The Haunted Kitchen

Friday night, Kaelin and I had a little outing. I took her to a Haunted Kitchen party, where she got to make mummy dogs, witch's fingers, and cupcakes. We had so much fun. It was nice to get a little one-on-one time with Kaelin.

Kaelin's beautiful mummy dogs (cresant wrapped sausages)

Pouring cupcake batter (vanilla cupcakes with peanut butter chips)

Yum Yum- nothing like licking the spatula clean

Mixing up the cookie dough to make witch's fingers (sugar cookie dough dyed green, rolled into finger shapes, then iced with red icing on the tip and an almond for the finger nail)

The Haunted Kitchen group- sitting in front of ghoulish punch

Kaelin's spooky cupcakes- they have gummy teeth, gummy rats, and gummy eye balls on them. Sounds tasty, doesn't it?

One week old

I am one week old.

I wonder what I will look like when I am 2 weeks old???

Macie had to go to the doctor's office for a 4 day check up.

She weighed 6 lbs 11 ounces and was 20 inches long on day 4, so I am sure she has grown more since then. She will be out of the newborn clothes before I can get all of her dirty laundry washed.

She is the best baby. She loves her sleep and loves to eat. She usually goes to bed around 10:00 and will wake up around 4:00 AM for a quick diaper change and a little snack. Then she is back to sleep until about 9:00 AM. Who can complain about that? She is incredibly easy going, does not fuss, and loves to be around people.

She loves her car seat. You can set her in the car seat and she will instantly fall asleep. The seat has an incredibly soft cover on it and it wraps around her head and body. She just loves it. When you put her in the car, she instantly falls asleep and won't wake up until the car is stopped. Kaelin does the same thing.

What have we done this week?

We got home from the hospital Sunday night (two days early). On Tuesday Macie had her 4 day check up, so since we were out we decided to go ahead and go shopping. 4 days old is about the right age to start shopping. She was absolutely wonderful. She slept the entire time we were shopping. Todd and I took her to Hobby Lobby, Luby's, Pier One, and Kirklands.

Macie on her first trip to Hobby Lobby

We went to the ball park to watch Kaelin play soccer and tee-ball.

We went to Kaelin's school Halloween party.

We went to Wings and More to have dinner and watch the Texas Rangers give up the World Series.

Macie has had a very busy first week and she did awesome. She just goes with the flow.

Halloween School Party

Thursday, Kaelin had a Halloween party at her school. Macie, Grandma Kay, and I went to her party. They also had a Halloween parade, which was a display of some of the most elaborate Halloween costumes I have seen.

Kaelin is helping get Macie ready to go to the party.

Macie at the parade. I know... I have no shame... there is just no flower or bow that I would consider TOO BIG.

Taylor Swift in the Halloween Parade

Eating some spooky food at the party, making an even spookier face.

Kaelin was just too funny at her party. She ran into the classroom and made this announcement "Ok everyone, I have a little surprise for you. Mom, bring Macie in." She was so proud that her little sister was there to enjoy her Halloween party. I don't know if the rest of the class was really as excited about Kaelin's little sister, but she did not seem to notice. She was just on Cloud Nine.

10 years ago...

10 years ago, I married my Prince Charming.

Today is our 10th anniversary.

Now it is 10 years and 2 baby girls later. Who would have ever thought 10 years ago we would be where we are today...

I could not imagine my life being any better than it is right now. I am married to my best friend and have two of the best girls that anyone could ever ask for.

I am looking forward to the next 10 years.

Let me in...

Kaelin was absolutely ecstatic about her little sister. She was in the waiting room (trying to wait, but it just wasn't working). As soon as the nurses brought Macie into the nursery, Kaelin began having a fit. She was looking through the window, but looking just wasn't good enough for her. She began trying to push her way through the window. She was hollering for them to let her in. Her patience were just completely gone.

Just looking at my little sister...

Enough looking... let me in

Please oh please let me in...

I might be able to push down this window...

Daddy showing Kaelin her new sister

If you are wondering if the "new" has worn off of having a little sister...

