Walk in the Park

 A couple of weekends ago, the same day we finished the back porch, we decided to also do something weekend-y.  See, normally our weekends are spent working on something house-related, (Patrick) doing school work, going to church, (me) missing the days before the Texans' season ended, and (both of us) dreading Monday.  In that order.  Relaxing is just not a typical part of the agenda.

Since it was a pretty not raining yet day, we opted to go to a new park at a local subdivision.  They just completed a two and a half mile track (one way) that leads from one end of the neighborhood to the other.  We were hoping to at least get to the park in the middle of the trail.  That would be three miles, round trip.

We never know what to expect with Madison in the stroller.  Sometimes she'll quietly fall asleep, other times she'll fuss herself to sleep, and on occasion she'll fuss and not go to sleep, which forces us to turn around and carry her back to the car.  The farthest I've carried her so far is a mile and a half.  Once in a blue moon she'll stay happily awake, enjoying the scenery.  This was not one of those times.

Instead, she got fussy before we got to the half mile marker.  On the bright side, that meant a short walk back to the car.  On the not so bright side, that meant our break was cut short.  All signs point to her being even bossier than her mama, but she's the prettiest little taskmaster I've ever had.

 Since I'm paranoid about her being in the sun, I made Patrick carry the umbrella, even though she was wearing sunscreen and a bonnet.  I'd like to prove the dermatologist wrong.  He complained about it being difficult to carry both Madison and the umbrella, and Madi was happy to help.

 Well, at least we thought she was helping.  It turns out she had her own plans for the umbrella shaft.  Those plans were similar to the ones she had for my finger two days ago.  Unfortunately, my finger is not as resilient as the steel umbrella.  It is better at clotting, though.

 Fifteen minutes after we arrived, we were back to the car.  I wouldn't call this outing a rousing success, but it sure did result in some cute pictures!  I just love her old lady bonnet.

What does your typical weekend look like?  Do you find yourself so focused on getting things done that you forget to take a breath? 

-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!

I.  We had the privilege of seeing a good friend (Madison "calls" him "Uncle John") graduate from basic military training in the Air Force on Friday.  If you've never seen an Air Force graduation, I would suggest adding it to your bucket list.  By the end when the airmen took the oath of enlistment and shouted the airman's creed, it was all I could do to keep all my tears in my eyes.

Sorry she's a blur.  But she is a really cute blur, isn't she?

 II.  Oh, Texans.  I hate to point fingers, but Jacoby Jones, really?  I could have done better.  I know everyone says that, and it's almost never true, but all he had to do was get out of the way!  Who goes for a ball on kickoff return at the three yard line with two guys bearing down on them?  Without that senseless seven point loss, it would gave been a "W" for the Texans.   Talk about Yates all you want, but what do you expect from the third string QB?  Jones, on the other hand, has no excuse.  Texans, if you're listening, I can make myself available next season for most Sundays and Saturdays.  I promise to never touch the ball, and I'll accept half of whatever you're paying Jones.

III.  When I went to get Madison from the nursery after Sunday School yesterday, she was asleep in Mrs. Bonnie's arms.  Why won't she ever do that for me?!  I was totally jealous.  Don't get me wrong; I was happy that she felt comfortable enough to go to sleep in the new(ish) environment, but still super jealous.

IV.  Work on our house continues.  I've got a few posts to write to catch you up on the progress, but I would have to slow down on the house to make it happen!

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!

I.  I know I usually leave my Texans comments toward the bottom of the post so as not to alienate my demographic.  But since this one consumes a large portion of my thoughts, I figure it deserves primary placement today.  GO TEXANS!  If only I could have watched the second half.  Stupid  DVR me who forgot that the DVR was set to record two other shows when I left to put Madison down for the night.  Imagine my dismay when I came back and found Fox News playing where Foster, Johnson, Yates, Cushing, and Watt rightfully belonged.  Oh well.  At least I'll get to watch 'em stomp on the Ravens next weekend.

