Giddy as a school girl

Notice anything new on the blog?

I'll give you a little hint. It's in the sidebar. It's brown and blue. It looks something like this:

I'm writing an online journal series for Blissfully Domestic and I'm just a little excited. {Eek!}

My first article went up yesterday. It's worth clicking over just to see the picture that accompanies my rambling.

By the way, the toes belong to my cousin's gorgeous baby girl and the photographer is another cousin. Where do I fit into a family so talented and beautiful??

And sorry, this is all you're getting today. I'm getting ready to leave for Dallas tonight. Did I mention I'm leaving Madeline for the first time for THREE WHOLE DAYS? Because I am. And I'm a wreck about it.

P.S. Bonus friend points if you name the movie I quoted in the title.

I won't be opening my oven drawer any time soon

Madeline doesn't have this vest but she has a pink sweatshirt with similar dark faux fur around the hood. The sweatshirt is no longer available at Gap.com and I'm too lazy to take a picture of hers right now so this will have to suffice. Consider it Exhibit A.

Being her mama's daughter, Madeline was scared of the fur and wouldn't wear it for several weeks. She warmed up to it once I convinced her it wasn't alive and wouldn't eat her face.

But this morning, I opened the dryer to pull out a load of her clothes, saw the fur peeking out from behind her jeans and screamed.

And screamed and screamed. Slammed the dryer shut. Raced up the stairs to protect my child from any other possible creatures in our house.

All I could think was, "My irrational fear just came true!"

Then I remembered, an hour earlier, I jumped a little while pulling her sweatshirt from the basket and into the washer. And jumped again when I transferred it from the washer to the dryer.

I felt like five-second Tom with an intense fear of rodents.

And I say I don't overreact....

It's all I've got, folks

My brain is empty.

Madeline's been sick which has required much holding and lots of Winnie the Pooh videos. It took me two days to write a simple 267-word article on motherhood. Something requiring no research other than remembering what I did yesterday.

It was surprisingly difficult.

So when my friend sent this to me, I laughed so hard I cried. Either my sense of humor left with my brain cells or this really is the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Let me know what your vote is.

(Click on the picture to make it bigger. It's worth it.)

It sits right next to Curious George and Dr. Seuss

Before Madeline goes to bed, she grabs her stuffed Pooh and I gather her pacifier, blanket and some books. Then we cuddle and read for awhile on the rocker.

But last night, when I pulled out her Pooh book, she shook her head and picked up the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.

Remember how much she loves catalogs?

Yup, she was very insistent that we read the catalog together. So we did.

Mainly, I pointed to images and said, "See this? It's just another thing you'll never get. Isn't it pretty?."

I'm not cold-hearted. It's just the PB doll house is a whopping $700.

And I would rather spend the same amount of money it costs for the PB kitchen set to remodel my kitchen. You know, the one that is actually needed to function for us to eat. The one that when my mom walked into my house, she said, "I grew up with countertops exactly like this!"

The eight little words every prospective homeowner hopes to hear.

(Just to clarify, I'm not saying my mom is old, of course. Just my countertops. Love you, Mom.)

I promise I'm not trying to raise up a consumer. She just enjoy looking at footballs, dogs, fireplaces and little kids. All her favorite things in one "book." No wanting going on whatsoever. No, "Please, Mom? Please, can I have this?"

Of course, I'm totally immune to coveting any Pottery Barn stuff. I don't want this. Or this. Or this. Or this. At all.

Or maybe I should put down my catalog and go read some Pooh myself.

Best on the Blogs

The Sure-Fire Way to Get Out of Debt
Preach it, SNL (thanks, Ashleigh)

$5 Dinners
One of my resources for sticking to our $40 grocery budget

My Advice to the Republican Party: Have Your Credit Card Ready
"Billy Mays is the most clean-shaven person
I've ever seen who has a beard."
And that's all I have to say about that. OK, but one more thing,
part two is pretty fantastic as well.

Facing My Fear
Faith is flying today. She'd appreciate a prayer.
(And how adorable is her little girl??)

