Home Sweet Home

The great thing about vacation is that I can't wait to begin it, and I can't wait to return from it. Mitch, Madelyn and I had a great time at the beach with Mimi. Madelyn has learned that there is much more to life than our little garden home. I have LOTS of beach pictures, but here are a few...

Here is Madelyn's FIRST reaction to the pool!

But she gradually learned to enjoy it.

Amd here are some family portraits!

Birthday Party

We are packed and ready to go to the beach, but I HAD to post a few pictures from Madelyn's 1/2 birthday party!

Upcoming Events

The next couple of days will be packed with preparation work for this weekend.

This Saturday I am throwing Madelyn a 1/2 birthday party. Since she was born on Christmas Day, it doesn't seem fair for her to wait all year for one day. So, I am starting the tradition that we have a big party for her in the summer.

On Sunday, Mitch, Madelyn & I will be heading to the beach. We will be there all next week with Mitch's mom at her condo.

So today and tomorrow, I am going to be cleaning the house and shopping for the party. And then Saturday after the party, I will packing for our trip. I probably won't post for awhile, but after we get back from our trip, I will have LOTS of party & beach pictures to show! Until then, I will leave you with this...

My parents recently acquired two new kittens, Mona & Lisa (I came up with those names!).

Here they are:

And here is what happens when Madelyn spends the weekend with her two new friends!

My mom certainly had her hands full!

I am glad Madelyn has some new playmates. Here are some more pictures that I thought were too cute not to share...

History Lesson

I have been having some, "Wow, I'm old!" moments lately. Have you seen that Hallmark commercial where the dad opens his Father's Day card to the song, "Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer? That made me feel old. I realize that MC Hammer is old school, but it made me feel old that it was a middle-aged, balding father who was enjoying it.

I also realized recently that I am three years away from being the same age my mom was when my family moved to Alabama (I was 12). My mom seemed so old then! I'm not that old. I mean, wasn't it yesterday that I was doing this?

And yet here I am now:

And pretty soon Madelyn will look like this:

And then I will blink and she will be graduating from high school in 2026. I will be 48. That is three years younger than the age my mom is today. Wow, I'm old.

Random Reasons to be Thankful

I love the delay feature on my coffee maker - I don't have to wait for it to finish brewing before I pour myself a cup of coffee.

I love memory on our DVD player - even if you take the disc out of the player and put it back in, it will remember where you were.

I love our video baby monitor - it is comforting to be able to hear AND see Madelyn at night.

I love our digital camera - even if something happened and I lost all of Madelyn's pictures, I would still have them on our computer and on our shutterfly account.

Sweet Potatoes

There is always a new adventure when you are 5 months old!

Snacking

One thing I don't like about being home all day is the overwhelming temptation to snack. I am embarrassed about what I can eat in a day. I have learned, or rather been reminded, of what my major problem area is - carbs. Bread, cookies, cereal, muffins, donuts, crackers, etc. And I try not to buy tempting food at the store. But what happens is I go out of my mind craving the stuff. Then the next time I'm at the store, I buy everything in sight.

There were these smokers on Oprah the other day who were trying to quit. And Dr. Oz said overcoming a nicotine addiction is as hard as overcoming a heroine addiction. This makes me feel weak, for I know two people who are very close to me that have quit smoking cold turkey. And I can't stop eating pop tarts and oreos?! What is the deal? However, the fact that we are going to the beach in a few weeks has motivated me to start exercising every day. And today I have been very good - I even gave my M&M stash to Mitch to take to work so I wouldn't be tempted. For all who know me, you KNOW how hard that was! Maybe there is hope after all...

Being a mom

These last 5 months have been somewhat of a blur. Madelyn and I have gotten to know one another these first few months of her life. She now recognizes me when I pick her up from the nursery at church. And I have to say my heart swells every time I get a big smile from her!





I love being a mom. It is hard work, and don't let anyone tell you differently! Believe me. I have worked full-time at an extremely stressful job, and I have to say being a mom is harder. It is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. What do I do all day? Let's see: change dirty diapers; clean up spit up on Madelyn, me, the floor, her blanket, her bed; make bottles, clean bottles, make bottles, clean bottles...and more. But I wouldn't want to do anything else right now. I am watching a person discover life! It is an awesome experience. Yesterday, Madelyn laughed out loud for the first time!! And I was there to witness it. Last week she learned how to do this:

I will conclude with a question for all of you...

Who can still do that?