She's already a darn good storyteller

I could watch her talk forever and never get bored.

Things I love Thursday: The Red Plate

I'm still in birthday mode around here. Partly because when my head is this congested, my thoughts move slower than American Idol getting to the point. Partly because there's half of a Winnie the Pooh cake in the fridge.

Don't worry, I'm working on resolving both issues. With amoxicillin and forks.

Back to birthdays. One of my favorite favorite traditions growing up was our family's Red Plate. I prefer to use its incredibly long alternative title, the You Are Special Today plate.

My mom always did a great job making birthdays special. With everything else she did, the table was always set with the regular Hadley dishes and then that one red plate. My brothers and I ate many birthday dinners and birthday cake slices on the red plate.

I promise, food really does taste better on the red plate.

Even before I was married, I knew my first child's first birthday present would be our family's red plate.

(Sometimes I give gifts that are more for me than for her. Don't hold it against me. That's normal, right? Right?)

I hope one day Madeline will love her red plate as much as I loved mine. And that she loves it because she will have eaten all of her birthday cakes on the same plate.

Basically, I hope she's as sentimental as me. Without the constant propensity to cry while listening to the radio in the car.

(I bet you all haven't forgotten that time I sobbed over Carrie Underwood...)

Seriously? This was just 12 months ago? What happened to my baby and where did this little girl come from???

OK, I'll keep her. I can't resist the cuteness.

And yes, in typical Katie-style, I forgot to take any pictures of Madeline eating on her red plate this year. However, if you look back at the picture of Janna and Madeline, you can see the red plate on her high chair in the background. So there is photographic evidence that Madeline used it this year. It just wasn't intentional. But let's not be technical.

Hop over to The Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.

P.S. One more thing I love: So You Think You Can Dance 2-hour premiere tonight. SO EXCITED!

Today I woke up pretty sick

The last 24 hours have been incredibly fun.

Did you catch the sarcasm dripping from my voice? Too bad you can't hear my voice because I sound like I smoked 12 cartons of cigarettes today. And I'm so congested that I stop strangers in their tracks who proceed to say, "Oh dear, you sound sick."

True story. I appreciated their diagnosis. Really.

Because I really have nothing else, here's a run-down of the last 24 hours:

11 p.m. last night - Turned off The West Wing and went to bed. Emily lent us the entire series on DVD. Joe and I are addicted and have no self-control.

11:15 p.m. - Got up out of bed to watch two more episodes. I repeat: we are addicted and have no self-control. Plus, I really dread the nights when I'm sick and Joe loves me enough to stay up with me. He loves even Sick, Whiny Me. I'm a lucky, loved girl.

1 a.m. - Went to bed for the second time.

1 - 7 a.m. - Woke up constantly. It was a blast. Don't know why everyone isn't doing it.

8 - 9 a.m. - Cuddled with Madeline while she watched PBS.

10 a.m. - noon - Napped. It was bliss. Until I woke up and realized my head was 15 pounds heavier than two hours earlier.

1 p.m. - Got ready for my doctor's appointment at 1:45 p.m.

1:45 p.m. - Waited in traffic after discovering the street my doctor's office is on is closed.

1:50 p.m. - Panicked that I'll miss my appointment.

1:57 p.m. - Near tears thinking I might not receive drugs today.

2:03 p.m. - Proud of myself for not breaking down in sobs as I apologize to the receptionist who clearly doesn't believe my story.

2:03 p.m. - Little Old Lady behind me vouches that the street is indeed closed. Receptionist believes her. After all, she is a Little Old Lady.

2:04 p.m. Restrained myself from hugging Little Old Lady.

2:30 p.m. - Leave doctor's office with small paper allowing me to buy drugs for diagnosed sinus infection.

3 - 7 p.m. - Heard, "Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom?" about 1,732 times. Rough estimate.

7 - 9:30 p.m. - Missed Joe and wished I was watching The West Wing with him. Avoided Dancing with the Stars finale like the plague.

9:30 p.m. - Lethargically and pathetically welcomed Joe home.

9:31 p.m. - Turned on The West Wing with my hubby.

11 p.m. - Went to bed hoping my head will be 15 pounds lighter tomorrow.

And then she was two

The night before the big day, Joe and I blew up 50 balloons. Out of everything we bought, this was easily the best 3 bucks we spent on Madeline's birthday.

Stop! Put down the phone and don't call CPS. We did not put them in her crib while she slept. Pinky promise. (She did that later and stood in her crib with adult supervision.)

We put them in her room while she was sleeping so that her floor was covered in balloons when she woke up. She was so stinkin' excited to wake up to her balloon-filled room on her birthday.

Despite her sincere love for all birthday-things that are edible, I really think the balloons were her favorite part.