Last Request
One of my favorite songs. Partly because I like his voice.
Partly because his last name makes me think of Nutella.

At least Madeline will have pictures of what her childhood was like

I am not a picture person but give me a second to clarify.

I love looking at pictures and love the idea of having pictures but I never remember to actually take the pictures.

Consider this a free tip: I've found that taking pictures is kind of an important step in the whole "have-pictures-for-future-posterity" thing.

Anyways, I kept thinking this week that I had pictures to pull off of the camera. I couldn't remember what they were so I didn't bother with it. But then my friend Amie asked me if I had done anything with the pictures after the The Great 2009 Post-Christmas Ornament Debacle.

Oh, that's right. I did have pictures on the camera.

Something like this:


This would be the glass-shard scene after a playdate with Amie and her son last week.

During the visit, Amie and I were barely able to talk because we were carefully watching every movement of our two kids.

Or, if you want me to be really specific, I guess you could say we were pretty absorbed in catching up with each other and let our kids run around my house. In our defense, we did take the precaution of closing the bathroom door. We're not total negligent mothers.

Anyways, at one point, we heard a crash and jumped up to run to the front room. Somehow, our two angels had climbed on Madeline's recliner, pulled most of the ornaments off the tree and gleefully threw them to the floor.

Want a better look? Sure!

It might look like Pooh was a casualty that day but be assured, he's OK. He was a little shaken up, but he's fully recovered now. And that's the wicker vase that Madeline has been having so much fun with recently. I think it faked its own death to avoid more ornaments being thrown at it. It also survived.

Oh, but let's not forget another picture I took. No, again, it's not of Madeline's sweet face.

It's my fleece-covered leg with a black sock, clinging on for dear life. I realized this after wearing the pants all. day. long. I am one classy mama.

Anything can be altered with the right perspective and chocolate cake

I took yesterday off around the house because Joe was going to be working late and I knew I was in for a long day. (My apologies to you moms who do this on a routine schedule. It's a rarity around here.)

When I say off, I mean I didn't clean a single dish until Judge Judy was on the radio, including the previous night's dinner dishes. I didn't sweep the dust bunnies I saw under my bed. And when I say bed, I mean kitchen table.

Lest all household duties be forgotten, I did make Jello and baked a chocolate cake. My sweet tooth will always outrank dust bunnies on my priority list.

Instead, Madeline and I spent lots and lots of time playing together. We built towers. We did puzzles. We played in her kitchen. We napped. We read 150 pages of Winnie the Pooh, proof that she will sit still for anything Pooh-related.

And, ahem, there's a strong possibility reading that much Pooh may have influenced the decision to make a chocolate cake.

Seriously, how good does that layered chocolate cake dripping with icing look?? I rest my case. Also I asked Madeline to point out the cake as I snapped the picture. But she wanted to make sure you all knew who Pooh was. Consider yourself educated.

We did a craft that's been around since Moses parted the Red Sea. Back then, it involved gluing Manna to an outline of sheep carved in rock.

(Do not be fooled by the vacuum in the background. Trust me, I did not use it yesterday. It's been sitting out since last Friday...)

We looked at this picture about 9,000 times because Madeline without Blake is like a fish out of water. We had just seen him the day before but she was missing him desperately.

And when I was distracted on the phone, Madeline took advantage of the situation to stuff not one but TWO pacifiers in her mouth. (She only gets her pacifier when she sleeps.)

It was a wonderful day, one when I felt like I was a stay-at-home mom and not the world's most distracted multi-tasker with a child.

But I woke up this morning feeling a little annoyed. By the state of our ignored house. By Madeline's crankiness after not sleeping well. By my crankiness after not sleeping well because Madeline didn't sleep well. And the fact that Joe and I played Wii until midnight once he finally got home.

But then I logged onto Facebook and saw my cousin's status:

"Christina is okay with the fact that my kids are driving me a little crazy today because it means they're alive and healthy!"

And if she can have that attitude with three kids, including a 1-month-old, I can have that attitude with my one child. Who is 100 percent absolutely, perfectly healthy.

The slice of drippy-icing chocolate cake for breakfast probably helped my attitude as well.

