version of Humpty Dumpty. They told me that this is what they are learning in school!

Ok... I Lied...

I know I said you wouldn't be hearing from me but we had such a wonderful time with the family this weekend and I had to post some pictures for aunt Cathy (I will email them to you!) I have been trying to avoid slideshows because they don't work when you journal your blog but there were too many cute pictures so I did a bit of both. We got to visit with Eric's cousin, Ryan, who we haven't seen FOREVER!!! He was so dang cute with all the kids... I know when his time comes he is going to be an awesome dad. Seriously... the poor guy got wore out by those kids! We had a great time and it was great to have both Grandma and Grandpa out to dinner! Thanks Vic - it was a great get-together!!!

A Weekend with the Family

It May Be Awhile....

So this may be my last post for a week or so... I have been swamped with work. It seems like no matter how many hours in the day I have worked.. I still have to stay up these late nights and get things done. I try to schedule all my outside appts on 2 days of the week so I am in the office 3 days, and out and about 2. This week it seemed like I was meeting with someone every day and Thursday was going to be my day "in" but Scotty (gotta love him) scheduled me a lunch appt. For all of you who know my boss Scott, he can talk so an hour appt can turn in to an afternoon appt. Which is okay but when I return home I have 20 messages to return which all end up being "work." Okay - you are bored hearing about my work but my point is... I was out most of the day Friday and came back to SEVERAL voice mails and emails... things that HAVE TO be taken care of before Monday because I am in meetings in Salt Lake all day Monday and Tuesday. I am dreading next week. I am sure Wed, Thur and Fri I will just be paddling as fast as I can... so... you probably won't hear from me for awhile so...

I started a pretty intense workout this week... I have been a little depressed because baby #6 did a job to my poor body. After loosing a bunch of weight after Maddog I have consistently been able to "slim back down" after having #4 and #5. Not this time. I finally called my Doc and he asked that I come have some blood work done and we did a thorough check on EVERYTHING!!! I was so hoping for a good excuse as to why I haven't been able to loose weight... I mean seriously... I have been eating to the T and exercising 6 days a week for the last month and I gained a lb (that is depressing!!!) So he called with my results on Thursday... He started with, "we received your labs... all your counts, your numbers... you are one healthy woman." In my head I'm just like "ya kiddin' me?" and then he goes on to say... "BUT.... you have mono."

Hello??? What was that??? He said, "you tested positive for mono and it is active. It looks like you are on the down hill side of it but I am sure this has had alot to do with what has gone on in your body, have you felt extra tired?"

Well... let me see... I just kinda giggled to myself because ummmm YA - I think I have been tired since I had Murphy... come to think of it... I think I have been tired since I had Mays!!! 4 babies in 5 years has kicked my butt (physically and mentally!!!) Anyway, just to reassure everyone... I have not been sick AT ALL! And I would have never known... but I am glad to know that with a little rest I can kick this and maybe loose a little weight....

Anyway, we will have shown the house 3 times this weekend! That is great since our first realtor showed it twice in 5 weeks!!! We are really excited. A big thanks to my mom and Kaitlyn for helping put the house together Friday and then Vic, Dave and Em for helping again on Saturday. A big huge thanks to Shari - she is amazing and saves my butt daily!!

We had Eric's assistant coach, Dave Carter, and his adorable family and our good friends the Burgi's over for a little BBQ tonight. It was a little loud at times but we had fun! McGwire and little Abby are just buds and I can't WAIT for them to be able to get down to Utah County (Shelby - maybe you ought to invest in burying a Saint Joseph by your front steps!!). And Kristen - I don't know how you do it girl. She has twin boys that are about 18 months old... HELLO!!! They are cuties!!!

Anyway, I told my boys that a few "girls" were coming over tonight so they actually let me dress them and WHAT???? Fix their hair???? Seriously.... I thought they were hilarious so I made them get a few pics and then Maddux said, "I want to do a cool pose so here you go....

and then of course there is Gwire!!!

This is not him being mad - he said it was his "cool" look!

We had alot of fun and now I must retire the blogging and get my work done before Monday arrives. I hope everyone has an enjoyable week!! Thanks to my friends that are hanging with me to get our butts worked every day at the gym!! I am so glad to have someone to play with!!!

Just for Kicks and Giggles!!!

