the book sale

I've posted in the past about Madi's entrepreneurial ways.  She's such a trip.

One afternoon this week, she gave me instructions to come to her room in five minutes for a book sale. Of course, I was in the middle of ten-thousand things. Madi knows exactly when to hit me up.

I followed my strict orders: knocked twice, pushed the little light on her door that acts as her pretend doorbell. I walked in to find Madi behind a tray table with a keyboard (hooked up to nothing) under her savvy little fingers.

She prompted me for all my personal information and then invited me in to her book sale. On her bed, I viewed a smattering of pictures she'd colored, along with a couple of books that she'd written on copy paper and stapled together. Very industrious. Also included was her folder from preschool that was filled with pictures and memories.

Drawings: .10 each
Books: .50 each
Memory book: $1.00

As Madi tenaciously showcased each item, my type A-ness (sadly) began to kick in and my mind started to wander, knowing that dinner was on the stove and who knows what Charlie was up to, so I anxiously asked Madi the one question that was music to her ears, "How much for everything?" 

I walked out with my arms full of treasure and an I.O.U. for $1.50 and headed back to my duties.  And my daughter is her own collection agent, I might add.  Suffice it to say...debt paid the next day.

In an effort to straighten up the house yesterday, I returned the books to Madi's bookshelf, and somehow I know how this is going to end.

I have this sinking feeling that she's going to convince me to purchase these items again next week when I'm under pressure.  She's no dummy!  And she is my favorite author, by the way...

God bless the mess

These are the some of the shenanigans that we contend with on a daily basis from Charlie.

He's a pack rat.
He's a hoarder.
Sorry folks...he's just an outright mess sometimes. And it's difficult to keep up with him!

Before you accuse me of being a cruel and over-reactive Mommy, alas let me show you some of the mounting evidence:

A piece of American cheese we found stuck to our mirror.

Doesn't everything on the vanity actually belong in the sink?

Charlie's nest in Marco Island

Yummy...strawberry yogurt mixed with buttered corn.

Claiming his territory in our dining room

Happiness in a pile.

Good thing we're so madly in love with this little man. And it doesn't hurt that he's so stinkin' cute either. Cause Charlie drives us absolutely crazy sometimes. But we couldn't possibly love him more. And we know that someday we'll look back at this phase and laugh.

Until then, may God bless this mess!

Oh Happy Day

I woke early this morning.

Aware that Madi was probably stirring already.

Shortly after I poured my cup of coffee, she surfaced.

That was probably the most emotional moment of my morning.

It was the way she looked. Madi was completely dressed from head to toe, with her backpack already on, and an expression on her face that clearly said, "I'm so proud to be a first grader!"

It totally melted my heart.

The three of us walked Madi to her classroom. Jimmy and I LOVE her new teacher and have a very good feeling about the fit for our daughter. Ms. Barganier, her teacher, seems to have a really gentle and calm personality (much different that the Type A that she gets here at home with me!) and I think it will be a really nice balance for her--one that will do her good.

Unlike last year's mishaps, the school did everything right. It was I who fell short this year when I accidentally wrote "parent pick up" down on Madi's info sheet instead of "walker."

Duh.  I only did this every day last year.

Don't know what I was thinking (I wasn't). At the end of the day, Madi told the teacher that she was a walker, but the teacher wasn't sure based on my mistake, so she sent Madi to the office. The office called me to verify, and once again, I classified Madi as a "parent pick up" kid.

Duh x 2.

Madi's "walker" friend and classmate, Ava, came out to the walker section alone, and told us that Madi was with the parent pick up kids at car line.

Thankfully, Jimmy was with me. He went to the parent pick up line, while I ran around frantically trying to find Madi. Turned out that Ms. Barganier's parent pick up kids were dismissed late, and I found Madi walking to car line accompanied by her teacher and several friends.

Relief x 10.

She had a GREAT day. Very pleased that she had TWO important jobs: taking the attendance to the office and dispensing hand sanitizer before snack.

And reported that a boy in her class told her that she was beautiful...twice in one day:)

Making sure everything's in order

Ready for action!

New shoes compliments of Aunt Sheila & Uncle David:)

"Someday Charlie, you'll go to school too!"

Say "Cheese!"

