Leaving on a Jet Plane

I LOVE to travel, but I hate leaving for a trip.

Arranging a house sitter. Deciding whether to hold the mail or let said house sitter check it for us. A ride to the airport. A ride home from the airport.

And the packing. Oh, the packing....

The night before our Australia trip a few years ago we didn't sleep. (Well I didn't sleep. The Irishman claims he didn't sleep either, but I have pictures to prove otherwise!)

For this trip we got to pack of three.

Oh, my.

We were up late, but everything got done. The house and the cats are being well-cared for in our absence.  We don't seem to have forgotten anything big...and as my mom says they have stores here if we did.

Most importantly?

We survived our first flight with the baby!

 

She slept for take off and then we pulled out the new toys.

She looked out the window a bit. It wasn't a bad view.

If you look closely you can see a black-and-white striped thing on the tray table behind Caitlin. It is a sock....and it is attached to the foot of the person sitting next to the Irishman. Caitlin wanted that foot/sock. It was in her reach. I seriously considered, " Excuse me, but unless you would like it to become a chew toy, could you please move your foot?"



All in all, it wasn't too bad.

I'm considering it a dress rehearsal for our trip to Ireland later in the year...

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I typed this out shortly after we arrived in Houston. Now we are packing to leave. THAT is the worst part of all. It has been a FANTASTIC trip and I honestly don't want to leave.

Sigh.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

I used to be a MAJOR Houston Astros fan. As a kid we would go to games in the old Astrodome several times a week. When we weren't at the games we listened to them on the radio. I knew all the players, who was pitching, and their record and standing in the central division. I flew home from college to see the final regular season game in the Astrodome.

The last time I was in Houston during baseball season was 2003 right before I moved to Florida. I was home for 5 days and I went to 5 games. I tried to follow the team when I moved. I paid way too much money for a baseball package from our cable provider that let me watch all the games. I listened to games online when I couldn't watch them.

Over time though I have lost touch with my baseball past. I still love the game, but my favorite players have retired and it is too much work (and too expensive) to follow my team the way I used to. Honestly I don't mind too much.

This week though I finally got to take the Irishman to an Astros game. Grandma was thrilled to have that baby to herself agreed to babysit. I dressed Caitlin in her Astros gear. It was a bit boy-ish, so I tried to add a skirt and a bow. You can see what she thought of my bow...



After looking online for a while at seats and tickets, I reluctantly decided we would sit in the $2 cheap seats. We stopped at the store on the way for the necessary drink wrappers, filled the car with gas, and were finally on our way.

By the time we got there I was not in the best mood. I was stressed from driving downtown. I wasn't sure about where we parked and the distance we were going to have to walk to the car after the game. We were in a huge line for tickets. I forgot to bring our camera.  To top it all off we realized that after paying for parking we only had $1 cash for the $2 in tickets we were about to purchase. Yep. I was not in a good place.

Then, our baseball guardian angel appeared. I wish a had a picture of her. She may have just appeared to be a woman with short hair and a hot pink t-shirt, but she was much more than that. She offered free tickets. There were three of them and the guy in front of us in line wanted one so we took the other two.

We were in line for '2 for $2' tickets and we were given two $39 tickets.
My mood suddenly improved.

 

We got out of the very long ticket line and found our seats in time to catch the National Anthem and the first pitch. (It doesn't sound like much, but we'd have still been in line and climbing our way to the nosebleed seats had our baseball guardian angel not saved us!) The Irishman took out his new phone and took some pictures for me.

I know that purist won't agree with me, but I LOVE watching baseball indoors. If I lived somewhere where the low temperature of the day was less than a million degrees I might think otherwise, but that is not the case. Marlins games are miserable in the Miami heat. A retractable roof is the best of both worlds...I love it!

After a few innings we went off to get dinner.  The Irishman decided on deluxe fajita beef nachos. I cringed when they put a pile of jalapeno peppers on the side. While I was waiting in line for my dinner there was yet another repeat of the pepper incident. He found a water fountain and decided to remove the offensive green items from his plate before returning to our seats. Some people never learn!

There are only two players that are still around from the days when I followed the team. As Lance Berkman came up to bat, the Irishman said, "Maybe he will hit a grand slam for you here." As I answered back with a, "Yeah, right..." Berkman DID hit a grand slam. I couldn't have asked for more!

