Mad Hatter Weekend!!!!

Well my Mati Moo is a 1 year old! All the craziness was worth an amazing party!

Thursday after work I went home anf got changed into work clothes... We laid bark ...pulled weeds ... after it got dark we went home and crashed...Friday morning my sister...her hubby and their 2 kido's showed up to help with the yardwork....we laid 45 bags of bark...scrubbed the patio...washed windows...moved patio furniture....cleaned house...Josh went and picked up...out little train we had... and the tables...chairs...linens... Went home...showered and got ready to run around and do some last minute errands...Friday at 7 we had dinner with our family. We tried to get Mati to eat her cake....instead she wanted to feed Mama...so I ended up with chocolate cake on my face and Mati looked great... we left...did a little shopping...picked up the waterslide...we by and saw some old friends that closed on their house...then we went and dropped off balloons...picked up some stuff from a great friend and headed home long enough to change clothes and head to my moms.... We had 3 dozen cupcakes to make, hang a funky swag above the table area, finish up goody bags, wrap Mati's gift from us...we ended up crashing at about 2...up by 6:30... We had so much rain I had to clean the patio all over again....

Saturday was full of chaos ..... Josh helped until he had to pick up the cake...flowers...ice...So that left mama to delegate...Man was I bossy....BUT everything looked amazing... We had huge playing cards on the fence..... jumbo cards on the tables..covered with tulle..top hats...tea pots...flowers... 7 bowls of candy...cotton candy machine....waterslide....bounce house... ok so her goody bags were in brown paper bags shaped like tea bags...with a string and thank you note attached...in a bucket that said "Mati's sweet tea"....her cake was awesome...lots of compliments.... We had over 50 people show...I am just glad my mom's house was big enough so everyone was scattered... All in all the party was a huge success.... everything looked great and Mati got way more toys than she will need. Thank you to everyone that showed up.

Sunday we slept in until 12...it was so nice.. we ran around returning things and putting everything back together. Mati got her front facing car seat yesterday and she loves sitting like a big girl... I have mountains of laundry that need to get done today. We only put together a hand full of toys so daddy needs to get on that....Daddy also returns to school today ... :( We enjoyed our two weeks we had with him. I am so glad he was off and could help us get ready for Mati's party!

I know there is so much more to share put the pictures will do the talking due to exhaustion...I will post them tonight!

1 Day Away!

Wow....my little baby is going to be a 1 year old tomorrow. I can't believe it. It's very bittersweet! I can't wait to share this milestone, but at the same time I wish I could keep her a baby forever. She is doing new things everyday...she just melts my heart plain and simple.

Looking back I don't know what Josh and I were thinking when we got pregnant. Josh was working at the restaurant ..we just moved in our house....not to mention we were just getting by. I was alone a lot and I desperately wanted a baby. I didn't know what I was asking for... I didn't realize that I would be getting such an amazing gift from such an amazing God. Madeylne has taught me so much about life....and myself. I know there is much more to come and some of you mommies out there are saying I have seen nothing yet. I understand its not always going to be easy...that one day she might turn into a complete terror..but I know it will all be worth it. The Katie before I had Mati was a little more immature...a little more selfish...with her heart a little closed off due to circumstances known to few. When Mati was born.... it was like wave of love just rushed over me.......throughout my pregnancy I was flabbergasted at how much I loved this little person inside my belly that I never met...she is the only person who knows what my heartbeat sounds like. Its amazing how much you fall in love with the person you created before ever laying eyes on them. For daddies it's a little different I think....they of course rub the belly....get excited when he or she moves...but they don't have this complete adoration that we do. When your pregnant, its just you and the kido...you get them all to yourself and they are always in tow! My parents always comment how Mati is such a wonderful baby....no fits...she hardly ever cries...I told my dad the other day that I couldn't have gotten better if I picked her out of a magazine myself. Its such an amazing experience watching her learn and grow and I feel so privileged that God trusted me with a perfect little girl!

Tomorrow Josh and I both took off and we are so excited to spend her birthday with her...wake her up to her birthday jingle...get dressed in her special outfit...we will play...go to the park...go by the school and do cookies with friends...then....we will have some family time tying up loose ends for her bash.....next of to a family dinner. We will have dinner with our parents and siblings...Mati will get her first smash cake...I want her to have a little practice.... Saturday I can only imagine the stress and being pulled from one place to the other so....I wanted us all to go to dinner to make it a little intimate party for the party girl that we could relax and enjoy as well...