II.  Excluding last night, Madison has been sleeping really well for us lately!  Praise God.  I do not function well on insufficient sleep.  Seriously.  For a while there I thought I was getting depressed.  After a couple good nights of sleep got me right back on track, I realized that lack of sleep was the only problem.  What can I say?  I love me some sleep.

III.  I have three weeks worth of pictures that have not been posted.  I've got a feeling my Facebook friends will be receiving an overload of Madison images during her afternoon nap.  Unless I decide to take an afternoon nap, too!  : )

IV.  Are you ready for this?  You might want to sit down.  No, we're not pregnant.  We finished the fence!!!!  Bella loves having a backyard, Patrick and I love not having to see a half finished fence when we get home, and Madison loves...well, Madison loves milk.  Which is not in any way related to the completion of the fence. 

V.  We are excited (and nervous) to go see our good friend, John, graduate from basic training.  We're also nervous to spend our first night away from home since having Madison.  I could spend the next two weeks packing and still probably not have all we'd need.  Any suggestions (or offers to come do it for me) are welcome.

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here with Carissa!

I.  Patrick graduated with his Associate's degree Saturday.  I'm so proud of him for deciding to go back and finish what he started.  And I'm so thankful that he opted to sacrifice sleep instead of time with our sweet girl.  Now he has a few weeks "off" (from school anyway) before his next semester starts.  And he'll only be taking one course, because that's all he lacks to get into the business school at UH Downtown, so we'll call that an extended break!

II.  Pat and I were proud to be a part of our church's Christmas program yesterday morning.  The choir did a beautiful job!  I think that's the best Christmas program they've done.  And no, I'm not patting myself on the back, because thankfully, I was not a part of the choir.  That would have been a disaster.  Patrick and I just read introductions to a few of the songs.  And our mikes were (almost) always on when they were supposed to be.  : )

III.  Because we were on stage for both services, and my mom is in the choir, Madison stayed in the nursery all morning.  She got a little fussy during the first service, probably because she was woken up so early.  Dang train whistle.  We live quite a ways from the tracks, but for some reason the sound really carries!  After she took out her misplaced frustration with the nursery  workers by peeing on one of them(sorry,
Bonnie!), she felt much better.

IV.  When we invited people to come see Patrick graduate, we specified "no gifts".  Is it normal for people to bring gifts, anyway?  Because after seeing Pat's loot, I'm second guessing every "no gifts, please" event I've ever been to!  Nevertheless, I'm grateful that our sweet friends and family were so generous.  Patrick was a little overwhelmed by it all.  : )

V.  Oh, Texans. How will you ever beat the Packers in the Super Bowl if  you're gonna let the Panthers beat you?  Well, I guess if the Chiefs can do it, so can you.  But I expect a "W" next week, ya heard me?  (If you're not a Tyler Perry's Meet The Browns viewer, well, sorry.  You're just not gonna get that one.)

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here with Carissa!

I.  I left Madison in the nursery during Sunday School yesterday.  Except for a scheduled feeding (I didn't bring a bottle for her), she was fine the whole time!  I did okay, too.  And it was nice to sit through Sunday School.  It's been about five months since I've done that!

II.  We also left Madison with my mom last night so we could attend Patrick's company Christmas party.  We were gone for four and a half hours, and I didn't cry one time!  I thought that was pretty impressive, considering that she was taking a nap when we left (meaning no goodbye), and I expected her to be down for the night once we got back.  Thankfully, she woke up pretty much exactly when we got home(but went back to sleep with no problem), so we were able to tell her good night.

III.  Christmas is in thirteen days.  Which is hard for me to wrap my mind around, since I'm pretty sure it's still August.

IV.  The Texans are amazing.  I could not have been more excited about the last two minutes of yesterday's game (v. Bengals) if it was the Super Bowl.  Now it's time to stop getting injuries and rest up the big players (the ones we have left, anyway) for...PLAYOFFS!

