This time I crossed the line

I've mentioned before that my literary tastes...um...vary. Quite a bit at times.

Today I went to the library to pick up my holds.

I think I commited a crime this time. Frankly, I'm surprised these two books didn't self-destruct sitting next to each other.

I have no idea what the librarians think when I walk by. Because if they can put my face to my hold ID, I'm sure they talk about me and I just can't blame them.

Saying yes

I have a really hard time telling Madeline no when it comes to certain things. 

These certain things do not include her request to buy overpriced Ariel rain boots at the Disney Store. Or when she wants a third sweet treat at a party. Or when she tells me on the toilet that she doesn't have to go potty as she's going potty.

No, I'm talking about those times when she asks me to snuggle with her. Or sing two bedtime songs instead of one. Or play princess crazy 8's for the zillionth time every day.

I am incapable of saying no.

Last week, I had a day when I was on a cleaning mission. I wanted to turn our house inside out and toss any item we hadn't used in the last five days. I'm pretty sure the intensity could only be labeled as hard-core early nesting.

I was about to start washing dishes (yes, Susie, by hand) when Madeline informed me that she was going to set up a tea party for us. I told her that was fine but I needed to clean the kitchen.

About 15 minutes later she was ready for me.

She had set up her little Minnie Mouse table with her plastic tea set and Melissa and Doug pink and white cake. She had changed into a dress and paired it with her pink cowboy boots and a monogram necklace.

She wasn't kidding when she said she was ready.

One look at her sweet face and her somewhat wacky get-up and I was convinced. Despite having soap suds up to my elbows and dirty pots still on the stove, I was done with the cleaning for awhile.

She took me to my room and picked out my dress, boots and necklace.

And then we had tea and cake.

That little tea party took a good 20 minutes of my cleaning time but I didn't regret it then and I certainly won't ever regret it now.

This is why I stay home. A year and a half ago, I read this post on saying yes by Ann Voskamp which impacted me greatly. 

Saying yes. Unless it's truly indulging Madeline in a negative way, I try hard to say yes as much as I can. Even when saying yes to my kid means saying yes to a mess.

I know life is about to get a little more crazier and certainly busier than our once-a-week commitment to ballet. But for now, I'll take it and savor it.

Whether we have two kids or 10, if we are a family whose evenings are open or has every night scheduled, if I always stay home or go back to an office one day, I pray I will always live in the moment and enjoy whatever my children find joyful in life. 

I hope that when they want to share with me, I will always say yes.

Even if it's pretending to nibble on Velcro cake with pruny fingertips in my rain boots.

21 Weeks

This summer is floating by quickly but I have to say, this pregnancy is flying even faster. I'm 21 weeks along, on the downward slope of this journey. There are things I don't enjoy about pregnancy (specifically the things I will never admit to experiencing here on the Internet) but this is something I can only experience a few times in my life and I just want to soak it all in.

I had an appointment today and everything looks great, healthy and BIG. Rockne is measuring three weeks ahead of schedule. It could all even out over the next several months. Or just be a big baby. We shall see.

Two weeks ago, we got an ultrasound with fabulous pics. Every tiny piece is marvelously accountable for. (I hate ending a sentence with a preposition but I'm hot and proper English is apparently out the window.) I'm an ultrasound and heartbeat crier. Every time I get to hear or see my baby, tears just leak out my eyes. It's all such a miracle and I'm continually in awe that a HUMAN BEING IS GROWING INSIDE OF ME. Ah-mazing.

In case you can't tell what's what, the baby's face is in the middle of the photo and the arms are near the back of the head with the elbows by the mouth. The legs are crossed and the feet are up above the head. 

Essentially, this babe was super comfortable hanging out in an invisible hammock.

I am already in love with this precious person. Let me repeat myself: It's all such a miracle and I'm continually in awe that a HUMAN BEING IS GROWING INSIDE OF ME.

I'm feeling the baby kick and move more and more. I just love that part. The movement is so much stronger this week and when I put my hand on that sweet child, the kicks and punches make my hand move. It's worth saying yet again It's all such a miracle and I'm continually in awe that a HUMAN BEING IS GROWING INSIDE OF ME.

I'm feeling so much better this trimester. No more nauseous, no vomiting in Wal-Mart and even though I want to survive on Kroger's fresh French bread alone, I'm able to eat so much more now. Like Special-K loaf, Kefir and cheesy rice. You know, the basics.

I think the object that benefits the most from my feeling better is the house. It's been in a pretty sad, "is this a house previously featured on "Hoarders?'" state for the last several months but I've recently felt the urge to clean, purge and actually make the bathtub white again.

It's now about 80 degrees past melting and with all the running around (not literally, of course), I wasn't drinking enough water. But then I bought this, my beloved Tervis. Madeline calls it the Katie Cup.