Sorry Em... I just had to do it! This is our awesome Aunt Emilee. We were in Eric's AWESOME new office at the Owls game and she was entertaining my two boys on the ground. She had no clue I was recording her. We love aunt Emilee! She is always the life of the party and you will always find her getting down and playing with the kids! Sometimes I start worrying that I am getting my mothers tendencies when it's comes to photographing! She is always trying to catch us doing embarrassing things or chewing on food! It drives me crazy and now look at me... So sorry in advance!!!

And here is little Murphy. The last in the Madsen lineup! When we were in Disneyland Maddux used his birthday money to get a Build A Bear!! He got a puppy whom he named "Yankee." And the outfit he chose for "Yank" is a Yankees jersey! Anyway, this glove is Yankee's and the boys thought it would be cool to have Murphy play catch with them the other day so they put this on. He really had a good time! I think he likes the taste of leather (ok... fake leather!)

Last but not least a picture of McGwire, Peighton (Emilee's oldest daughter) and Hootz the Owl!!

I am officially as blonde as they get....

Okay, really quickly... My awesome SIL Emilee has had a few probs with her blog so she asked me to go on and see if I could help her with them. I did - because I love her!!! But, being the absent minded blond that I am forgot to log out before I started checking everyone elses blogs... so... for all my friends and fans... if you got a comment from Emilee Summers (sorry Em) and you have no idea who it was... it was probably me because I was logged in as her!!!

Other than that... things have been good this week! Mick's baseball games were last night rather than Wed night. It's a little different this year. They turned the age where they now get to lead off... and they moved the mound back 8 feet (I think) and the bases back 10 feet (that is also an "I think"). I don't know about y'all that watch our little Tigers but it just seems to me that it's slowed the game down alot! Oh well -

Yummy... Yummy...

You may not appreciate this video as much as I did but the other night I walked into the room and Maddog was feeding Murphy his ice cream cone. Ice Cream is a favorite evening treat at our house and with Artic Circle, Maggie Moo's, and Sonic so close to our house we have it often!

I wish I would have got the initial tasting of the Ice Cream but he had already had several licks before I could grab my camera and video. I have some after shots also!! With all the complaining of no sleep I figured I was in for it big time with a belly ache from the ice cream but guess what... he slept from 10 pm to 7:30 am!! Holy Cow. I have found the remedy. I guess that means we are going for ice cream on a nightly basis.

I think the wrong Madsen had the football gear on. When we went to Mick's football game last week there were seriously boys Maddogs age in full gear. Eric personally thinks it is crazy for little guy to play so young (6) but Maddog is set on playing tackle next year. I think we better dip our feet in flag first. Although he does look pretty tough in pads!

Look who is sitting up like a big boy this week. His facial made me giggle in this picture. Maddux took it of course. I think I can see photography in Maddogs future. He is obsessed with taking pictures! Doesn't his hair look really RED in this picture. He is getting so big SO fast!

Well.. today has been pretty lazy. Eric had to drive to Pocatello this morning to recruit and should be home within the hour. I took a couple kids to Mick's football game and left a couple with a babysitter. I just didn't have it in me to chase today alone! I know... I am pathetic but football is so different to watch then baseball. You have to be constantly watch or you miss something... Anyway, once again they pummelled the team they played and came out victorious! I think it was 27 - 0 but I could be wrong!

McGwire's first day of Preschool....

So we did it.. we officially have 4 out of 6 in school!!! McGwire was so darn excited to go to school today. I should have put them both in the early preschool because every 5 minutes from the time they wake up they ask "when is it time to go to school." Does that mean they hate their home life?

For those who know Gwire he is so small. He actually fell off the charts last year and they watched him really closely over the next 6 months. If he would have stayed off the charts they were going to start doing some testing. Well in the 6 month period he grew and inch and lost 1 lb which somehow put him back on the charts (go figure). He weighs in at a whopping 25 lbs which is 1 lb smaller than his little brother Mays.

Anyway, he just looked like a little man! He was so proud to be so BIG! He was "going to school just like Maddog!" Well... he was in brushing his teeth and I started smelling something really strong.. good.. but strong. He had gotten into Mick's cologne and basically soaked his shirt. I asked him what he was doing and he simply replied, "smelling good for my girlfriends." He is 3 mind you!!! So hilarious. So after we changed his shirt we were off...

