Spring break, Katie-style

This week has been wonderful. Joe took off Monday through Wednesday and we've had some good old-fashioned family time.

This is our version of spring break: 

Six movies from the library. 

Jimmy John's. 

Driving around looking for dream homes. 

Cafe Patachou. 

Drooling over marble at tile store. 

Disappointment at Border's store-closing sale. (Since when is 10-20 percent off an exciting sale?) 

Everything pretzels with cheese dip from the best pretzel shop.

Laying on the couch, watching six movies. 

Finishing Castle, season two. (Tear.)

Then Joe went back to work today and it was Mommy and Madeline's Day of Fun. I let her decide whatever she wanted to do.

It started with me half-sleeping in bed when she came in and asked to turn on PBS. Then she wanted to get breakfast all by herself. I asked what she would get because this has never happened before and she said me, "Raisins and string cheese."

Well, OK then. So she ate raisins and string cheese in my bed while watching Curious George and I drifted back to sleep. Then she asked to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in my bed.

I had no idea how exciting it was to watch TV in the big bed. Apparently it's a mini Disney World to her.

I asked her what else she wanted to do today and emphasized that we could do anything. She picked Chick-Fil-A, Target and The Children's Museum.

I have to say, I love her taste. Sounds like a great day to me too. (She might have learned from the master.)

The day was pretty perfect. I got diet lemonade at Chick-Fil-A while Madeline played in the kids area. I ran into Katy and listened to her gorgeous Southern drawl for not long enough.

We headed to Target because Madeline requested their $3 kids' meals. It's mac and cheese and apples and caramel but that's not why she likes it. She's a sucker for the blue raspberry Icee with a purple crazy straw. 

Then we perused the toys section F.O.R.E.V.E.R Seriously, that kid could live in the princess aisle and never miss her bed.

We finally, finally headed to The Children's Museum. As soon as we turned the corner onto Capital and I saw the parking garage sign flashing FULL, my heart sank.

It's spring break. The museum would be a mad house. As we drove up and down each outdoor parking lane, I tried to convince Madeline to go somewhere else. Anywhere else. She was near tears when I suggested this.

So we headed in. Into chaos.

After about 30 minutes, I crouched down, looked Madeline in the eye and did something I've never done before. 

I totally bribed her. 

I offered to buy her a Burger King ice cream cone if we could leave right away. (Yes, it really was that bad, folks.)

She gleefully said yes and we walked out immediately. 

Oh my stars, that was the best 89 cents I've spent in a long time.

Despite that one unfortunate museum visit, everything else has been perfect. Now that I see this wrap-up in writing, I think I'm pretty easy.

Give me my family and food I didn't have to cook and I'm one happy lady. That's a vacation to me.

Living for the weekend

We have had a very full weekend and it's not ending tomorrow.

Andrea, Addie and August's mom, is on spring break and is spending the week with the girls so Joe is taking the next couple days off.

I love those little girls but holla for a six-day weekend with my family.

I kicked off the weekend by crawling into bed at 5:30 p.m. on Friday for "just a few minutes to rest" and woke up at 8:45 p.m. in time to kiss Madeline goodnight.

Not what I planned but I can tell you this: I felt extremely rested. And utterly worthless.

On Saturday, we had Joe's parents and sister over for the basketball game and dinner. (And if you have to ask, "What game?", then I'm unsure how to respond in a lady-like manner.)

The game was wonderful and exciting and crazy and all but I'd really like to talk about is the food I made.

A couple weeks ago, my Linden Lady Erin made an appetizer for our reunion. It was deceivingly simple but I could not stop eating it. I may or may not have been dreaming about it since.

(As well as the FABULOUS Burger King fish sandwich I was introduced to by Linden Lady Lia. Yum to the O.)

Anyways, I made Erin's appetizer yesterday so we could have something to munch on while our nerves owned us. 

It was everything I remembered it being and more.

Katie's Happy Place on a Plate 

1 block of cream cheese

1 jar of jalapeno jelly

Crackers (I prefer Wheat Thins)

Directions: soften the cream cheese, spread the jelly over it and dig in with the crackers.

I seriously could not stop eating, not matter how many times I reminded myself that I was eating PURE CREAM CHEESE AND SUGAR.

I know somewhere in the universe, Tony Little was shaking his curly, blond ponytail and whispering, "Tsk, tsk." but I just whispered back, "It's OK. I have a date with Castle and Beckett soon."

Also, Jesus promised us an abundant life and I just have to believe that includes jalapeno jelly.

Remember how I recently said I fell in love with brussel sprouts, thanks to Andrea? I've now made them about 17 times since then and made them again on Saturday night. It's a Real Simple recipe and it is so delicious. I've made it with just garlic, garlic and grapes and garlic and bacon.

