Homesick Ramblings

I have seen a number of Facebook posts the past three weeks or so that say things like this,

"Heading to the island. Anyone need a ride?" or
"Boston to MDI: 5 hours. But I'm finally home!" or
"Back home for the summer. Who wants to get together?"

This has left me in the most melancholy mood. I miss home so much, and the thing is I don't really ever get to go back. I'm not talking about the whole a-place-doesn't-stay-the-same-ergo-you-can-never-go-"home" thing. I'm talking about never being able to physically get to where I grew up.

Of course, it doesn't really help that I have two places I consider "home"--aside from my home with Mike of course. But really, although I do miss my family and some people on Saipan, I don't think of it as home. Not to mention there have been so many changes to the house and many of my friends don't live there anymore, so it's really only my family and few others who make Saipan "home" for me.

But that's all beside the point. The point is, I miss Maine. Mike was saying to me last Sunday, "What do you mean, we never get to go to Maine? We went twice last year!" And it's great to get to visit Dover. I love seeing my family, but what I really mean is I never get to go home to MDI. That's where I want to be. And these statuses of old friends last seen long ago are making me very homesick.

This photographer/realtor is great. Check her out!

Blankie: A Sabbath Story of Renewal

Don't worry, I'm not actually going to use Blankie as a metaphor for the Atonement.

Here's the backstory: for Madie's first Christmas, Aunt Holly sent her a small, portable blankie. She said that because Mike was so attached to his blankie (which was an actual blanket--and he still has it) she thought Madie might like a blankie herself. I don't mind if my kids are attached to things when they're little, but I do mind if it's so big that it drags all over the ground (memories of a four-year old in Ikea with a blanket that could literally fit a queen bed have hounded me for ages!) so the idea of having a small one to carry around just makes so much sense! 

Madie and Blankie were the best of friends from then on. Blankie was perfect: small, soft, and purple. Madie took her to church, to bed, to breakfast, to lunch, to naptime, to park group--you name it. 

Then the fateful day came: the daddy-daughter campout an hour away. Of course Blankie had to go! (Monkey went too, but was carried in the backpack, Blankie was carried by Madie.) Instead of packing a dinner, Mike said they would just stop by a diner or something and get something to eat. This was the last place Blankie was ever seen. 

:(

Madie and Mike didn't really notice at first because of all the excitement of the campout. But when Mike came home he said he hadn't noticed it for some time. He called the restaurant and they said they hadn't seen anything.

We like to think that Blankie is resting in peace on a sandy beach somewhere on the coast of California. And I think we're probably spot on there.

Luckily, Mumma and Dada have friends in high places. I made a couple of phone calls, pulled a couple of strings, and in the mail on Saturday there was a package for the Fi.

Mumma! What's in there?

Could it really be?!

BLANKIE! Where have you been?! You crazy thing!

You're so clean! So soft! You look great!

Quick! Come see Puppy! She's been dying to see you!

Thanks again, Hol!

Claim to fame

My Dad scanned this in and sent it to me the other day. I was three at the time, and my sister around eight. We were outside playing, and a man from the Morgan Hill Times came up to us (we were alone in the front yard) and asked if he could take our picture. I can't remember if he talked to my Mom afterward or not, but Holly had told her that "A man came and took our picture outside." Turns out, they were looking for some sort of story. We made the front page though!

Her Peeps

So I know I promised a post on Madie's favorite people, but then when I went to post it, Blogger started flying off the handle. So now, quite a while after I planned on posting it, here is a few of Madie's peeps.

First and foremost I think it should be mentioned that Madie keeps a horde of suitors. I have witnessed various hug-attempts from little boys at the library and in nursery--all have been shunned. (Mostly in fear that they'll knock heads in their enthusiasm, which has been known to happen when your head is a third the size of your body.) But I don't know of any boy who has shown more enthusiasm and devotion than this little one right here:

Rion comes down the slide with the help of Shelley and Cara.

Rion is a regular playmate, and receives the most excited greeting every time. (Usually a screamed "Hi!" and double-handed wave. BEAT THAT!!) But Madie is very excited to see any of her friends. Often, at the beginning of church, we see many of her friends pass and each of them gets a wave and multiple hi's. It's adorable.

Rion and Elise sit on the play structure at park group.