Here he is with his good friend Bo... between the two of them loving girls that little class better watch out!!!Here is he proud as can be with Ms. Jennifer. I have to add this quick information. Is she not the stink cutest thing ever? She honestly has a high school graduate. This floors me because she looks 21!!!We went with the "new" tradition and went to Smart Cookie after picking him up to get Frozen Hot Chocolate!! He can't wait for next week!

And I had to put these 2 pics of Macee's. We went to a fundraiser last night and it was so funny because one of Eric's old players at CEU named Ryan Duvall... well his wife was there, expecting their 4th (skinny and cute as she was 6 years ago!!) selling shoes. So of course being the supportive person that I am had to buy a few pairs. Macee was so excited because she got some screamin deals. Anyway... she was so proud of the outfit she put together this morning for school with her "new shoes."

Always striking a pose!!! Oh ya, and if any of you have little girls you definitely need to hook up with Rachel Duvall! Call me... I have her number. She shoes are awesome and really inexpensive!

Maddogs First day of School....

Yesterday was Maddi's first day back to preschool. I say "Back" because he did go to Miss Jennifer last year. After much discussion with Miss Jen and Eric and I we chose to keep Maddux out of Kindergarten one more year. He has an August birthday so we are really hoping that we made the right choice. I always hear of people that "wish they would have kept their kids back," but have never heard anyone say they "wish they wouldn't have." So we will see... He was so excited to go. He woke up with Mick at 7:15 and was ready. I told him to take a quick shower and I am pretty sure it was under a minute! He said, "Was that quick or what dude?"

Here is Maddux when I dropped him off

Here he is walking in the door (I know I am a dork!!!)

And here is with his buddy Jaxon (without an S)!!! He was so excited that Wacky was going to be in his class. He also has a friend from the neighborhood and a new friend (which I only know as Mitchells brother) in his class.Here is Miss Jennifer herding the kids. Maddog has the red sweatshirt on turning his back! She really isn't yelling. She is the cutest nicest thing ever! We love her!

After I picked him up we followed tradition and headed over to Sonic. As we got closer Maddux decided to change tradition (WHAT????) and asked if we could go to Smart Cookie instead!!! He is a man of my own heart... so we went and sat down and had our Frozen Hot Chocolate (HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!) and cookie and discussed preschool. Unfortunately there wasn't much to hear. Not like the older kids anyway! Anyway, we will repeat that same routine today with McGwire as he heads off to school for his first day! I am sure you will be hearing from us soon!

Baby.... Oh Baby....

So my whole intention today was to complain about the amount of sleep I am getting or should I say, not getting!! I have never had a baby like Murphy who will just NOT sleep. In the middle of the night I thought to myself, "Tomorrow I am going to get on my blog and ask anyone for any type of suggestions they might have!!! This was last night's schedule. Put him down at 10 pm. Woke at 12:15, 2:00, 4:00, 5:30 and 7!!! Seriously child!!! But the funniest thing is... I was talking to a friend early this morning as tired as could be and received an email from her a few hours later with this picture. She had said, "just thought this might cheer you up."

Ok - not only did it put a smile on my face but it reminded me how blessed I am to have 6 beautiful, healthy children. I guess my time to sleep will be in the next life right?

Murph the Movie Star!!!

Sorry... One more post... When I got home from the gym this morning the kids had taken pics of Murphy and his (Macee's) sunglasses so here is a couple shots!

Eventful week in the bloggin world...

So... it has been such an exciting, eventful week in the blogging world. I did my first tag - woo woo... and I ran across a few really good friends from good ol' EC and High School. I am so excited. It's amazing to me to think that 10 (okay maybe a few more than that) years ago we were back in High School just doing our thing and trying to get through the dating years and now everyone has these amazingly beautiful families!!! It is so darn fun!