You cannot screw it up, folks. It just keeps getting better.

Since we're talking about awesome food, have you seen this Fancy Feast commercial? Joe and I caught it on TV tonight and I laughed so hard that my sides ached and tears ran down my cheeks.

It's such a romance classic that packs an emotional punch.

Have a great Monday, friends.

School of Rock

Not only is "School of Rock" a fabulous Jack Black movie, it's also the only school Madeline attends right now.

Because while she's not in preschool, she and I rock it. Every single day.

But she's still begs me to send her to school since all of her friends attend school in one form or another. 

Nearly every day, if she's not in a princess dress, then she's wearing a "school uniform."

The uniform alternates between a purple skirt and Cinderella t-shirt or a gray glitter skirt and a pink Ball State shirt.

(I have no idea where she picked up on the school uniform concept.)

(I do love that Ball State is representin' though!)

I'm not worried at all about her being smart or advanced or anything like that. I know she could even skip kindergarten (since it's not mandatory in Indiana) and be perfectly fine.

And I haven't regretted keeping her home with me this year. The years of her being by my side every hour of day are fleeting and precious and I'm soaking them in.

Just even thinking about going grocery shopping without her makes my heart hurt. I'm also pretty sure I'd be lost in Target without my girl wanting to check out the latest sunglasses and Band-Aids, the two items we must see every visit.

And really, who else will call me The Zebra in the mornings?

But her little heart? It's just craving to go to school.

Like fashion to Rachel Zoe, preschool is to Madeline. Ba. Nanas.

So while we're still undecided whether she will go to preschool next fall or not, I've been calling around this week, setting up tours and praying that we will make a good decision.

I tried to find something that was just one morning a week but most 4/5-year-old classes are a minimum three times a week.

Be still my heart. Only two mornings a week to stay in our pajamas until after nap time??

I didn't want Madeline to know we were looking into schools but she overheard my conversation in the car with one of the preschool directors yesterday and immediately knew what was up. I told her that Joe and I were going to just look into school for next year.

The ginormous smile on her face and loud squeals clearly told me that she translated my non-committal answer to, "GET YOUR UNIFORM ON NOW MADELINE! I'M DRIVING YOU TO SCHOOL THIS SECOND! WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO GRAB YOUR BACKPACK FROM HOME. THIS IS GO, GO, GO, SOLDIER!"

As a wise yellow bear once said, "Oh bother."

A couple minutes later, we had this conversation.

Madeline: "Mommy, will you miss me when I go to school?"

Me: "Oh, honey. I'm going to miss you a lot. But I won't be sad because I know you will love school. But of course I will miss you." 

(Did you spot the lie? Not sad, my foot. I will fill buckets with tears her first day. If we're being honest, just her asking that question caused small tears in the corners of my eyes.)

Madeline: "I'm gonna miss you too Mommy. But I won't be sad too because I'm just so excited to go to school."

A couple of minutes passed.

Madeline: "Mommy? Um, I thought about it and I'm really gonna miss you a lot when I go to school."

Cue lyrics of "Sunrise, Sunset" floating through my brain. Cue small tears in the corners of my eyes running down my cheeks.

Come next fall, if you spy me in a coffee shop corner, weeping my eyes out between the hours of 9 - 11 a.m., you'll know what's up. 

There's a good chance I'll be humming "Fiddler on the Roof" too.

I heart Lionel

 

 Thanks, Small Words. I needed this today.

Nap Time in Naptown: Pizzology in Carmel

I've kinda been putting off writing this post because it's on Pizzology and remembering their pizza makes me want to weep.

(I just clicked over to their twitter page and I'm pretty sure the background image is the pizza we had, the Lombardy. Not only did my stomach just growl at the sight of it but my heart also cried out, "GO THERE TOMORROW!)

If you need a restaurant that's classy for adults yet kid-friendly, I promise you will fall in love with Pizzology.

They make out-of-this-world Neapolitan craft pizza. I am so not a food critic so while I can't break it down for you and explain why I loved it so much, please believe me that I did. A lot.

But I am a mom so what I am fully authorized to discuss is how I didn't worry about being in a white cloth napkin restaurant with my 3-year-old.

From the crayons and white-paper tablecloth to the pizza-making window, Madeline was perfectly comfortable eating in a restaurant known for their wine selection. 

This has NEVER happened before, folks.

She absolutely loved hopping up on one of the tall chairs to watch the chefs work their magic and they didn't seem to mind that she was enamored with them for about 45 minutes straight. Noticing the Eiffel Tower olive oil container confirmed her love and made her shriek, "RATATOUILLE!"