I am going to be swamped today so I better get focused...I hope to see everyone at the party!

MY MORNING IN A NUTSHELL...

Running late…

Swallowed breakfast with a spoon

One shoe…one missing….decided to leave in house

Get to car see missing shoe

Run inside get shoe

Place debit card on car

Throw shoe in car leave house

Get on bailey and realize card on car

Turn around go home

Get mati out and walk the street

Find card

Put her back in car seat

10 minutes late

Get to daycare

Run in …the parking lot is full of cars

Make her bed throw her shit on the shelves

Realize I forgot binky

Tell her bye bye

Put bag up

Call mom to go by house and take her …her pacifier

Stop on the way and get coke and donut ( much needed)...

Get to work and realize I didn’t get her food out

Call daycare

Now off to work...

Exhausted!

Well last weekend was quite a weekend! I guess I will start with Friday...

Friday, the workday started at 6 am....I get to work and my computer was soo messed up.. I couldn't get into any Microsoft programs....unfortunately that's all I use. I had to wait until our IT Tech's got in at 8. So I was a sitting duck for 2 hours. I did other stuff, but I didn't get the bulk of my work moving until the problem was fixed close to 9. I ran a delivery around nine and on my way back...police cars were passing me like crazy. I got to my building and across the street there were dozens of cop cars surrounding an apartment building across from my office. Flashbacks from the gunman around the school were going like crazy, and I was pretty freaked out. I ran into my office and made sure everything was locked up. I sat at my desk and began googling when I noticed the sound of helicopter's....3 to be exact. I closed the blinds to my office and just waited....2 disappeared by lunchtime so...I ran to my car...once I rounded to corner I noticed the Wells Fargo apparently had been robbed. The guys took off in the apartment's and got away. I think I heard they caught them later. Ohh well so after work Josh and I headed to look at some flooring. I decided to compromise to save us a little dough. After we took off to the mall ...where I got my ring cleaned and we just walked around. We got back in Pearland and knocked out our grocery shopping ...got a movie..and headed home.....


Saturday started off busy. We got up early and headed down to Arnie's warehouse so we could get all the goodies we were still lacking. We also saved a bundle.. After Arnie's we headed to Sam's to pick up the food for the party. It took forever, but it was worth the savings. I did a quick clean once we got home and headed over to my moms house to pull weeds. Since Mati's party is at her house I would feel horrible if she had to do all that work. It's my kido. So we worked for 3 hours and took a dip in the pool. We went and picked up Mati and headed home. After bath time...we crashed from exhaustion...

Sunday we went to church...where my little munchkin yapped and yapped...we hung out outside while church went on...ohh well. After church we went to Gringo's where I got a whole glass of tea spilled all over my dressed....thanks waitress.....after that we headed home to do our own yard work and laundry. Headed to mom's to pull more weeds and clean up all our mess. It was soo late by the time we got our baths...I went and got gas...returned our movie...Josh helped me fold laundry and get everything together. Then off to sleepy town.

All About Mati: Well Mati moo is making the transition of being more of a toddler daily. She has really started entertaining us with blowing kisses..Its hilarious. Anytime she hears a tune she will dance no matter where we are...home....sam's...the car. I can't wait until her party...all of my hard work is finally going to pay off. Friday we are having a special family day and I am really looking forward to that also. Mati experienced some first this past weekend. She ate eggs and toast on Saturday morning...and big girl oatmeal on Sunday...her daddy also shared some of his milk as well. She seemed to be hesitant at first but enjoyed it after she got a good taste. No matter what time she ate...if she seems you eating something...she starts licking her lips and letting you know she wants some. Today there was no sign of chicken pox.. I am thanking God!!

The Kozel's presents...Mr Kozel!

Not often do I get the chance to REVEAL myself to you all in this blog. Actually, a number of posts where pictures or videos are displayed were done by me. But do I ever get to speak MY mind to you all - surely not. From time to time, my beautiful wife will ask me to do a guest blog appearance, and most times I simply forget, or get lost in the many things I have to get done that day and never get around to it. So today I figured I would take the time to write a little about how my life is going.

