What's On My Mind Monday

Linking up over here:

I.  This parenting thing is getting to be a lot more fun.  Baby belly laughs are pretty easy to come by these days!  A few guaranteed strategies for a squealing Madi:

• Tickling: (In order of effectiveness) the best "tools" for tickling are mouth, feet (eww), toys, then hands.  The best targets are ribs (front), ribs (back), under her jaw, chunky monkeys (aka thighs), and feet.
• Advanced Peek-a-Boo:  This is more of a Hide-and-Seek/Peek-a-Boo hybrid.  Basically, I run away from her, hide, and call out "Where's Mommy" repeatedly.  She follows, then when she gets close, I jump out and yell, "PEEK-a-boo!"  Works every time.
• Offering to take her and Bella outside.   However, we can't use that word without really meaning it.  Some other words we have to spell: milk, cup, hoopla (kids' videos on youtube).
• Playing with Bella.  Her absolute favorite pastime is being whacked in the face by Bella's tail.  Her second favorite is probably being knocked over by Bella.  (I'm not being sarcastic; she really enjoys when Bella knocks her over.  It's the only time she doesn't cry after falling!)  She also loves to "pet" Bella, which involves any combination of hitting, fur pulling, and ear tugging.  

II.  Yesterday was a bit scary for us.  Patrick got a call during church from his cousin, saying that Pat's diabetic dad had passed out and was unresponsive.  He was admitted to the hospital (about two hours from our home), and we didn't get word that he was okay until Pat and his brother were halfway there.  He's fine, already back home and pretty much recovered, but afterwards Patrick and I admitted to each other that we had been really worried.  I'm so thankful he's okay!

III.  We sold our coffee table toddler death trap yesterday.  I almost feel like we should have paid the buyer for helping to make our house safer, but who am I to argue with a crisp twenty?  Our living room feels much bigger without it, but not in a good way.  It seems cold and empty.  I wonder how close twenty bucks could get me to an ottoman with storage.  I'll have to scour Pinterest and see what I can come up with!

I think that's all for now.  Happy Monday!
-Kelli