It has not. If not, the "new" has just multiplied. Kaelin is so head over heels over Macie. We are truly blessed to have such a wonderful big girl. She is so loving and so protective of her new little sister.

Goodies

To keep from handing out bubble gum cigars or some other useless item, we gave out pink M&M's (for Macie) and monogrammed sugar cookies. We also had a guest sign in sheet, but I forgot to get most of the guests to sign it. (Darn it...)

They were very girly, just like the rest of our world.





*** Thank you Aunt Debbie making the cookies for me

Well worth the wait...

We finally got to welcome our precious bundle of joy.

Here are her stats:

Name: Macie Lynn Hicks

Birthdate: Friday October 22, 2010

Time of birth: 11:54 AM

Weight: 7.1 lbs

Height: 19 inches

This picture is not so great of Todd, but it begins to show the pure excitement that Kaelin has exhibited over having a little sister. (The pj's are her big sister gift along with a pair of slippers. She immeditately put them on in the hospital and kept them on for a couple of days).

We are so overwhelmed with excitement and joy. I would definitely say Kaelin has taken her excitement to a whole new level. She is head over heels for this little baby girl.

On our way home... of course we are rocking the hair bow.

We got to come home from the hospital last night. Yes, this is a couple of days earlier than we expected, but Macie and I were both doing great so they said we could come home. Being in our own house has allowed us to be in our own routine and let Kaelin get back to some normalcy.

Today is the Day

Today is the day our life will reach a new level of crazy (who would have thought that would be possible).

I think the reality of having a new baby won't really hit until we are actually home. I am still living under repressed memories on how easy it was having a newborn. In my mind, life was easy with Kaelin. But I do know those are just wishful thinking memories. I am hoping Macie will take it easy on us.

We will head to the hospital this morning and hopefully be playing with Macie by lunchtime. Kaelin is so excited that I don't think she has actually slept well all week. She is border line out of control.

Yesterday (last day of having an only child) left me exhausted and contemplating the idea of having the doctor find a way to leave Macie where she is so I won't be faced with two drama queens. Kaelin put on the show of all shows and gave me the MOTHER of all tantrums (in public). She acted in a way that I have never seen before and truly hope I never see again.

This is how it all went down...
On the way to taking her to school, she decided she did not want to go. She said she wanted to spend the day with me. So, I thought about it and did not have a big problem with her staying home today. But then she remembered that she had a pumpkin project and really wanted to do it, so she changed her mind. She wanted to go to school but to be picked up early.

OK... no problem.

So, I dropped her off with a note with my cell phone number on it. I went and ran some errands, did some work, ate a bite of lunch, and then went back to get her. When I got to her school, it was a little after 1:00 (so she only had 1 1/2 hours left until school was over).

I walked into her school and her class was all lined up. She saw me and said "No mommy, we are about to go to the playground". I said "Ok, do you want me to come back when school is over". Kaelin said "Yes".

So, I get in my car, begin driving out of the parking lot and I see Kaelin climbing the fence at the playground with big tears just streaming down her face. I stop the car, pull back in, go check on her and she is very insistent on saying she has changed her mind that she wants to go with me. So I get her from the playground and we begin to walk back into the school to get her back pack.

This is where she totally losses it. We walk near the school and she begins saying that she has changed her mind she really wants to stay. By this time she is crying. I said "No, Kaelin you have changed your mind twice, you are now going to go home with me." She stood at the school door and began screaming as loud as she could, flailing her arms, and saying "No, I want to stay."

I am mortified by this time. Who is this child that is acting like this? It really could not be my child because I have never seen nor heard this type of behavior.

I go into the school, get her back pack (yes... she is still screaming and yes... people are staring). We walk out of the school, I grab her arm and she begins lifting her feet off the ground (still screaming). I literally drag her to the car. I put her in the back seat and she begins banging on my car window. I am about to freak out by this time. I have never had to deal with this type of tantrum and have no plans on doing so in the future.