I should've spritzed on some Bengay to fit in

On Friday night, I got a call from my dad who asked if I felt like being spontaneous. After spending 157 hours in my house last week avoiding the cold, yes, I felt like being spontaneous.

It turned out a family member had tickets to the symphony and my parents would be happy to watch Madeline for us if we wanted to go. The performance started in two hours.

I had split pea splatter on my sweatshirt that I may or may not have slept in the night before. I was so in.

And that's how Joe and I found ourselves surrounded by Cadillac owners in fur coats on Friday night.

I really love going to live performances of any kind. Operas. Plays. Musicals. And I didn't think I was the only one in my generation who enjoyed the symphony.

I'm still convinced I'm not alone. But since evidence proved Joe and I were the only 20-somethings within a two-mile radius of the theater, I am apparently the only member of my generation who is thrilled to go to the symphony at 8 p.m. on Friday.

But we already know I'm old in spirit.

Anyways, it was a night of Ella Fitzgerald with jazz singer Patti Austin. I waited the whole evening in vain to hear "At Last." While thinking about it yesterday, I remembered that Etta James sang "At Last," not Ella Fitzgerald.

Hey, I never professed to be a music expert; I just enjoy listening to it.

The audience, however, was filled with music experts who knew exactly when to "ooooh!" and "ahhhh" at the right moments. The conductor would announce, "This next arrangement is by Billy So-And-So," and the entire auditorium erupted into hushed "oooohs" and smatterings of polite, golf claps.

Billy must be a big deal.

Joe and I missed every single chance to "ooooh" at the appropriate moment and, believe me, we really, really tried once we realized that was the cool thing to do.

If your grandparents recently mentioned two ignorant 20-somethings who attended the symphony with blank looks and never "ooooh-ed" at the right moment, just know they're talking about me.

Despite our lack of blending in with the crowd, it was a wonderful, last-minute date night. The orchestra sounded gorgeous and Patti Austin had a beautiful voice. She was also a fantastic storyteller who shared snippets of Ella's life in between songs.

The only downfall was the two loud people near us. We had a shouter and a hummer.

When Patti shared that Ella never did drugs, the shouter yelled, "I KNEW IT!" Apparently, he was very proud to already know Ella never did drugs. He shouted many other things too.

And the hummer, sitting directly behind me, knew every song and wanted to share that with us.

I'm just glad I restrained myself enough to not demand, "AT! LAST! AT! LAST! AT! LAST!" at the encore which would have definitely proved my ignorance to everyone. As if not "ooooh-ing" at the right moments didn't already make that clear.

Best on the Blogs

(These are my favorites from the Web this week. Some made me cry. Some made me laugh so hard I cried again. You may or may not see this every Saturday. Enjoy.)

(thanks, Jen)










SNL's Penelope Attends Traffic School
come on, you know you've sat next to a "Penelope."
Just don't say it was me.

Baby, it's cold outside

"Brrr" is how I'd sum up my week.

Although, I really shouldn't complain. I didn't leave the house from Monday night until Thursday afternoon so I could avoid the cold.

Refusing to leave your house is something that can be done while still achieving your professional duties when you are a stay-at-home mom.

I'm not really a person who goes stir-crazy easily. I actually really like being home several days a week.

However, I think Madeline was starting to show signs of distress when she created a new game. I call it the "Run Circles around a Wicker Vase filled with Thin Sticks" game.

And if I could pull videos off my camera onto the laptop without sending the poor, faithful, 5-inch thick laptop into shock, I would show you.

It's pretty easy to imagine.

She runs circles around my decorative wicker vase while yelling, "Go, go, go" and attempting to punch the air with her fist. But the combination of running and pumping the fist often proves to be too much coordination and so she'll spin out of control into the couch or floor.

It's hilarious and entertaining. At least for someone who refuses to leave the house for three days straight.

Anyways, I'm sure most of you are experiencing cold and snow of some sort.