The Katie Cup and I are now inseparable. I love her. Ice actually stays ice, even when I leave it in the car for nearly two hours during a library visit. And the label promises to keep hot drinks hot so I'm eagerly envisioning many winter mornings when I make tea at 7:30 a.m., leave it on the counter FOR JUST A MINUTE and then remember it at 11 a.m. but now find it still hot in my Katie Cup.

Oh, how I love my Katie Cup.

We cannot wait to meet this baby and Madeline is still over the moon about a brother or sister. Every night, she tells me good night and then yells, "Good night Baby Rockne!"

Recently, she's been on a kick to name the baby Curly. She thinks Curly Mayes sounds awesome.

Me: "What do you want to name the baby today?"

Madeline: "Curly Mayes."

Me: "Oh, still. OK. What if it's a boy?"

Madeline: "Curly."

Me: "What if it's a girl?"

Madeline: "Curly."

Well then. I have no idea what we will call this babe but I can guarantee he or she will not be known as Curly Mayes.

Six

On Saturday, Joe and I celebrated six years of marriage. I was a little bummed to hear that J. Lo announced her divorce that morning but then was so overwhelmingly relieved when I learned Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo now share our anniversary.

Because I'm certain they will last forever.

We started the day by dropping Madeline and her pink cowboys boots off at the Hamilton County 4H Fair where her beloved Aunt Joanna was riding Nova, Madeline's dream horse. She spent the day and night with Grandma and did not miss us for the next 24 hours.

For real. When we showed up on Sunday, she had a pink cowboy hat to match the boots, five new princess lip glosses and had fed Nova an apple AND a carrot. We can't compete with that, folks.

After we left the fair drenched in sweat and dust, we came home to shower because we went drenched in sweat and dust and then met two of my brothers at the theater to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.

Are you at all surprised to hear that Harry Potter was part of our celebration? We might be mature adults who own a home and two cars, have respectable jobs and are working our way to two kiddos but we also love us some teenage wizardry.

I also may or may not have brought a tiny stuffed owl to rest on my shoulder when we met up with Peter and Greg. It was the first moment i really wanted to own a wand too.

For other Harry Potter fans: Yes I really like it but was disappointed with the final fight scene. I cried during Snape's memory and thought the epilogue was borderline creepy with kids in make-up trying to parent kids.

Moving on.

Then Joe and I had a late dinner at Brugge Brasserie after walking around Broad Ripple for a bit. We liked our food, especially the frites, but the dessert truly necessitated a phone pic.

A Nutella crepe with raspberry sauce and creme fraiche.

I know it looks like we murdered it but we kinda did. I just wanted to keep eating and eating and eating. And no, this is not how the plate looked when we were done because we ate every bite.

I wanted to lick the plate. Joe wanted to steal the plate and take it home to hang on our wall.

Since I've been blogging, it's become an anniversary tradition to pick a song that always reminds me of how much I love Joe. Because I do. A lot.

Previous winners have been "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds,  "Then" by Brad Paisley, and "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne.

I try to pick a song that 1) makes me think of Joe and gives me warm fuzzies, 2) has meaningful lyrics and 3) is connected with memories of listening to it with Joe.

The first song that came to mind was "For Emma" by Bon Iver. We love this song. A lot.

But it's a break-up song. Actually, it's a very depressing breaking-up-and-moving-on song with warm fuzzy lines like "saw death on a sunny snow" and "go find another lover."

Not exactly the celebratory song I want to mark six years of blissful marriage. And, for the record, I will never tell Joe to go find another lover. Um, never.

(But if you do want to hear this fabulously sad song, the take-away show is the best version. We've watched it about 48,000 times.)

Then I remembered "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I love this song. It is exactly how I feel about my man. Home really is wherever I'm with him.

I would follow my husband to Dubai and back if need be.

We laugh until we think we’ll die, barefoot on a summer night
Nothin’ new is sweeter than with you

I also love this song because Madeline loves watching this version with Joe. And then the two of them sing it together. And then my heart melts.



Six down, forever to go. I love living life with you, bubby.

Nap Time in Naptown: Riverwood Splash Park

One of my favorite summer destinations is a splash park. Madeline loves them too (which is really handy) but I could visit one every day to wile away the hot, hot hours.

It's not that I don't like the pool. I really do. I also like a good water table or slip 'n slide. 

But when it comes to my preferred water choice, I will pick a splash park every day of the week and twice on Sunday. 

The number one reason why? I can talk with other moms or read a book and not worry about Madeline drowning. Kinda a big one to me.

Today, there was a grand-opening event for the brand spankin' new Indy Parks splash park at Riverwood Park. I have a feeling we will be spending a significant portion of the next several weeks there.

It was a big hit in Madeline's eyes.

(Oh, sweet naive reader, did you actually think I brought my camera with me? I totally stole these from the Indianapolis Parks Foundation's Facebook page.)

Even though the park is new, there are huge shade trees lining the grassy strip alongside the entire pad. Perfect for this momma to sit in the shade and watch her kid tire herself to exhaustion. (At this exact moment, Madeline is gloriously sleeeeeeeeeping!)