So, on the drive home... Kaelin is still screaming. She is so worked up she begins to hyper-ventilate. She begins saying "Mom... my breath is gone". I am really not very sympathetic at this time, so I don't respond. She finally calms down and says...

"Okay, mom, I am ready to go back to school"

What... she has lost her mind if she thinks I would take her back after this massive display she has just put on. So I let her know she won't be going back to school and she begins crying again.

Calagon... Take me away.

We get home and the behavior has eased, but we still had a few breakdowns.

So, now you can see why I am trying to think of a way for the doctor to leave Macie where she is for now because I don't think my nerves can handle much more than Kaelin right now.

Who knows... maybe Macie will be that easy going, low drama, child.

Last Days as an only child

I spent yesterday and today with Kaelin. We are enjoying our last days as an only child and mom of an only child. You would have thought we could come up with something really great to do, but we ended up doing what we do best.... go shopping.

We went and voted. So now that civic duty is done and I won't have to worry about it on election Tuesday.

Kaelin was so funny. She dressed herself and she really did it up good. I should have taken a picture, but I forgot. She put on her hot pink skull and cross bones knee socks, a denim skirt, a blinged out hot pink t-shirt, blinged out Lelli Kelly tennis shoes and then topped it off with a "real" tiara. She was definitely a fashionista. It was hilarious. I was just not going to battle with her over what she wanted to wear.

We had lunch with Todd and enjoyed a baby shower held by his co-workers. They gave us some awesome treasures for Macie. We got some gift cards (which always are appreciated), adorable outfits, diapers (unfortunately you just can't have enough of these), a cute photo album, and several other wonderful things.

Then Kaelin and I went to the mall. Kaelin wanted to go to the Galleria, but I told her I did not think that was going to happen right now. I did not think I would make it through the Galleria without being dead on my feet.

After shopping and some super cute outfits, Kaelin had to go get her flu shot. She is typically a good girl at the Dr. She usually cries very little when she has to get a shot, but yesterday was different. She asked the nurse what the shot looked like (bad idea). This gave her enough time to think about it. She then began screaming as though some one was cutting her with sharp knife (and she had not even been touched by the shot yet). She started kicking her legs saying "mom, I have changed my mind. I really don't want a flu shot anymore". She got the shot, then we were done. The tears stopped, the kicking stopped, she got two stickers, and then we came home for a much needed nap.

Today is a school day, so not quite as much quality mommy-daughter time, but we will still have a good day. I have to finish two projects I have been working on for work. Today is my deadline because I will definitely not be in the right state of mind to deal with it next week.

My OMG moment

My OMG moment came when I was at the grocery store on Sunday. I went to just buy a couple of things. One of the things was milk.

My Oh My Goodness moment came in the dairy section of the grocery store.

My baby will be here before my milk even expires. OMG... it is that close and I still have so much that needs to be done.

Soccer pictures

We had soccer pictures the other day. I got home from work early to get Kaelin all dolled up for her pictures. Before we could even make it out of the driveway, she had gone outside, played with our neighbor, messed her hair up, and had grass all stuck in her hair and socks.

So, we cleaned her up and headed to the ball park (minus the curls in her hair).

Kaelin cheesing for the camera

The more appropriate soccer pictures. We end up with more of these type of looks than anything else.

This is just too cute. I think this is my favorite. She loves the camera and loves to pose.

Just hanging out....

Tee-Ball

You can officially call us CRAZY for letting Kaelin play so many sports this fall (as if we did not have enough going on in our lives).

We have had to make a calendar just devoted to Kaelin's activities. We are doing tee-ball, soccer, and dance. Yes.... we are INSANE.

We let Kaelin do the three sports because eventually she is going to have to make some choices on what she likes the best and what she is best at. But right now, we thought it would be a good way to stay connected to all of her friends. Last January, I pulled her out of her school in Crosby and moved her to a school in Atascocita, so the only time she really gets to see her friends is when we invite them over or we play sports.

So... welcome to our crazy... wild... about to get crazier and wilder...life.