And I loved that my server didn't laugh in my face when I ordered the fancy-schmancy prosciutto, arugula, smoked mozzarella and parmesan reggiano pizza but then asked for one slice with pepperoni for my pepperoni-loving girl.

Our family of three got out of there for less than $25 including tip, salad, pizza and a take-home box.

We can't even do that at Olive Garden and this is owned by a Hoosier couple and tastes waaaaaay better.

(Tangent, when I think of Olive Garden, I always think of Mike Birbiglia who says his family is Italian but not real Italian. More like Olive Garden Italian. You're welcome.)

So take the kids and go try out Pizzology. Just drop off your leftovers at my house.

The Zebra is better than The Elephant

This morning, we were hanging out in the orange room while baby August slept. Madeline and Addie were playing and I was reading on the couch. The girls started playing zoo which meant they threw on purses, pushed around strollers and shared the binoculars.

I was dubbed The Zebra.

As in, they pushed their strollers up next to me, took turns studying my face through the binoculars and declared my stripes to be "gorgeous."

A short time later, I noticed Madeline was standing on a piece of dollhouse furniture.

Me: "Madeline, don't stand on your toy. It could break."

Madeline: (big gasp and throwing her hand to her mouth) "Addie! The Zebra can talk!"

Me: (laughing)

Madeline: (gasping again) "Addie! Get a camera! The Zebra can laugh!"

She brings so much joy into my life.

Grab your coffee, it's long

So I guess it's been a little awhile.

It's pretty hard to know where to start again once I look back over the past month. It's been unusually busy and filled with so much fun so I'm going to attempt to hit the highlights. 

Basically, good luck with your entry to Land O' Random of Katie.

Current Obsession:

Prepare to be shocked: working out while watching "Castle." (Don't worry, I'm still stunned by that statement too.)

I am soooooo not an exercise person as evidenced by my need to still lose some baby weight from my near 4-year-old. 

About once a year, I dust off a Pilate's VHS tape and attempt an exercise regimen. But it always flops because 1) I don't like working out and 2) I just find it boring.

But I was super motivated to work out again and asked for exercise equipment for my birthday. Specially, something that makes Joe and I declare, "YOU CAN DO IT!!!!" a lot around here.

Yes, that's right. I now proudly (yet still with some shame) own a Tony Little Gazelle. (YOU CAN DO IT!!!)

The only time in my entire life that I enjoyed exercise was running on the elliptical machine at Ball State's fitness center. And I only liked it because I could watch TV while doing it. 

So when I got my gazelle, I also picked up the second season of "Castle" (and "The Hills" and "17 and Counting") from the library and told myself I could only watch it while working out.

Y'all, I love Castle and Beckett so much that I've been working out nearly every day. This has never happened before. NEVER. 

Another Year Older

I turned 28 years old earlier this month. I felt so loved by Joe and Madeline, our families and my friends. I am really blessed by so many wonderful relationships and this birthday was such a great reminder of all my blessings.

Janna made the cutest birthday cake. I have some serious love for ruffles and anything girlie and this cake is the sums up all my loves. Really, I don't think there could ever be a prettier cake for me.

Most Wonderful Time of the Year:

Yes, that's right. If you know me at all, you know I just kinda love St. Patrick's Day. As in, my house gets redecorated, the breakfast includes green eggs, green milk and Irish soda bread and we go to the parade with the rest of my big Irish family who skip school and work to celebrate together.

Addie's mom Andrea got us this gorgeous and delicious shamrock pretzel from A Taste of Philly. If you haven't had one of their pretzels, you are seriously missing out. I know the outside of their shop might look a little sketchy but I promise you will love it. (This coming from a person who loves tacos from a trailer on East Washington Street but still...)

Girls' Day Out in Funcie

The Linden Ladies got together several weeks ago for a reunion in Muncie.  It was long overdue.

I'm very thankful for everything in my life right now and wouldn't change anything to go back in time but I have to say, I loved living with these friends in college. We had so much fun back then and even though our reunions now have little kids running around, dirty diapers and Disney movies, we still have a great time together.

I laughed so hard, then cried while sharing our lives and then laughed again when "Hands on a Hard Body" came up. 

(Oh. My. If you haven't seen this documentary, then your life is not complete.

Seriously, it is so awesome that you can't find a copy for less than $100. I ain't lying. It's that good.)

Madeline Girl

Madeline is stinkin' adorable as ever. 

She's obsessed with planning for her birthday party. (You know, the one that's still eight weeks away.)

She loves writing out everything. 

She still has my heart completely.

And that's really all you need to know.