Birthday Weekend

Saturday morning (my birthday) we took it slow. We both needed some slowness after the mad rush Monday through Friday to get us out the door to school and work on time. Eventually we headed to Target so I could collect my free birthday drink from Starbucks (a large Green Tea Latte) and a couple cake pops. We also picked up hay for the guinea pigs and yeast because the grocery store hasn't had any for 2-3 weeks and I was craving some homemade bread.

From there we headed for Second Home Nature Center for my annual wildflower hike. Alas, the never ending winter wasn't really working in my favor. We found a few spring beauty, hepatica, and blue cohosh in bloom. Even that surprised me. I thought we'd come up completely empty. The trillium and trout lily were in bud, just barely. It was overcast and sprinkly, but still fairly mild. We also heard two barred owls calling ('tis the season) practically on top of us, but I couldn't search for them because my son was at the water's edge doing his best to throw everything not nailed down into the water (including himself?).

We encountered a man with his two year old son and got to chatting. He made it clear he was single and I tried to indicate the same, but nothing came of it. Do I need to be more direct? (That's not gonna happen.) Or was it the fact I hadn't showered in days? Who can tell.

That night we went to Panera with my dad where I collected another birthday freebie, a yummy tulip cookie. My sandwich was probably the worst I've ever had from Panera, but of course I ate it anyway.

The weather on Sunday was cold and dreary and raw, which made me grumpy. But at least I had fresh bread.

How was your weekend?

Trying to get my phone to ficus on the blue cohosh flower.

Currently

Drinking: Water. Black tea. Kombucha. Same as always. I found a new to me kombucha flavor yesterday and it is fantastic.

Watching: I started catching up on Designated Survivor this weekend because I finished my re-watch of ER. I think I had 7 or 8 episodes of Designated Survivor on my DVR, so I'll be working on that for a while before moving on to the next show.

Reading: Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. Hanscom. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. It's Fall by Linda Glaser.

Playing with: Wooden marble track. Shape magnets. Penguin ball.

Feeling: Miserable. I'm so sick of the constant drip, drip, sneeze, cough. It's been a good four months straight and I'm OVER IT. I scheduled an appointment with an allergist for mid-June (their first available, sigh). 

Enjoying: We finally had a mild, sunny weekend! It was fantastic. We went for a hike, played in the yard, walked to the playground, and generally just enjoyed being outside as much as possible.

Looking forward to: More warm weather. The end of the semester.

What are you up to these days?

10 Items in Your Car

I used to have a super neat car. Not clean, but neat. I didn't let anything pile up or collect in the car. And then I had a baby. I could easily list WAY more than 10 items that ride around in the car all the time.

1. Winter hat, big mittens, fleece gloves. Because it's still WINTER apparently.
2. Pile of car toys: elephant, caterpillar, watering can, blue car, tiny tiny piggy, 2 wooden trains, a dump truck...
3. Box of tissues
4. Snow brush (this is in the car year round, regardless of the never ending WINTER)
5. Folding bike (not that I've been using it for the last week, because WINTER)
6. Picnic blanket
7.  A slew of CDs I never listen to
8. Bike helmet
9. Baby blanket (for diaper changing purposes)
10. Old towel (for mud, vomit, whatever)

Inspired by Coffee Until Cocktails.

School Lunches

My son started at a new school (daycare) this week. It's a smaller center without a full kitchen, so I  have to pack his lunch from now on. I'm sure this will get easier for me, but it's actually been more than a little stressful. Am I providing enough? Is it something he likes and will eat? Plus, I hate the idea of wasting food, so I want to avoid giving too much. Tricky business. My sister passed down her son's preschool lunchbox and it is super awesome. My Little Man loves it and loves that he can do it ALL BY HIMSELF.

Here's a look at some of his lunches from his first week.

Mini meatballs.

Deli turkey.

Peanut Butter on tortilla shells. Fruit twist (not licorice). Friday.

2018 To Do List: March

1. Rearrange/clean the family room to make it a more usable space*
2. Read at least 28 books - Four books finished in March (10/28)
3. Hang snow shoes
4. Hang rabbit art (x2) in my son's room
5. Acquire a hammer ✅
6. Get rid of clothes my son has outgrown
7. Get rid of clothes I don't wear/like
8. Go swimming, preferably in a natural body of water
9. Go to the Adirondacks
10. Take my son camping in a tent in the woods for at least one night
11. Frame 2017 school pictures ✅
12. Spend less money on weekly groceries 
13. Try shopping at Aldi ✅
14. Eat more veggies
15. Eat more fruits
16. Journal more
17. Complete 365 Mile Challenge - 21.7 miles for March (66.8/365)
18. Refinance my mortgage
19. Make my own kombucha
20. Get my son to use the potty
21. Get new glasses
22. Decorate the house in some way for smaller holidays (Valentine's Day ✅, St. Patrick's Day ✅, Easter ✅)
23. Grow some sort of veggie this summer (zucchini? tomatoes?)
24. Have the driveway sealed
25. Take down the baby gate at the top of the stairs to the family room ✅

*As I mentioned in my last post I started working on the family room, but my momentum has stalled and the room is probably less usable in its current state. Oops.

I bought myself a small tool kit which includes a hammer, so I can check that off the list. I spent TWO hours hanging two very small display shelves for pictures. Remind me never to do that sort of thing again. (It does look nice.) (As long as you don't notice the giant holes in the wall from where I sank the anchors in the wrong spot.)

I'm not sure how I managed to have more miles in February than in March, but that's what the spreadsheet says. I started riding my bike again to and from the parking lot, so that should help my miles. Assuming I don't die trying, that is. General consensus seems to be that I'm not riding far enough each day to enable my legs to get stronger, so it may never get easier (what??).

I finally found some St Paddy's lights for the fireplace. Yay!