 Madie's other favorite man is obviously Dada. She loves to snuggle up to him and read a book, and she loves, loves, LOVES to wrestle him. (Refer to the latest video.)

This is a typical scene before supper. Or after supper. Or on the weekends.

 And, of course, her favorite person on the planet, MUMMA! YAY! Madie and I get to spend a lot of time together--sometimes more than one of us would hope--and so it stands to reason that she loves me best. Right? Really, though, she is my second-best cuddle partner, especially in the morning, and we love to go on walks together and visit the library.

A Little Sompin' Sompin' for the Mommas

To brand-new moms and future moms,

Is it weird to think she'll probably be a mum someday?

To moms a couple times over,

Grammy C.

Nana W.

And to moms who are moms more than a couple times over,

This pic doesn't really have anything to do with me or Madie, but both my Grams look so happy in it I just love it!

Grandma C. 

A very happy Mother's Day!

And now, a Mother's Day greeting from Madeleine:

Her: "Dada?"

Me: "Mumma."

Her: "Dada?"

Me: "Mumma."

Her: "Mumma?"

Me: "Yes, Madie?"

Her: "Mumma."

A Few Favorite Things

Just in case you don't feel you've had enough Madie, I thought I'd post a bunch of pictures of her and her favorite things at this point in her life. In truth, she's been pretty consistent in her delights. Probably because she's girly. (For example, a lot of her likes have to do with clothing. A LOT.)

Love #1: Hats

If it goes on your head, chances are she's gonna like it. A lot. And it's kind of cute how she'll find a hat and know exactly what to do with it, even if it doesn't look like a hat when it's just lying crumpled up in the clothes hamper...

Exhibit A: Dad's hat found in clothes hamper after a campout.

But she loves pretty hats too, which made the fact that she didn't want to wear her Easter hat so strange. Often, if I let her, she'll wear a hat around the house all day. But don't worry, Grammy! On Tuesday when she insisted on wearing her Easter dress again, she happily wore the hat around outside while she tossed a ball.

Exhibit B: Southern belle? I'd say so. If we were from the South, anyway.

Love #2: Chocolate

This girl's in for some serious addiction problems. I'm pretty sure the picture says it all.

Exhibit C: Chocolate Face. Of course, food in general. That's my girl!

 Love #3: La Luna Bella

Mike says little cousin Claire had a thing for the moon when she was a tyke. If so, Madie has inherited the same love. She'll point it out as we walk into the house after a late night, or when we're out on the playground in a swing. She loves it!

I know it's hard to see. We really need an SLR. One day, Mike, one day...

 Love #4: Pretty Dresses

Pretty things in general actually, but dresses take the cake! (Well, maybe a pretty chocolate cake would take the cake, but she'd love to eat it in a pretty dress.) If it's pouffy, frilly, and covered in bows, this girl's gonna wear it. The dress Grammy picked out for Easter was perfect. I had a friend at church who said she wished they had a dress like it in her size. Sorry, Shaine. :)

Exhibit D: Yellow Polka-Dot Dress

Thanks to Grandma Clark's dress last year and Grammy Conner's dress this year, Madie has now set a precedent for herself: yellow Easter dresses. I think it's adorable. Yellow is one of my favorite colors. In fact, to prepare my room for when I moved out to join my family on Saipan, my sister helped pick out a yellow she though I'd like and she and my brother painted the room. Then when I moved across the hall into Lex's room, Sam painted that one yellow too! (Or was the second one cream? I think I had it done in yellow, but now I can't remember.) Either way, thanks Sam!

That was kind of a long rant on my own flaxen feelings. The point is, I like Madie's yellow Easter dresses. And I'm pretty sure she likes them too.

Yellow dress, sans hat. She did wear the hat most of the time she was out though.

 Love #5: Soft Things

Like I said, girly. Dresses, hats, chocolate, and soft things. It's true though. Sometimes when she's being a PRINCESS OF PAIN while I change her diaper, I'll snatch her pillow pet out of the crib and put it under her. It usually works. She also loves her plush puppets from Uncle BJ and Aunt Shannon. (She also loved her blankie from Aunt Holly, but we don't speak of that anymore. Blankie rests in peace, probably somewhere on a sandy beach.)

Madie in her "house" Dada made out of some big boxes we had lying around. All that's in there is her puppy and the body pillow, and she's happy as can be.

One of these days I'll post about some of her favorite people. Now that you've got to see!