(Except the rowdy Dallas crew who kindly keeps reminding us that they are cold too and actually have to *gasp* wear sweaters to work. You know who you are. {insert Blackberry angry face})

Since reading my friend Kristen's "Ode to Snow" earlier this week, I remembered my Indy cold has nothing on Chicago cold. And I also realized how ridiculously easy it is to get the musical masterpiece "Endless Love" stuck in my head for six days in a row. Thank you, Kristen.

And then humming "Endless Love" made me think of this wonderful little video which is so old by now, it's probably considered a classic, right up there with "To Catch a Thief" and "The Long Lost Trailer."

So forgive me if you've seen it before but it still makes me laugh out loud. But again, maybe it's just proof that I really do need to get out of the house more.

"And your eyes. Your eyes! Yours eyes!"

Wii's just having fun

Is it possible to be so out of shape that 15 minute of Wii Boxing causes such a severe soreness in which the simple act of lifting one's arms inflicts serious pain?

Apparently, yes. I am Exhibit A.

Over the weekend, we had dinner at my brother and sister-in-law's house and played Wii for the first time. It's probably an understatement to say Joe and I are addicted.

I have never been a video game person (excluding Duck Hunt and Mario Cart, of course) but Wii is some serious fun.

Dear People in the Wii Marketing Department,
I write an influential blog called Heart Gone Walking. I would rather not discuss the actual number of readers to my blog but if three can be rounded up to 10, let's say 10. I recently enjoyed getting sucker-punched by my sister-in-law and hitting my golf ball into the rough approximately 37 times. And can I please say how surprisingly fun it was to race a cow down a dirt path and hit scarecrows?

If you were to kindly send me a Wii game system for free, I would promise to:

• force myself to play it every day,
• write about the immense fun I'm having every day, and
  
• change my blog name to Heart Gone Playing Wii.

And if you were to send me a system to give away to one of my loyal reders, I'm sure the simple act of kindness would inspire him or her to do something so great and wonderful that the only possible result would be world peace.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Katie, Lover of Wii

As you can see, we had some serious fun.

Getting lovingly pummelled by Jenny

Joe blissfully unaware of the inevitable soreness soon to follow

"Yes, my love, you should be that scared of me."

In happier, yet more painful news, the world now has two more beautiful baby girls. My dear friend Jenn gave birth on Saturday and fellow Linden Lady Emily became a mom on Monday.

There really is nothing sweeter than holding a tiny one and wondering how in the world your talking, running, skipping, climbing toddler used to be that small.

Jenn and Emily, I will now be quiet about my sore arms. I know I have nothing on you two.

We don't call her Eagle-Eyes Madeline for nothing

Madeline loves catalogs. Her favorite one is from David's Bridal and when a new one comes in the mail, it's a guaranteed 20 minutes of intense focus and solid distraction.

So when the new Pottery Barn Kids catalog showed up yesterday, I set it aside for a time when I would need to get some work done.

I pulled it out this morning so I could tackle the huge pile of this morning's breakfast casseroles and pancakes dishes and pans. Or maybe they were last night's dinner dishes. Let's not be so technical.

Anyways, I led her to the couch, pulled it out from behind my back and she started bouncing on the cushions and clapping in excitement.

Who says you have to buy kids' toys?

The first few minutes were so peaceful and productive. Until she sprinted into the kitchen, yelling, "Ba-lul, ba-lul!" and pointing to a picture in the catalog.

It looked like she was just pointing at the children in the image so I tried correcting her.

"Boys? You see some boys?"
"Ba-lul! Ba-lul!"
"Table? They're sitting at a table?"
"BA-LUL! BA-LUL!"

At this point, she was almost hysterical with glee and screaming the word every second. I knelt down to see the picture more clearly and finally saw it.

Do you see what she saw? Spot anything that would throw Madeline into a frenzy?


Yes, that's right. My daughter can look at an image with a 1000 items and locate the Boggle game box.

I'm so proud.

I'm also thinking maybe we need to play some new games around the house.

15 things I've learned since becoming a stay at home mom

1. If I get on the computer for five minutes, I can easily say good-bye to an hour.
2. To-do lists are my friends and accountability partners.
3. Menu planning is the only way I can stick to a grocery budget.
4. I detest planning weekend meals.
5. Popcorn makes a great Sunday night dinner.
6. Staying home is not just a career change. It's an entire life change. I wish I prepared differently.
7. Being able to say, "I stay home" was a huge, unexpected milestone.
   