So it has been a long time since someone has asked my to babysit... I don't know why... maybe they are worried that their kids might become crazy after hangin' with the Madsen boys for an hour or two... I was seriously soooo excited when Lacie called today to see if I could watch Jerzee for a whole HOUR!!! Problem is... Jory was a little late so I only had her for like 30 minutes. She was an angel. I had to giggle at Jory when he dropped her off.... (this is one of Eric's players with his first baby mind you...) He started with.... "I changed her diaper right before I left and she had a bottle such and such a time and she just fell asleep..." It was like he was so nervous to leave his precious one at our house.. I nicely pushed him out the door and said, "Jory, I have 6... this is NOT my first rodeo." He giggled and left. I told Lacie I would put some pics of the 2 little ones. Jerzee is 3 weeks older than Murphy. She looks 3 months older but really... they weigh the same. He just must be a solid stinker. She has the most beautiful head of hair but she has had that since birth... I use to tease Jory that she definitely wasn't his. As much as our men are on the road and all that black (it use to be very black) hair. I can't say that anymore because the poor thing looks JUST LIKE HER DAD!!! Just Kidding Jory - somehow she turned out beautiful!!!!This is Murphy crashed out on his bouncer. I swear he gets bigger everyday. And yes... he does have red hair!!! No clue where that came from! I PROMISE!!!

Maddux has found a new friend at the baseball games. It makes me giggle how shy and funny he is about the fact that he really WANTS to hang out with Amber. She is a beautiful little girl and Eric says she reminds him of Macee at that age - just so girly.. girl! She is pushing him around in a toy dump truck in this picture.

It usually takes me laying down with the kids at night for them to go to sleep. If not, they will continue to get out of bed and make their way into our room. Eric is always telling me to just lay them down and come to bed. It never works... so he decided the other night he was going to put them to bed. I have no clue what he did or what he said or what he threatened them with but he walked into the bedroom and said... "take your camera you will love to see this." All 5 (Murphy is sleeping with us these days) on the bottom bunk sacked out!!! I still don't get it! I love that my kids would rather snuggle up to their brother or sister rather than sleep comfortably!

I have been Tagged.....

Okay so for the first time (I think) I have been tagged and I didn't realize it until I was chatting with Carrie the other day so here it goes... We will see how I do!!!

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Price, UT
FAVORITE COLOR? Yellow
FAVORITE CITY? Rome
TWO PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT? I would love to go back to Europe and I would also like Eric to be with me next time we go to Hawaii! We have both been but not together!!!
FAVORITE ANIMAL? The one that is not near to me! I am kinda an animal hater... sorry!!!
PAST LOVE? No Comment!!!
FIRST JOB? Waitress

WHAT IS YOUR JOB NOW? Insurance agent (FYI - I can now write in several states...), diaper changer, laundromat... but most importantly - mommy!

WHAT WAS I DOING 10 YEARS AGO? Working for the same company, living in Cleveland, enjoying just 1 child!

THINGS I HAVE TO DO TODAY? Babysit Jerzee (I am sooo excited!!), take Mick to Fball practice and Macee to dance and work... Easy day here!!!

THREE THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME?
1. I hate to read
2. I have never broken a bone (and hated milk growing up so there Mom!!!). She use to always tell me if I didn't drink my milk I would have bad bones!!! I love milk now!
3. I have twin sisters

FOUR MOVIES/TV SHOWS I LOVE
1. The Biggest Looser
2. ER
3. Greys
4. American Idol

FOUR BOOKS I LOVE? Sorry - I don't do books!

FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD?
1. Waitress
2. Surveyor/Supervisor (Discovery Research!!!)
3. Insurance Agent - I have only had 3

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Cleveland, UT
2. Price, UT
3. Lehi, UT Again only 3

FIVE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS?
1. Anything Italian
2. Any type of fish - Halibut/Salmon/Shrimp
3. Garden Veggies - Summer Squash/Corn/Zucchini
4. Cafe Rio