First of all, life couldn't be more perfect! With a beautiful wife, that seems to be getting better looking by the day, and a precious little girl that is literally growing every day - I don't know what more a man could ask for. As my wife has eluded to in prior posts, I have it made - she keeps the house up 99% of the time (which by the way I treated her to a night where she could just "put her feet up and relax" this past Wednesday) and by nature of our schedule, makes sure that Mati gets where she needs to be and has what she needs 99% of the time. I appreciate everything she does and though I may not tell her enough - our world turns because of her, so great job babe!

I'm sure you all know about how graduate school is going - I'm currently in between the Summer and Fall semesters and happy to report that so far 2 A's out of 3 classes I took in the Summer (I'm still waiting on the other grade). You would think, that without 9 course hours of work and study, that life would be a breeze - well it is :) ...it is such a relief to know that when the weekend comes, that the most I have to worry about is working out and mowing the lawn - everything else is bliss.

Day 60 in P90X in the books, in 60 days I've lost 15 lbs and almost 10% body fat! And as I'm sure Katie has posted before - this is no ordinary work out/diet plan, not only do you get in shape, but you improve flexibility and strength as well. I could only do 6 un-assisted pull-ups when I first started (and that was struggling) and now I can easily crank out 15 pull-ups in one set. Ok, enough about me. Katie started this journey with me and like I mentioned earlier - keeps looking better every day. Although she hasn't stuck with the work-out schedule 100%, she has been eating clean and working hard to get the results she wants. She looks happier, thinner and more confident than she ever has since we met. So great job and keep up the good work!

And to miss Madelyne - oh how the days are passing swiftly. In just one short week, you will have been on this earth for a WHOLE year! It's amazing to see you grow daily, physically and mentally. Just this morning as you were playing with your magnetic letters and numbers on the fridge (throwing them off the fridge) you paused as you held the number six in your hand and stared at it as if you were already computing equations in your head! Your going to be a numbers girl, just like your daddy! Whether its numbers, or painting, or dance, or sales you'll do it with all your heart and your mommy and I will support you 100%. Here's to a great first year and although you won't really remember it too much, your mommy has put a lot into your party so make sure you tell her how much you appreciate it 10 years from now!

Signing off, and until another guest appearance...it's been fun

Let the Countdown Begin~

Well its officially 8 days until my baby is a 1 year old. I can't believe it! I can't wait for her party. I made my detailed list of things I need to get...half the items I was expecting to get from Arnie's ...then I heard they were closed.... :( but yesterday I heard the news....it must have been God....they are re-opening Saturday. Its already a mad house so I will be there when the doors open. I am soo excited to get everything that I need picked up and put away. I ordered her the cutest outfit for her to wear on her actual birthday....we are taking cupcakes to her daycare, and we will go to dinner with our family's that night...I am going to give her her first smash cake that night.....I want her to practice...she will get another one on Saturday. I have so much planned... I can't for everyone to see what is in store!!! I think you will leave impressed! I am usually not creative and it takes a lot to impress me....BUT Josh and I have pulled out the stops...I am really proud of both of us....

Yesterday was the worst weather ever. Mati and I had went over to my moms since Josh gets off a little later now. All of the sudden the worst weather blew in....it was horrible. My mom ..being the scaredy cat that she is....held us hostage until it was completely over. So daddy came to us! Josh read my blog yesterday....something he rarely has time to do...so when I got home...he took Mati and Mati dinner....actually cleaned up after himself... gave her a bath...and we played and she went down by 8...He gave me a break...he actually quoted my blog...I told him to leave the dishes and I would do them and her said "no honey...just put your feet up"....with a smarta** grin....lol...ohh how I love that man! lol. So...I skipped the workout last night and headed back to my parents house to swipe my moms Sams card. She will be out of town until next week and I wanted to hit up Sams for Mati's party food and such.

Today is order day....water aerobics day...so I will fit running home and cleaning on my lunch after I visit Mati....and tan after work..pick up my ray of sunshine and hang out until 5:15 and head to mom's for my class. So I am going to have quite a busy day.... work comes early tomorrow...which means so does my weekend~

3 IN A ROW!

Ok so it looks like I am back on track with blog world.... 3 days in a row and going strong.

Yesterday started off a little crazy...Mati was dressed in a new outfit when she crawled to me in my closet... I had just gotten ready for work.. I picked her up and noticed she smelled...then noticed...she had crap everywhere. It was all over my new top and all over her. I couldn't unsnap her pant to get to her diaper without getting it all over my hands....it was so gross...crap was everywhere. So after that ordeal we all got out the door to head to work!