Madi with her lovely teacher, Ms. Barganier

The Checklist

Lunch packed - check
Clothes laid out - check
Backpack ready to go - check
Alarm set - check

Tomorrow's a very BIG day.

First day of first grade.

Madi's super-excited.

We're all set...I think.

Camera - check
Tissues - check 

Now I know the list is complete...

Photos to follow! 

Marco Island

We took our annual trip to Marco Island last weekend. We have no injuries to report this year (like we did in this post from last year's trip), thank God! Just a wonderful trip and tons of fun jammed into two days. We all enjoyed the weekend so much, that it actually seemed we were there longer!

Charlie, following in his sister's footsteps, is a true water baby. The Marriott has a big water slide at the kid's pool, and he loved it. He must've gone down ten times the first day. At one point, Charlie came down head first on his belly. Madi had tried to grab him before his departure, but he slipped out of her hands. He did a flip in the water and I think it scared him because he probably took in a good mouthful. He didn't do that again!

Both kids (and parents) really enjoyed the ocean. We floated for hours, collecting shells with our toes and bouncing in the not-so-threatening waves of the west coast. Madi and Jimmy did some snorkeling, too. Saturday morning, Madi and Jimmy rented a kayak and spotted some dolphin. Madi had a ball. Charlie and I, once again, floated around together and took it all in.

We found tons of awesome shells. Shelling has become a fun hobby for our family, and we have quite the collection to remember our Marco Island getaways.

It was a great, great vacation for all of us. And a much needed break from our everyday trappings.  See you next year, Marco!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Men at work.

It was casual day here in our home office:)

Happy birthday Mason

Last weekend, we attended the third birthday party of Charlie's best buddy, Mason. These two are pretty very tight.

As timing would have it, I was in the bathroom with Madi when the celebratory singing took place at cake time, and had asked a friend to look after Charlie while we stepped away.

I know how much Charlie loves blowing out candles for birthdays. He's obsessed with it actually. Whenever we call someone to sing "Happy birthday," he blows into the phone at the end of the song.

So, after the party I asked him, "Charlie, did you see Mason blow out his candles?"

To which he replied, "No. Char Char!" and pointed at himself.

I followed up with, "Who blew out Mason's candles?"

He replied, "Char Char!"

I let it go wondering what went down, but not really thinking twice about it.

Until I received this hilarious photo from Mason's Grandma!

Yep. Charlie in a full pucker trying to blow out Mason's birthday candles! I hope he made a nice wish for Mason:)

twenty pennies

Twenty pennies doesn't sound like much, but it sure goes a long way in the Murphy household these days.

You see, at the beginning of Summer, we had a little bit of trouble adjusting to our non-schedule. Since Madi opted to stay home rather than sign up for many activities and camps, it was clear that she had some energy that needed to be...let's just say...harnessed.

One of my besties, Sherril, remembered a great system that she used with her daughter Julianna when she was young. I loved the sound of this great reward system, and it was certain that Madi did too.  Good deeds and household help result in pennies. The greater the deed, the more pennies rewarded. Together, we created various rewards for achieving ten and twenty penny levels.

Madi dove right into this new system. She earned six pennies the first day! Shorty thereafter, she had earned her ten pennies, enough to redeem for a prize. But she decided to hold out for a twenty penny reward. And several weeks later, Madi redeemed twenty pennies to go ice skating with Daddy.

But today, Madi received her favorite reward of the Summer. A pet fish. She is so excited about her new baby, and Charlie is quite fascinated, too. Perhaps he'll earn a fish of his own someday.

Way to go, Madi!!

 

An update on the book

It's been a while since I've posted an update on the book here. So today, I'll play catch up.

I finally faxed approval for the galley (inside) of the book this week. I am so very relieved to have completed that phase of the process.

And I can't believe this labor of love is already two years in the making.

Bittersweet.

I'm told that we should have an "author copy" in our hands within a couple of weeks to approve.

Now we work on perfecting the marketing materials with Westbow (business cards, postcards, and bookmarks).

I need to concentrate on other unfamiliar areas, too.  Like the Facebook page, creating the website, and setting up a purchasing system on that website. Doing so will allow us to maximize profits so that we can achieve one of our main goals of donating to adoption and orphan care charities in Daniel's name.

Then it's on to the most meaningful part of all.

Sharing Daniel's story. And honoring him.

Sharing God's grace. And glorifying Him:)