And because she's Madeline, the lover of food, she thoroughly enjoy her cake. Her first of three cakes.

Have I mentioned yet I spent today dealing with her sugar withdrawal? Because I did. Tears came easily and quickly today after her festival of staying up late and eating gobs of sugar that was the weekend.

This was her trying to get every last sugar gram off her fingers. Can you guess what she's staring at?

She's looking at the newest member of our family.

She's gazing into the eyes of her beloved new fish.

Yes, I realize it's gross to show you an image of such a dirty fish bowl but it does capture how much she loves this fish. If a fish can die from a child gingerly yet repeatedly touching the glass of its home, then this little guy doesn't stand a fighting chance.

Joe had the fantastic idea to give her a Beta fish for her birthday because at the end of every Wal-Mart trip, Madeline gets to visit the fish. She goes la-la-crazy over seeing the fish.

I wish you all could have seen her face after we peeled her away from her balloon room to go see "a present on the table."

Her eyes were the size of dinner plates when she saw the fish bowl. After she stopped hyperventilating, we asked what she wanted to name her fish. She declared him Mickey the Fish and that name still cracks me up.

Now whenever we leave home, she says, "Bye home. Bye Maggie's home (our neighbor). Bye Mickey's home." And my heart melts.

Her love for Mickey made me realize why parents are willing to lie to their kids by replacing a small pet. I never want to say those three words, "Honey, Mickey died."

So let me just say now for the record, we will probably have Mickey the Blue Male Beta Fish for the next 21 years.

For our family birthday part, my newest sister-in-law Janna (just 12 days after Madeline threw a flower basket during her wedding) offered to make Madeline's birthday cake. Since my cakes turn out horrendous, I gratefully accepted her offer.

(I'm not being humble, I promise. The top layer of the cake I baked on Madeline's birthday was literally sliding off the bottom layer. It looked like the cake from Sleeping Beauty. However, it was this recipe so once we were able to stop the cake from sliding onto the floor, it tasted A-MAZING if I can say so myself.)

(Sidenote: I may or may not have just spent 25 minutes scouring the Web for an image of the Sleeping Beauty cake with no results. Come on People Who Fill the Internet! We need an image of that cake.)

Anyways, Madeline was beyond excited for her Pooh cake.

She loves her Aunt Janna. I do too, by the way. (And not just because she makes a fantastic Pooh cake.)

All in all, it was a great but busy weekend. My proof is in the fact that Madeline napped for FIVE HOURS today. 'Nuff said.

Happy birthday to my Madeline

My Madeline,
Two years ago today, a nurse placed you on my chest and underneath, my heart was changed forever.

I thought I loved you before then.

I had felt you kick my ribs and squirm from side to side and I knew I was already a mom because you were alive inside of me.

But I had never peered into your eyes or felt your little fingers grasp on mine. Despite gaining 25 (or 35) (or 45) pounds during the pregnancy, I didn't feel the weight of being your mother until I had all 8 pounds, 8 ounces of you in the crook of my arm.

I had never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. My heart actually hurt as love exploded inside of me. I have a daughter.

You still are the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

Today you're 2 years old. You barely stay still for Daddy to get a picture but you still grasp my fingers. Now it's because you're walking beside me.

But I'll take it because 24 months later, I still marvel over your grip. I have a daughter.

You're a mover and a shaker, Madeline-girl.

You love to have dance parties in the middle of the day. You frequently ask to dance and so I'll turn up some music (Coldplay and Third Day are your favorites; conveniently, they're mine too) and we'll dance like fools around the living room. You have way more moves than I do. It turned out all those dance parties were just practice for Jon and Janna's reception because you danced for hours that night.

You have a kind, soft heart, Madeline-girl.

When another kid is crying, you are concerned and too distracted to do anything but wait for them to stop. When you are eating your favorite foods like sweet potatoes or string cheese, you want me to have a bite too. You just won't share your flower basket when you're in front of hundreds of people.

You love to eat, Madeline-girl.

You can put down food like no other tiny 28 pound person. No kidding. I have to really watch your portions because you would eat an entire trough of sweet potatoes or string cheese if I let you. And bananas. Oh, the bananas. If you don't have a banana for breakfast, I have to hear about it for the next hour.

You love Winnie the Pooh, Madeline-girl.

At our grocery store, some employees recognize you as the "Pooh-girl" because he's almost always riding in the cart next to you. I can always tell when you like a person because you will run up to them and give them Pooh, your most precious item. But you don't like to be separated from him for long which is why you take him back after about two seconds.

You are an emphatic talker, Madeline-girl.

You have a big vocabulary but when you're excited to share something (which is all the time), you jabber feverishly and wave your hands in the air. You use your hands a lot when you talk. I have absolutely no idea who you get that from. I certainly am not that way. Your friends and family love to watch you talk because you always put on a show.