Everyone's day went smooth and I taught my class. We had some much needed family time when I got home and Mati was down by 8...so nice! Josh and I worked out and straightened up the house. It drives me crazy if things aren't put away when I go to bed.

So I was reading on someones blog a week or two ago about how men just don't help around the house. When our husbands slack...we pick up the slack...BUT when we slack....no one helps us..Why is this? I am so tired of putting away and if I could I would go a week without doing anything to prove my point. It would drive me crazy! I work full time and still do the housewife thing. My house is spotless 95 % of the time, and that's pretty good to have a kido less than a year old and a 23 year old kid. I hate when Josh says he noticed something on the ground or something dirty and didn't clean it up...really?...I am the kind of person that needs to make my bed daily...and I go home on my lunch break just to straighten up if it was a crazy morning and vacuum..... I want him to come home to a clean house.....Is that to much to ask for...for myself? I have read that this is pretty common behavior so...I won't beat him up too much about it...but it would be nice if he would say "Honey I'll clean up my mess in the kitchen...relax go put your feet up"...ohh well back to reality!

I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures and video... She is so much fun.

This is a short post, but at least its a post.... :)....say a prayer for NO CHICKEN POX!

Bathtime!

Mati just thinking about getting ready for the bath!

Mati being silly in the bathtub!

Hope you all enjoy! I know we always do! We LOVE bathtime!

Busy weekend & more to come

WHEW!!! What a busy weekend...Well Friday started off bright and early at work...6am...Luckily I get off at 2 on those days! Mati spent the night with my parents and Josh and I went on a date. We had dinner and came home. We were too tired to go see a movie and we really wanted to take advantage of crashing without putting Mati down and sleeping without any monitor on. It was great! We slept until 930ish and Josh did school work while I got ready and went an picked up my sweet angel....We came back home and picked daddy up and ran to Wal-Mart to get a birthday present for Brody who was turning one. Then we headed over to my mom's house and spent some family time while my sister and my mom helped me put together Mati's goodie bags...Josh cut our my letters for my cute bucket and after finishing and eating...we headed to the birthday party.....We stayed about an hour or so and left a little early. We had lots to do and little time to do it in. We headed to Silverlake so I could do some shopping for Maddie who's birthday party was Sunday! I picked up 2 cute outfits and headed to tan...then home sweet home... We had some Veal Chops for dinner and Mati got her bath while daddy did more school work. Some where in all of this I am trying to clean house and Josh is working out.

Sunday was our usual church in the morning and it was pouring rain when we left. We had made plans to go eat dinner with my parents so I had my head right next to the a/c vent trying to prevent the drowned rat look... After lunch we headed home for some much needed r and r. I got laundry started, Mati went down for a nap so Josh and I watched Obsessed. We haven't had much movie time lately so it was nice. Josh did Yoga while Mati and I got dressed for Maddie's bash! We ran his parents invite over on our way...We ended up being a little late, but I think it was ok. Maddie's party was a hit. We really enjoyed ourselves and got to see everything we will be going through in 2 weeks. I am kind of starting to worry that I might have went a little over board. ohh well...whats done is done!!!! We came home around 6:45 and I began cleaning like a mad woman....I have 1 load left in the dryer which I hate, but my house is clean..what more could a girl want. I am just hoping and praying that Mati doesn't get Chicken Pox. A little girl had them last week in Mati's class ...incubation time it 2 weeks...that means Mati would break out next Monday or Tuesday. That means 3 to 4 days before her birthday. I rebuked the virus the whole way home last week and I have prayed a million times...i think I will be doing a lot more praying before the week is over.

Speaking of Mati she amazes us more and more everyday! This morning I set her up on the changing table and she saw Josh and said "daddy"..... he loves it!!! He really likes the sound of daddy more than da da da....lol...Everytime I tell him to look at her she watches and makes sure he does...its so cute. I am starting to introduce real food to her... slowly...she is doing pretty good. She ate some fruit salad off my plate yesterday at the party and loved it. She has become quite attached to her mommy lately. Both my parents agree that she is a womans baby. Anytime i walk out of a room no matter what she is doing I hear those little hands smacking the ground behind me. The walking is progressing... We are working on holding one hand and walking next to mommy or daddy. She has a lot more confidence when it comes to standing alone and if she has something to hold on to...she prefers to stand. We caught her in the trash can this past weekend and she likes to get anything out of drawers if she can reach them. The older she gets the less I see myself wanting to go back. People say the baby itch will come back but I started to get doubtful. Josh of course still wants a litter...but Mati is just getting easier and I can't wait to start potty training in the Spring...