#11 looking so cute

Getting ready to bat

Actually making contact with the ball

Kaelin has made great improvements to her tee-ball playing skills. Don't get me wrong... she still enjoys doing cart wheels in the outfield and laying in the grass talking with her friends. But she does actually hit the ball and run after the ball when it is hit her way.

Happy Birthday PawPaw

Happy Birthday PawPaw. We hope you have an awesome birthday.

Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to PawPaw!
Happy Birthday to you!

Have Nannie bake you a chocolate sheet cake. Then eat a piece for me.

Pumpkin Carving

Kaelin and Trip both got to spend the night with Pawpaw the other night. They went to a football game and then got up Sunday morning to carve pumpkins. Kaelin had such a blast. In fact, she took a 4 hour nap Sunday afternoon. She must have been just completely worn out.

Why is everyone working except Kaelin??? She just has her hands on her hips looking sassy.

Kaelin and Pawpaw cleaning out the pumpkin

Still cleaning out the pumpkin...

Why do boys insist on making funny faces when a camera comes out?

Looks like Kaelin has Pawpaw doing all of the hard work.

Kaelin, PawPaw, Z-Man, and the finished pumpkin

Kaelin, PawPaw, Trip, and the finished pumpkins

Soccer... Soccer... and more Soccer

The soccer team (yes... Kaelin is the only girl, but she seems okay with that)

We are buried in soccer land (and tee-ball land but that will be a different post).

We have soccer games once a week and practice once a week. Kaelin is getting the hang of it (kind of). She still does cart wheels on the field, still prefers to cheer on her team mates, and still avoids actually kicking the ball. But she is no longer having the meltdowns.

Counting Down Christmas

It may seem a little early (tell that to the department stores), but we are ready for a Christmas countdown. We have been getting catalogs in daily that revolve around Christmas presents.

The weather has been on the cool side, which makes the Christmas mood even more prevalent.

Last weekend, Kaelin and I got a little jump start on some Christmas gifts. It was so much fun. If my checkbook was bottomless, I would go ahead and get it all done now.

Christmas will be lots of fun this year, especially since we will be getting our "big gift" in about 2 weeks. Kaelin is just so ecstatic. She has mentioned a few things that she wants for Christmas, but she is really focused on what we will get for Macie and the things that she and Macie could get together.

Christmas Countdowns at WiddlyTinks.com

Is it wrong to smack someone in public....

These are a few of my favorite things that people have said lately... Most of them make me think that smacking someone down in public would probably be somewhat gratifying to me. (That is probably wrong but I can always blame it on raging pregnancy hormones)

1. "Now how many babies are you having?" (As you pick yourself up off of the ground from the massive smack down I just gave you) The answer is 1. I am only having one baby... not two...not three... not a litter. The answer is 1.

2. "You still have not had that baby?" The answer is does it look like I have had this baby? What if I said yes... would you feel bad for calling me fat?

3. "Wow, you are still pregnant" My answer (with a surprised look on my face) "I am?"

4. "Well, it looks like you have a bun in the oven" Really... where did that saying come from? It just sounds stupid.

5. "Oh my, it looks like you are going to have that baby any day." What exactly are you trying to say??? Do I look that round, that swollen, etc?

These are just a few of the things that make me laugh at people and the things that often come out of their mouth.

This last one just takes the cake (and it came out of Kaelin's mouth).

She said "Mom you look very skinny".
I said "Wow Kaelin, that is really nice of you"
Then she started grabbing at my arms and my belly and said "See look at all of this skin".
Her definition of being skinny is having lots of skin.
So that nice comment just totally back fired on me.

Under the weather...

The last week has been torturous. I inherited a nasty cold from Todd or Aunt Debbie. It has completely knocked me on my butt. Although I appreciate everyone trying to share things with me, but I would have much rather shared a batch of cookies or a cake.

I spent the weekend around the house attempting to get as much rest as possible. The problem with having such a nasty cold is that there is very little medicine that I can actually take. The medicines that I can take don't really do anything for me. In fact, a pack of Reese's Pieces do more than Tylenol Cold and Sinus. At least with the Reese's Pieces, I get to enjoy the taste.