You adore books, Madeline-girl.

Sixty times a day, you bring me a book and say, "Read. Up." Most of the time, I drop whatever I'm doing to cuddle with you because everyone and their mom (literally) warns me this time is fleeting. And I believe it because you're already reading to yourself. When I ask you to play while I wash the dishes in the late afternoon, nine times out of 10, you go into your bedroom, pick a book and jabber your way through it, page by page. I love hearing you read.

Above all else, more than anything, you are loved, Madeline-girl.

Your daddy and I love you so much. You have four grandparents wrapped around your two pinkies. You have 12 aunts and uncles who are crazy about you. You make friends everywhere you go so I have no idea how many there are. But we all love you dearly and madly. We don't love you just because you groove to "Shoop" or twirl your hands when you talk. All that makes you adorable.

No, we love you because you are our Madeline. There's nothing you can do to change that. You are so special because God made you and He doesn't make mistakes. Don't ever believe anything else. That is my birthday wish for you.

Happy birthday Madeline, my 2-year-old! We're going to have fun today.

A post so long, you'll call it homework

Five months ago, my brother-in-law and his fiancee asked if my sweet little girl could be their flower girl.

Since I would be happy if Madeline wasn't heard screaming and crying from a pew throughout the wedding video, I thought flower girl duties might be too much for her.

Being the furthest thing from a bridezilla, Janna didn't care what happened or what didn't happened; she and Jon just wanted Madeline to be a part of their wedding.

Reason #18374 why I love this couple.

Also, Janna was smart enough to devise Operation Plan B: have Joe's younger sister Joanna escort the kids down the aisle if there were any problems.

Reason #18375 why I love this couple.

So at the wedding rehearsal, Madeline practiced walking down the aisle. And practiced and practiced. Believe me, it was not any form of child labor because she got an M&M each time she met Grandma at the end.

She ate more chocolate and candy dye in an hour than I would ever be comfortable confessing to her doctor.

I told the ring bearer, Janna's adorable nephew Luka, to please hold Madeline's hand because I was confident if he led, she would follow.

The beautiful bride and the kiddos before the ceremony

However, we had one major obstacle to hurdle besides Madeline's age: stairs.

Yes, this is how much I love Janna: I walked down stairs to be in their wedding and Madeline had to as well. I get nervous walking a square foot in front of large groups of people because I've been known to trip, stumble or wipe-out in front of large groups of people.

(Example: slipping in mud in front of my entire high school boys JV and varsity soccer team in a wrap-around skirt that did not stay wrapped-around as I bit the ground. Need I say more?)

And if this little girl has any of my DNA, I'm afraid she might be doomed as well.

Proof that I did not fall down. Take that, boys soccer team.

So the wedding day arrived. I didn't want Madeline to be stressed in any way so I let her casually begin the day by eating breakfast bars and watching cartoons in the hotel bed with Aunt Jen. Oh, to live the life of a flower girl.

We got dressed in a very stress-free, calm fashion.

Being the laid-back mother than I am, in no way did I stress about that apple and that white dress. In. No. Way.

At the church, Madeline and Luka practiced their walk repeatedly while everyone else posed for pictures before the wedding. They were doing great.

Finally, the ceremony began. After much dread and anticipation, I successfully navigated the stairs without flashing my unmentionables to the audience. Then it was time for the flower girl and ring bearer.

Even from the front of the church, I could hear Madeline panicking and crying before I could see her. Then I could see Luka, bless his little heart, trying desperately to grab her hand as she wrenched it away repeatedly while tightly clutching her flower basket in the other hand.

Operation Plan B went into full effect as Joanna grabbed Madeline's free hand to lead her down the aisle. But dear Luka had apparently took my words to heart. He ran to the other side of Madeline to hold her hand since I told him to please lead her down the aisle.

Do you remember what was in Madeline's other hand? Yes, that would be the flower basket with all the petals.

I should stop at this point and mention that Madeline is really, um, let's say struggling with the whole sharing thing right now. I know this because when a kid gets near her while she's holding something she wants, she always throws a fit and launches the toy or book or precious item at the kid. Always.

So when Luka came to her other side to take her by the hand, Madeline CHUCKED THE FLOWER BASKET AT HIS FACE.

As petals were flying everywhere and the basket just maybe bounced off his face, it was such a beautiful, proud moment for me as a mom.

That's when poor, dear, sweet, adorable Luka realized Madeline had failed at her duties as flower girl and could not recover. The mission had failed but no petal would be left behind.

He collected every single one and finished the aisle by himself, scattering the petals as he walked.

He was a really good flower boy.

And what did my sweet, angelic child do as Luka cleaned up after her? She laughed. Hard. And she laughed at him.