At splash parks, we always eat on a wet towel in the grass but if that isn't how you roll, there's also a nice shelter with picnic tables behind the playground. (Hey, I've never claimed to be classy, especially while wearing a tangerine cover-up.)

The park also has a HUGE playground but beware that the equipment can get really hot because it's not under any sort of shade. Your kids might not mind though because it's a pretty awesome sight to behold.

The only bummer about Riverwood Park right now is that the bathrooms aren't up and running yet. If you're potty-training your littles or have a tiny kid with a tiny bladder, you might want to bring a potty seat in your car. On a slightly more positive and very related note, we did discover this morning that the Broad Ripple Marsh has fantastically clean restrooms.

We will definitely be back. Over and over and over again.

Riverwood Park
7201 Crittendon Avenue, Indianapolis
Open dawn to dusk

Chumba Mayes

If you've read my blog for any length of time, you probably know I have a VERY rational fear of rodents. This includes mice, rats, raccoons, otters, beavers, moles, squirrels and, of course, possums.

So on that note, let's discuss Chumba.

Chumba is a squirrel that loves us. I think he wants us to adopt him. Chumba loves our yard but he also really, really loves to sit on our side gate and taunt me while I wash the dishes.

For real, I think this squirrel has a sixth sense and knows the exact moment I turn on the faucet. It's awful. And he doesn't move an inch until I'm done. Sometimes he even brings a snacks and eats the entire time while watching me.

In case you couldn't guess, Madeline named him because she loves him. I'll admit, I'm not a fan of Chumba but I do really love that name.

Joe is also a fan of Chumba. When I showed him this picture, his exact words were: "He is a really cool squirrel. Kinda freaky, almost a voyeur, but come on!"

Today, Chumba reached a new level.

Let's zoom in, shall we?

I think he's taunting me by flaunting his body for a good 20 minutes. He stayed in this position the entire time I washed the dishes (BY HAND!) and I still had time to finally take a picture when I was all done.

Someone please break the news to him that he will never be a family pet. Especially our family pet.

Summertime and we're feeling fine. And hot.

So I know it's been since June but I cannot write anything more without mentioning just how hot it was yesterday. Because it was so hot yesterday. (Dallas folks, you may now heap abuse on me. I know your city is the sun's surface. But also, I'm pregnant.) (Which really has nothing to do with the heat but I like to whip out the card every chance I get. Don't you all wish you were Joe?)

After walking out of the grocery store yesterday afternoon, I wanted to drag my feet as slowly as possibly across the steaming black-top because my reward for reaching the car was only an interior with even hotter temperatures but lacking oxygen.

Later in the day, I caught a whiff of something that smelled exactly like the Indiana State Fair. Since I was leaving a Broad Ripple gas station with a cherry Icee in hand, I knew I wasn't anywhere near the Swine Barn or Deep-Fried Row. 

And then I worried that maybe after all these years of thinking the fairgrounds stink, maybe the smell had just been me.

Since I last wrote an essay back in June, we've had a lot happened and a whole lot of nothing too.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to a lake house in Oklahoma for a few days with Joe's family and some of Janna's family. It was a wonderful, relaxing time and this picture makes me so happy every time I see it.

It was Madeline's first time on a boat and tube. She loved being in the water beyond reason.

The picture might be fuzzy but the enthusiasm is crystal clear.

It was just a great time for everyone.

We spent the days lounging, eating, in the water, eating, reading, eating, talking and eating.

So let's talk about the food. Ugh, the food. For this preggers mama, having huge meals already prepared was bliss. Sausage and biscuits every morning. Barbecue and burgers at night. Caffeine-free A&W root beer stocked in every cooler. And then the introduction to the Ultimate S'more.

Graham crackers. Marshmallows. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Try it, love it and thank Janna.

And like all of us if we're honest, Madeline loves that hot weather means freezer pops.

But then it was back to reality. Which is the fact that this is my last summer with my only child.

As excited as I am about Baby Rockne and as much as I've prayed for another baby, I can't help but be a little wistful for all the special times Madeline and I have together, just the two of us.

Since this fall will not only bring another 8-pound wonder but also preschool and (gasp, gasp) possibly grocery shopping by myself, my hormones and I are determined to make every minute of this summer count.

To us, this includes but is not limited to:

• library runs
• trips to the Disney store
• pool time
• backyard time
• puzzles, games and books galore
• cooking muffins and pancakes
• watching PBS in bed for a time longer than I'm comfortable telling her pediatrician

Another favorite summertime activity is fishing. We've gone fishing multiple times this summer because it's just what we do as a family. To clarify, fishing to us means Joe and Madeline fish, I read a book, then Madeline loses interest and throws rocks in the water, leaving Joe holding a pink Barbie pole.

At one time, fishing also meant I eat an entire box of fries while sitting in White River.

This week, we went back to the same spot where I snapped this photo of Joe and Madeline fishing for one of the first times.

So I wanted to recreate that moment when they caught a fish. But it turned out like this:

And I think I love it more than the original photo.