We asked someone to take our picture for us using the Irishman's phone....twice. Both times the top of Morgan's head didn't make it into the picture, but that's okay!

It was a perfect night.

Go 'Stros!

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Hosted by Cecily and Caitlin

Space Center Houston

After years of begging requests from my husband, I finally couldn't avoid it any longer took the Irishman to Space Center Houston. I have documented my true feelings for the space center before, so I will spare you the details again!

We got there when they opened and hoped we could get a nap-on-the-go. There was just too much to see though!

By the second stop on the tram tour she did eventually close her eyes.

I think the Irishman enjoyed it all even more with a sleeping baby on his chest!

We had to take a family picture to prove that I survived we were there.
Another thing checked off my list...

More From the Aquarium

 

Tigers? Oh my!

After seeing how Caitlin was completely taken with the fish tank at the vet's office last week we decided to visit the Downtown Aquarium. As expected, the little one watched with wide eyes as all the animals moved around her.

There were fish,



and turtles,

and string rays,

and....

a tiger???

The kind that ROAR?!?!?

Oh, my!

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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Fountain Fun

We met up with Kristina and her kiddos at the YMCA last week. It was great to see her again and to watch the kids play. I have lots of pictures, but this video shows what Caitlin thought of the day!

"Sew" Great!

Last week Caitlin went off with Auntie Chris and Auntie June. I used the time to head to Grandma Betty's house for a sewing tutorial.



When she saw my summer "bucket" list, GB sent me an e-mail asking if she could make the dress with me. I was beyond thrilled! She had the materials, the know-how, and the patience to walk me through the process.



I am very happy with the end result. I told the Irishman that if you look close you can see my crooked seams...but that is just so you can be sure I made it myself!

GB also made the dress on the left dress to donate here. I am loving these dresses!

I still have to attach the matching bow onto a headband, but here is a quick peak at Caitlin in her new dress. I think she approves!

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Sunny Days

Sunny Day



Sweepin' the clouds away



On my way to where the air is sweet



Can you tell me how to get,



How to get to Sesame Street...

(Auntie Chris bought Daddy Caitlin this t-shirt last week. Daddy Caitlin seems to LOVE it! )

Teeth Trouble

Caitlin now has four teeth, but we suspect there are more on the way. We could NOT get her to nurse last night and it seemed that her teeth/ear were bugging her. We do not have any teething rings with us here, so we had to improvise.

My friend Mauree mentioned that she used frozen waffles instead of teething biscuits.



After a while she'd had enough and threw the waffle to the dogs...literally.

Up next was a coconut fruit bar. I was a bit uneasy about this, but I looked it up online and decided it wouldn't kill her...

although you might not think so based on the looks on her face!
(Though she did like the cold and kept going for it again and again...)

We eventually found a frozen mug for her to chew on for a bit until she was ready for her bedtime Mommy milk. I am more than ready for these teeth to get here already!

Uncle Jason

Caitlin met her Uncle Jason for the first time on this trip.



It was pretty clear that she was taken with him...



and his beard!



She wouldn't take her eyes off of his face!

In the end this was the best we could do. Not a smile, but at least she is looking forward!

Professional Raspberry Blower

Caitlin is a professional raspberry blower. She is always blowing raspberries.

In her crib,

on the plane,

in her car seat,

at day care,

during Mass,

when happy,

in the rain,

when tired,

at Grandma's house,

when silly,

in the stroller,

when at the pool...


Yesterday while at the pool with Uncle Jason and his family, the Irishman and I tried our hand at Caitlin's favorite past time.



Let's just say she didn't get her abilities from me!
(Did I really just post this picture?!?!?)

But Daddy? That's a different story!

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Hosted by Krystyn

More from the Beach

 

Out and About

This week Caitlin's Auntie Christina and Auntie June were in town from Ireland.This meant that Caitlin and I were ladies who lunch!



At the Cheesecake Factory she enjoyed her MumMum from the stroller, but at Panera...

she enjoyed her lunch from the highchair.



Peas anyone?

Thursday night Daddy made her LAUGH!

With vacation here I am sure we will be out and about a lot more. Thankfully Caitlin doesn't seem to mind!