A: ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Attached
B: BEST FRIEND? Eric
C: CAKE OR PIE? Pie
D: DAY OF CHOICE? Sunday
E: ESSENTIAL ITEM? Cell Phone
F: FAVORITE COLOR? Yellow
G: GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? Worms
H: HOMETOWN? Cleveland
I: INDULGENCE? Smart Cookies - Frozen Hot Chocolate
J: JANUARY OR JULY? July
K: KIDS? 6
L: LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? My Family
M: MARRIAGE DATE? November 15th
N: NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 2 sisters 1 brother
O: ORANGES OR APPLES? Strawberries (I am such a rebel)
P: PHOBIAS? Snakes
Q: QUOTES? I love lots, but I read a cool and funny one the other day on someone's blog. It is: "I'm selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I'm out of control and at times hard to handle, but if you can't handle me at my worst....then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best"....Marilyn Monroe - Okay Carrie - I really liked that!
R: REASON TO SMILE? My kiddos - did you say smile or scream??? Okay.. both!!!
S: SEASON OF CHOICE? Spring - Baseball!!!
T: TAG SEVEN PEEPS!! Sorry y'all I am tagging everyone that reads this!!
U: UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I loooooove the cold weather and hate the heat. I love to snuggle in blankets and hate to sweat!!!
V: VEGETABLE? lots... edamame, zucchini, asparagus, broccoli
W: WORST HABIT? spending money. (if it's on sale...I'll buy four) - diddo
X: X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? ultrasound
Y: YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? Italian
Z: ZODIAC SIGN? Capricorn

Holy Cow - I didn't know it was 3 different tags!!! HELLLLOOOO!!! Know you know me soooo well! Have a good day!

Another Fun Blogging Tip!!!

Okay - so I copied this word for word from a friends friend blog. I hope she doesn't mind but I have already told her how much I LOVED this blogging tool. It seriously saves me tons of time!!! I have to mention that you cannot subscribe to the Private blogs. This is only for the blogs that aren't private so if you do this you have to remember to check your private blogs!!!

Here it is:

"So let me introduce you to my new favorite thing called FEEDS. In Internet Explorer, it is right up by the Favorites button (star) and it downloads the latest posts of all your favorite blogs and saves them for you to read. You can tell who has posted because their name will be in bold. Talk about a time saver! ha ha. So here's how you do it: at the bottom of someone's blog you will see a little link that says "Subscribe to: Posts (atom)". Click on that. It will bring up a page with just the text of the blog. There is a link near the top that says "Subscribe to this feed". Click on that. Now, when you click on your little favorites star, look at the top and where it says Favorites Feeds History and click Feeds. Then the names of all the feeds that you are subscribed to will appear. Any that have been updated that you haven't looked at will be bold. If you click them you will see the text-only version, but you can click the blog name at the top and it will bring up the full monty. Oh my heavens, why did I not discover this sooner? Probably everybody already knows all this, but for me it was a lifesaver because the feeds download and once they are there you don't have to be connected to the internet to read them. Oh, and if you right click on them (in the Feeds list), you can go to properties and set it to update frequently, like every 15 minutes if you're really obsessed. Anyway, you probably already knew all that and it was just a repeat, but if not, feel free to ask any questions and I will help you. Also, if you don't have your comments set to email you when people make a new comment, you really need to get with the program. Just kidding, but it is nice to know when you have a new comment and not have to refresh your page."

Thank you again to Anne Marie!!! I also just had a friend send me a couple pics that she took of my kids at the football game. I loved the pic of Murph chillin in his ADORABLE "Mattingly" onsie! Thanks Carrie.... (She still secretly hopes I will change his birth certificate right???)

Thanks for sending me the pictures Melanie!!

A week in the Life of the Madsens...

So another week has come and gone. Not too much this week. Mick keeps himself busy every evening with either football or baseball. Macee dances 4 nights a week so right now we are just a shuttle. I am sure everyone has been there. I remember the prophet coming out a few years back and saying we really needed to be careful about our kids being in more than one thing. I am slowly seeing why. Family dinner at the table comes few and far between these days. Here are a few random pics I took throughout the week...

McGwire holding Murphy....

Macee took this of Murphy falling asleep sucking on his fingers. He is a wonderful baby. This is how he falls asleep 3 times a day. I love the snuggles.
We are very excited about the back deck that was put up on the house this past week. It's hard to see because it's all wood but I can't wait to sit and watch the sunsets...
Okay, okay... I have had several people bugging me to show the back of the house. I have posted the front a couple times but not the back so here it is...
This is my little gymnast Macee stretching her back getting ready to start doing her flips. I am pretty sure I couldn't do half the stuff she does until I was in junior high. She amazes me!!
That is all for the week. Mick's football team did awesome Saturday with a big win... He missed a couple passes that we haven't quit teasing him about but next time... right Mick? The baseball team - Tiger's - also had an awesome weekend. Now we are just gearing up for another week!!!