V.  Tres Leches.  Ohmygoodness, that was some good stuff.  How do they get that much liquidy goodness to stay in the cake?

VI.  Madison can say Mama.  More accurately, she can say "ammmmmmmmm ummmmmmm mmmmmmmamamama".  Still no "d"'s.  And yes, I'm perfectly aware that she is not really attaching any particular meaning to her mummmummmm's, but a girl can dream, right?

Happy Monday!
-Kelli 

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!

I.  I never would have guessed I would still be sore four days after the Turkey Trot 5k.  I think I recovered from the marathon in less time than that!  I blame Madison.  : )

II.  Not too many men can really rock a crocheted flower.  I guess I just got lucky.

III.  Until digging into our most recent project, I had forgotten rule one of DIY.  When estimating time and money required for a project, multiply by two, then repeat. 
IV.  I also forgot rule two.  If anything can go wrong, it will go wrong.  I'll explain more later this week.

V.  There's a refrigerator in my living room.  At least he's not lonely in his new environment; the stove is keeping him company.
VI.  I'm still in shock that Leinart is out for the season.  First Schaub, then Leinart, watch out Yates!  We still pulled out a win, but I'm more than a little concerned about next week.  Especially since Foster seemed off his game yesterday.  Two fumbles?  Really?

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Linking up over here!

I.  It's amazing how much a twenty-week old changes in one week.  Since last Monday, she went from an average of four wake-ups per night to about one and a half (excluding Saturday night, more on that later).  She also started actually eating her rice cereal, as opposed to swirling it around in her mouth before spitting it all back out.  Oh yeah, and she can sit by herself now, for about five minutes (after which it's usually nap time, because she wears herself out!)

II.  Trying to fit attending a send-off party, having an overnight guest, baby dedication, Madison's first restaurant experience, Christmas pictures, a five mile walk hike, a week's worth of schoolwork(Pat's), and a call-out from work (also Pat) into one two-day weekend was probably the worst idea I've ever had.  Madison's sleep schedule agrees.

 III.  Madison's "Uncle" John ships out for the Air Force tomorrow.  We had to say "bye" last night.  It'll only be a couple of months before we see him again, but I'm pretty sure the longest Pat's gone without seeing him before now was, like, a week.  And they had withdrawals then.  Now seeking a brutally honest, painfully generous, loyal-to-a-fault friend for Pat.  All applicants must come equipped with at least fifty never-heard-before swear-replacing phrases that in some way reference spherical toys.  Training in Brazilian jiu jitsu a plus.   The patience and long-suffering required to deal with us is a must.  Now that I put it that way, I'm pretty sure we won't be replacing John Ballard any time soon. 

IV.  I missed most of yesterday's game, but I'm still proud of my Texans!  I know it was just the Buc's and everything, but 37-9?  Without Andre Johnson?  I hate to jinx anything, but at this point I think it's pretty safe to say I'll get to watch more than sixteen games this season, if you know what I mean.  : )


Happy Monday!
-Kelli

What's on My Mind Monday

Oops!  I forgot to mention that I'm linking up here!

I.  It's just a phase, it's just a phase, it's just a phase.  It won't last forever.  I will sleep again. 
II.  Madison was soooo good for her cousin Lila's birthday party on Saturday.  She missed TWO naps, and she was nothing but sweet the whole time.  (Maybe just a little bit cuddlier, which is okay by me)

Madison getting reacquainted with her Grandma at the party

III.  The Texans made my day yesterday.  Just imagine the way they'll dominate once they add Andre Johnson to the mix!

Madison finished up her nap with us on the couch during the second half.

IV.  Tummy time is, in Madison's estimation, the devil.
V.  We had better find a back up for Mr. Binks SOON.  She spends more time gnawing on him than she does sucking, and that does not bode well for his lifespan.

Mr. Binks is the monkey.  When she's sleepy, she'll hold him really tight while she sucks on the binky.  Sooo cute!

