Help!

Alright all you bloggers out there. I need your shopping help and advice. We are coming to the end of an era here at the Landcruiser Household. Madigan & her babysitter (Nanny to those of you who didn't grow up in a blue collar house ;) are parting ways after Four and 3/4 years together to make room for going to Big Girl School. She has been caring for Madigan four days per week since Madigan was nine weeks old. I am awful at coming up with ideas and knew many of you would know just the thing! Her sitter is her second mother, so I would like something sentimental but also something she could actually use and not just shove on a shelf. She has two children of her own (ages 5 and 2) that Madigan has grown up with, played with, fought with and shared with. I really want to give her something to remember Madigan by. Flood me with ideas!!!

Addendum

I tried.............She won.

A Bit of Pink

The new In the Pink Lilly Pulitzer Fall Catalogue arrived yesterday and Madigan immediately knew what store it was for. How is that for a savvy four year old? She honed in on these boots the second she opened up to the kids section. They have the cutest pink elephants on them and I can totally see her splashing around the puddles in these babies! Unfortunately, her cheap mother is not about to fork out $78 for rain boots. Looks like we'll have to keep these in mind a few months down the line. They also have some beautiful dresses in the new line like this one:

It is a classic for sure. I have to really start toning down my shopping for the girl because she has to wear a uniform to her new school. So while I may not be purchasing these beauties for now, I absolutley have to order this today. (Couldn't get the picture to appear)

I can't believe she is headed off to K1 (also known as pre K because she is not 5 by Sept 1st). I seemed like just yesterday that she was a tiny thing who did not argue about the clothes I was putting her in! Where does the time go?

Summer Fun

Can't believe the calendar is already progressing into August. Here we are in the Dog Days of Summer and I have been totally awful about posting some of the great stuff we have been doing these past few weeks. I need to find some time to really sit and organize my thoughts and pictures in order to immortalize them here on my blog.

One of the greatest things we did this summer was go to a Red Sox game in July followed by a special event at Fenway Called "A Picnic in the Park". It is organized by the Red Sox wives and all the proceeds go to three different (I think) charitable organizations. You basically get to roam around on the actual field and have a picnic. They provide you with a bag containing a blanket, and some other donated items like hand sanitizer (?) from CVS and a CD from the guy who sang the National Anthem at the game. You can wait in line to get some autographs from the players. They do that for about an hour, after which the guys spend the rest of the evening with their families. There is also a live auction with some pretty great things to bid on like a hunting trip with Tim Wakefield and dinner at Curt Schilling's house which if memory serves went for about $35,000.

This year, we brought my niece Lara who is seven and has always been a huge Red Sox fan. Her night was made when Jason Varitek came over and introduced himself to her and thanked her for being his #1 fan. Lara was speechless! She told me it was the greatest night of her life! Here are a couple shots of the fun:

Madigan could care less about talking to Jason, Doug or Tim, all she wanted to do was get her face painted. She has no idea how lucky she is to be in the presence of such greatness!