Ohhh well I need to get to work!!!

Did she just cuss you out?

Mati has her momma's temper...poor kido. Like I said yesterday she is such a busy bee. She is constantly trying to inch her way into spaces not made for her. Today when I went on my lunch break to visit her I noticed from the window she was in a jumper. Mati's jumper has been retired from our home and quite frankly she is over it already. So I walked in and asked why she was in the jumper ...the responded.."She was being a brat"...Mati loves her teachers...she wants to be held and played with by them constantly. So while there are trying to feed other kids Mati was trying to make her way in between them..about 6 inches of space...They would move her back more and more and they said she threw a fit so they put her in the jumper.

Yesterday morning Josh was getting our food ready for the day and Mati was trying to get in the fridge..Josh would slide her back and get what he needed...this happened over and over again until she just started yelling jibber jabber at him and threw her hands on the floor like she meant what she said. When she does this behavior at either me or Josh we ask the other one, Did she just cuss you out? She is sooo opinionated already, heaven help us.

Good Morning...Busy Bee

Today is freakin fabulous...although it was a rough night with my Mati Moo, I am in a great mood and I have a lot planned for today. My boss is in Dallas today so that means heavy cleaning, organizing, and cold calling...woo hoo.. :) Yes I know I am a super weird..I love to clean...sue me!

Ok...the past weekend was great! Friday we went to Jared and Jennifer's wedding..It was very simple and classy. She was a beautiful bride..although I was hoping to cry I did leave feeling a little romantic... We got home way past our bedtime..

Saturday was busy from start to finish...we got up...went to Walmart to get a birthday present...off to Chucky Cheese for my niece's 8th birthday party...omg I am old...We had a blast. I put Mati on some toys and she loved them at first then...she quickly changed over to screaming when I put her on a ride! lol..I got some good pics I will have to share later. After the party..we headed to get some fabric for a neat idea for Mati Moo's bash..the grocery shopping...home...Then I took Mati to mom's..I needed to run across town and pick up party favors and a bucket for another cute idea. I basically felt like I hadn't been home all weekend. We stayed home on Sunday morning which is something we rarely do.. We enjoyed the day. I cleaned house and did laundry...Josh...had to study...he has finals this week and he has been stressed. He also has close at work right now so...I have been feeling the crunch. Which is cool and I totally understand. I have lost 10.5 # and I am really excited about it!!! BUT none of my clothes fit. Its amazing how 10 lbs can make a difference. I am really pleased with my weight. and I really want to start cranking it on the last 30 days of this program. Since having Mati.. that's a total of 42.5 lbs....28 baby weight....14.5 extra!!! soo needless to say I am pretty stoked! Mati is cutting a whole slew of teeth up top..she has two that are through the skin and 2 more on their way...soo she hasn't been the happiest baby. Sunday in particular she threw up all over me and our couch. I sat there calmly and asked Josh to bring me a towel..he couldn't believe I was so calm. I though he was going to blow...it was really funny. Yesterday, she seemed like she was returning to being her old self. This morning when I dropped her off at daycare she laughed at me every time I said "bye bye" like she just wanted me to get out the door.

Yesterday Josh's mom picked Mati up after lunch and they had an afternoon together. When I went to pick Mati up she seemed happy and she had been showing her Grandma all the cool things she could do. After I picked her up we were in rush mode to get to my mom's so I could start getting things ready for my class. I really look forward to teaching Tuesday and Thursday nights..ahh...its a workout...Jody its not the same with out you, and I miss watching you jump for snickers!

This weekend is going to be full of getting things ready for Mati's birthday. I am starting to feel sentimental about this birthday. She is growing up and I will get to say she is 1 after this month. I am going to hold on to that 11 months ...11 1/2 months as long as they ask me!

Mati is such a busy bee. She is into everything.... She gets in my bookshelves...turns my pot over with my tree in it...teases Baxter with her toys and laughs at him. She does a huge circle in the house just following him...I am glad they love each other. Other than that we are just living it up!