8. Routine, routine, routine will define my day. And yet every day is sweetly unique.
   
9. It is possible to have a McDonald's sweet tea as the highlight of my day.
   
10. Madeline continues to be the best form of entertainment I've ever experienced.
    
11. I now know how dinosaurs go to school, say goodnight, eat their food and get well soon. Boo-yah.
    
12. Opening my first blueberry diaper was a strangely terrifying moment until I was assured Madeline wasn't going to pass away from Death by Strange Poop.
    
13. Laundry will never get done in one day.
14. A strong determination to not let my child watch TV until 2 years old will go out flying out the window the minute sickness enters our home.
15. Children are born with personalities and preferences. For example, Madeline was born as a social butterfly with an innate love for Winnie the Pooh. This stuff can't be taught.
    

Discipline is over-rated

There are two things Joe and I have absolutely no self-control over:

1. Junk food
   
2. TV on DVD

Based on the above information, you can guess how we chose to recover from the flu last week.

Can anyone watch TV on DVD by viewing one episode at a time? It is way too easy to watch two or three episodes (or four or five or six....) in one evening.

And once you open Sour Cream and Cheddar potato chips, there's really no looking back.

Also, we are faced with the horrible dilemma of The Biggest Loser and Scrubs premiering AT THE SAME TIME tonight.

NBC and ABC, you're killin' me here. My life is so tough.

They're who I call when I need to know the trendy way to wear a scarf

I have three brothers, two older and one younger. Before I go further, I have to make something clear: I love my brothers. All three. Very much. They are all hilarious and if not for them, I would never have signed up for karate.

That said, I always wanted a sister. When my mom was pregnant with my younger brother, I pleaded with God to give me a sister. I promised Him that I would help my mom in any way if she could just bring home a baby who would wear shiny black Mary Jane's.

Clearly, Peter wasn't a girl and I got over it in about two seconds the first time I held him.

But I still always wanted a sister. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that I realized something very significant. Having only brothers does mean no sisters. However, brothers and a husband can mean sisters-in-law.

Oh, how I've been blessed with sisters now. Hopefully you've met most of them. "Happy Cuteness" Jen, hilarious Jenny, trendy Joanna and gorgeous Courtney.

Not only do I love my sisters, but I like them too. I'm thankful for sisters that I have fun texting during the day and still want to hang out with at night. They are all lovely, funny and wonderful.

And it just gets better. Just before Christmas, my brother-in-law proposed to his girlfriend Janna. I've mentioned her just a few times on the blog because she's amazing. Seriously love this girl.

She makes to-die-for apple crisp, knows every word to "Shoop," created adorable clothes and a super-cute Halloween costume for Madeline, and the first time she sat on my couch, I knew we would be friends.

She is so entertaining to be around because you never know if you'll be introduced to a musical masterpiece like "Buttermilk Biscuits" or hear more about just how much she loves Jesus. Two very different elements, but in Janna, they just blend because she's always real.

So to Jon and Janna: a very belated but still heart-felt congratulations on your engagement. I'm so thankful to be your sister and friend. It's an honor to watch your love for each other and God. And thanks for being fun people, too.

I spent Saturday with Janna in wedding fever, first at a bridal show and then David's Bridal. To me, this is the epitome of having sisters. My brothers and I don't really do a lot of cake-tasting and dress-browsing together.

While looking at seven shades of brown (and I kid you not, there really are seven shades of brown bridesmaid dresses), I couldn't stop thinking that sometimes God really does answer, "Not now."

No, I didn't get a sister in 1992, despite all my fervent prayers. But on my wedding day, I got two sisters and in just three years, I have three more.

We don't get to pick our family members, but I'm very blessed to say I would choose to be friends with all of my sisters, even if we weren't related by the men in our lives.

They just might not say the same about me, their loud-laughin', Crossroads-lovin', sweet tea addicted, rodent-scared sister.