VI.  This is probably TMI, but while I was typing this list, Madison successfully picked her own nose.  That is, if if success is measured by long, slimy- never mind.  At least she's not putting small things in her mouth yet.

Happy Monday!
-Kelli

(A Very Late) Weekend in Review, Part Two

Our weekend was so busy that even after breaking it down into two parts, this will be a long post.  Unless your name is Grandma or Nana, I give you permission to stop reading here.  If your name is Grandma or Nana, you don't have to read the whole thing, but you should probably scroll through the pictures. :)

After Pat woke up, it was time to head to the pumpkin patch!  We chose this patch because we didn't want to go very far, and this is the only one we knew about within a fifteen minute drive.  A local Methodist church runs this one.  It's not very big, but they have a few cute little photo op vignettes.  Or whatever you call them.  The problem with those little set ups was that they were in full sun!  Not good for my little pasty-faced baby.  We clung tightly to the shade of the only tree in sight.  Unfortunately, this tree was in the parking lot.  I think we'll try again this weekend, but this time we'll go earlier in the morning or later in the evening.

I'll always think of this one as the picture that could have been.  Patrick hates when I put big bows on her, so to compromise, we took half the pics without her bow.  If she had her bow on and the image wasn't so dang fuzzy, I would totally frame this one.  Dadgummit.  (Whoa, when you type dadgummit, spell check highlights it.  The suggested alternative is not a very nice word!)

 We, by pure dumb luck, were at the pumpkin patch at the same time as some sweet friends from our Sunday School class.  They were kind enough to take a family picture for us.  Unfortunately, I hadn't planned to be in front of the camera.  Oh, well.  That's life!

 When we brought our pumpkin to the little tent they had set up for the volunteers, those sweet friends tried to run us off!  They were in the process of buying our pumpkin for us.  Then the man-friend (Joe, actually, but I think man-friend sounds funnier) proceeded to grab the pumpkin from me and carry it to our car.  Some people are just too nice.

We got home around two in the afternoon, which meant we needed to leave right away for our niece's princess themed birthday party.  Of course, "right away" doesn't happen very often with a four-month-old.

Since all the girls at the party were going to be dressed as princesses, I wanted Madison to do the same.  I picked out one of her "fancy" dresses.  She looked like a little flower girl!  An hour later, as we were finally walking out the door, Pat asked me one last time: "Are you sure she should wear that dress all the way there?"  I replied, for probably the sixth time in five minutes, that she would be just fine.  Not so much.  Before we turned off of our street, she screamed.  I bet they heard her at the party (which had been under way for five minutes at this point)!

 I pulled over, raced to get to the backseat, and ripped the little red faced cotton ball out of her car seat.  With Pat's help, I (still on the side of the road) pulled off her dress and changed her into a onesie.  Patrick threw the dress so far into the back of the car that when I opened the back hatch the next day, it fell out.  He was gracious enough not to say "I told you so".  Thanks for that, honey!

We only stayed at the party for about thirty minutes, but it was long enough for Madison to:

Say "Hello" to Princess Jenna,

stop and smell the roses unidentified but pretty yellow flowers,

watch the big kids play on the blow up obstacle course,

and plot her escape from Cinderella.

 We got home with just enough time to clean our house before a few friends came over to help Pat belatedly celebrate his birthday.  I baked that yellow cake, which wasn't cooled, iced, and ready to slice until about an hour and a half after everyone got there.  Instead of frosting from a can, I decided to whip up some butter cream.  I used the recipe from the same blog that gave me the chocolate butter cream recipe.  And something was WAAAAYYYY off.  The recipe called for 3 or 4 cups of powdered sugar.  We ended up using about ten (we lost count), and it was still too loose.  We only stopped at ten because we ran out of powdered sugar!

Runny icing aside, the cake was delicious.  It was gone before the last guest left (meaning at least three people had two slices!)  Having friends over at night is so nice.  With Madison down for the night, Pat and I are free to just have fun and relax.

To cap off the weekend, the Texans demolished the Oilers Titans!

Good times.
-Kelli