the price of coffee

Since fall has definitely arrived here in MD, I have been enjoying the crisp weather, and taking advantage of perfect outdoor time. This past week Pat's mom Connie has been on town, so my motivation to do things has gone way up. Imagine how much easier it is to make it to daily Mass with my little screamer if I know I have help! YAY! And cleaning, organizing - I know that next week will bring the reality of being at home with Bella and getting nothing done for a while.

Saturday evening we walked to Main Street to the quaint little coffee house; nothing like a hot cup o' joe on a crisp fall evening! Now when Pat and I first moved into our house right after we got married, my sister-in-law Angela, Sara (who was 4 months old at the time), Patrick and I would make this trek several times a week! Distance: 1 mile each way. Hills: 4. Difficulty: you try being out of shape 4 months post-partum and pushing a stroller with a fast-growing little girl in it! Well, 2 years ago it didn't seem so hard. Saturday it was VERy hard! (maybe it has to do with ME being the one out-of-shape and 4 months post-partum now...)
Now, the weather - It was a cool evening, after dark, and I had on a t-shirt and light jacket which I knew I would be ditching soon. My mother-in-law from California had on a wool coat. Patrick didn't have any jacket, the tough guy. Isabella was snuggled in her stroller as cute as can be: a knitted blanket under and over her, the sling in case she decided she hated the stroller halfway through, a lighter blanket in case she ended up in the sling, the diaper bag (read: a mom's fashionable purse), and on her head a little knit cap. She looked SO funny Patrick and I each burst out laughing. An evening walk took more wardrobe planning than a Broadway musical!
On the way back she started to fall asleep just before the last big hill, about 5 minutes from home. I did not want her to fall asleep 5 minutes from home, I wanted her to eat and sleep when we got there! So I jiggled the stroller; I talked to her; I poked her; I stole her pacifier. Then, I did the unthinkable: I jogged. *gasp!* Unfortunately, all this backfired - the little girl who loves all kinds of motion, whose eyes were half-mast for a few minutes, immediately fell asleep with the increase in movement. *sigh* At least it made for really cute pictures! And of course I was happy to provide such entertainment to the adults.