I am hoping to be on the up hill side of this cold and praying that I don't pass it on to Kaelin. She has been showing a few symptoms of getting a cold, but nothing severe yet.

Hopefully I am getting all of this junk out of my system before Macie gets here. Once she is here, I will just not have time to be knocked down by a cold.

Soccer Game... Take 2

This weeks soccer game was SOOOO much better than last week. Kaelin had a good time. She even kicked the ball a couple times (major improvement).

Notice all of the bows on Kaelin's soccer shirt and in her hair... at the last game, a little girl on the other team was a super star. Kaelin immediately noticed the bows on her shirt and in her hair. Kaelin said that was what made her run so fast and kick the ball so good. She said if she had bows on her shirt and in her hair that she would be able to play better. So... I put bows on her shirt and in her hair. Whatever it takes to play better....

Todd and Kaelin (#2)

Way to go Kaelin... she was right in the mix with all of the other kids. (Major improvement)

Run... Kaelin... Run (she really can out run everyone on her team and the other teams... it is just all of the other stuff like kicking the ball that doesn't happen very often)

Kaelin had a great game. In fact, as the game was ending, she went out on one end of the field and began doing cart wheels for everyone. I did not get a picture of the cart wheels because I had already put my camera away, but take my word for it... they were hilarious.

3 birthday parties and a baby shower

Sounds like a title to a movie.

This was the calm before the storm... she had a busy weekend as well. I think this was the calmest part of our weekend. She was eating cereal for breakfast on Saturday morning.

Last weekend (yes... that is how behind I am) we had one crazy weekend. It started on Friday evening. I really think I was almost relieved to go to work on Monday just so I could rest.

Friday night started with a Scentsy party at a friends house. Then I had to come home and cook goodies for Kaelin's soccer team. They were having a bake sale at a local grocery store early Saturday morning.

These are the goodies we brought to the bake sale. Rice Krispie treats, 3 yellow cakes with chocolate icing, 2 red velvet cakes with butter cream icing, and two pans of brownies with cream cheese icing. (Now I am hungry just looking at the picture)

Saturday morning went something like this...


Bake sale from 10-12

Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese 9-11 for Trista

Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese 12-2 for Bryson

Another birthday party at Chuck E Cheese from 12-2 for Miranda (I feel like a broken record)

Baby shower (an hour away) from 2-4

We had to decline the first Chuck E Cheese birthday party due to the bake sale conflict. We sent a gift. Then Todd took care of the other two parties. He knows my despise for Chuck E Cheese, so he kindly volunteered to take care of that chore, while I went to my cousins baby shower.

The baby shower was great (lots of good food), but the drive home was pure torture. I got stuck behind a traffic accident on 610. I originally thought it was due to road construction, but after about an hour in traffic, I found out the real culprit.

After about 30 minutes of sitting in traffic I had to go to the bathroom. (too much punch at the shower)

After about another 15 minutes I REALLY had to go to the bathroom. I just knew I was going to end up peeing in my pants if I did not get out of this traffic and to a bathroom.

I called Todd because I was really beginning to panic. There was no exit ramp in site and I had moved less than 1 mile in the last 45 minutes. I don't really know why I called Todd because there was really nothing he could do, but laugh (which he did).

So (blame it on being pregnant or just pure desperation), I came to an entrance ramp to the highway and made the decision to drive down the entrance ramp in hopes of getting to a bathroom before I wet my pants. Luckily there were no cars coming (and I did not get pulled over by a police officer).

Looking back, this may not have been the wisest decision, but... desperate times call for desperate measures.

I finally found the reason for the traffic. A taco truck had crashed into another car which caused a chain reaction with a few cars behind him. So... some poor construction crew was probably very disappointed when they got ready for lunch on Monday and their taco truck never showed up.

Sunday...
Involved church, grocery shopping, and then watching the Dallas Cowboys beat the Texans.