She laughed and pointed at him and slapped her thighs. She laughed so hard that she had the entire audience laughing with her. Joe and I wiped tears away as her belly laugh rang throughout the church.

This picture doesn't capture it at all but this is Madeline thinking the whole scene is downright hilarious.

In the end, Jon and Janna had a beautiful ceremony and became husband and wife. I stayed upright and kept my skirt down. Madeline proved that she is adorable in all circumstances and backup plans are always a good thing.

And Luka probably wants everyone to know that ring bearers should wear mouthguards.

I love this little flower girl.

Please welcome to the stage....

(Here is where you are supposed to start applauding)

Thank you, thank you. You are so kind! I'm Jenny and I'm married to Katie's oldest brother, Zach, meaning she has to like me, not by choice, but by family duty. I am the proud caretaker of her nephew a.k.a. Little Howell...

I look like this...

and if you enlarge this picture you will notice that I have CoverGirl all-day lip color on my teeth. I don't like carrots, and that's pretty much all you need to know.

Now let's get down to business. First of all, I don't use fancy words like "fortnight" in my posts. That would be superfluous and ostentatious verbage. I will however ask the question all of you have been asking:

(Sing it with me Rockapella style)

"Where in the World was...Katie?"

Well Heart Gone Walking-ers or whatever it is that we call ourselves, there was a rare sighting in a Zionsville area park on Mother's Day. Here is a glimpse of the rare creature...

Shhhhhhhhh! We don't want to scare her away from Blogger.

I have the privilege of being a member of her family, which means that I also get to love on this little one, who was also present at family Mother's Day picnic.

By the end of the afternoon, Madeline smelled like strawberries and dirt, which I think if you could bottle that scent, moms everywhere would snatch it up. It really is the sweetest smell on the planet, and it is how all little girls should smell in my opinion.

I'm not really posting for Katie to be nice. I am OCD a Type A personality and require stability in my life. "Heart Gone Walking" sat at the bottom of my chronologically updated blog list for four score and seven years a "fortnight." Truth be told, my heart almost "walked out" on Katie.

This is the equivalent of me writing an angry letter to her and throwing it a away. I love you, Katie, and I forgive you :-)

After all, you are raising such an adorable little niece for me. Okay, I can't resist! Here's one more...

(You have reached the end of a rather pointless post that was really meant to show you how cute Madeline is.)

Please don't be angry any more

I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted. And I'm not exaggerating because I believe Merriam-Webster defines forever as A) for a limitless time, and B) in the blogging community, more than one day."

I've had total blogging block, not to be confused with writer's block. I've been writing gobs for a client and those words have been flowing like wine and beautiful paragraphs flocked like the salmon of Capistrano. (Name the movie.)

But every time I opened up Blogger, I sat and stared at the empty post. I did try a few feeble attempts at a post by placing every single gorgeous photo from Jon and Janna's wedding last week in the white space, hoping they would inspire words. (They didn't but the pictures sure are pretty.)

Then I tried typing every random thought in my muddled head and crossed my fingers that they would make a semi-coherent post. (They didn't. They confused even me.)

So when I wrote up my to-do list for today, I was determined. I wrote down: "Blog."

Because if there's one way to get me to do something, it's to put it on a list and dangle the carrot of "you can cross it off if you get it done."

If I'm being honest, I even toyed with the idea of waiting until tomorrow to blog because it would mean I haven't blogged in two weeks and could write "It has a fortnight since I've posted," fulfilling a lifelong dream to rationally include the word "fortnight" on my blog.

But then I got two texts at the exact same time today from two of my sister-in-laws. (I think they conspired together.) Verbatim, Jen's text was:

"Stop watching the soaps and eating bon-bons and update your blog please!"

Isn't she sweet?

And Jenny flat-out asked to WRITE A POST FOR ME because she was tired of not seeing an update. I, of course, took her up on her kind offer so look for that tomorrow.

But even though this post contains no new information about our life, Madeline, my love for The Amazing Race, Biggest Loser, The Big Bang Theory or How I Met Your Mother or my sadness over the season finales of said shows, I hope you all are appeased.

And I'll get cracking on the story of Madeline as a flower girl and her failed responsibility of said role. Let's just say her walk down the aisle was definitely blog-worthy.

Also, I've been writing Madeline's birthday post in my head for about the last five months so that should also be posted this week. Can you believe she's going to be 2?! Anyways, I hope that post turns out as good as I can make it because it will be titled "To All the Mothers I've Judged Before: What I've Learned Over the Last 2 Years."

I know having multiple posts in one week sounds ambitious since I've been writing about once a fortnight (Ha ha! I did it!), but I really am determined to come back. You guys make it so fun.

Especially when you accuse me of watching soaps and eating chocolates.

Now I get to go cross something of my list. Go me!