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.

This weekend: the good, the bad, & the ugly

In bullets:

• On Friday my boss closed the office an hour early because she and her husband were going out of town for the night. Bonus.
• Once home, I rushed around doing some chores that are easiest sans toddler. In my haste I misjudged the stairs going down into the family room, thinking I was at the bottom when in fact I was not. My ankle rolled and something popped/snapped. I ended up curled on my side, screaming like a banshee. Thank goodness I was home alone. Eventually I was able to move and hobble around enough to appear normal when my son got home. It's only a little swollen and sore, but it bears weight, so I'm sure IT'S FINE.
• Saturday morning we went for our customary hike on the boardwalk. Conditions were quite slick were the snow remained, which made walking a bit treacherous, always helpful on a weak ankle. But whatevs. The weather was mild and the woods were lovely.
• I cooked a $1.99 frozen pizza from Aldi for dinner (living the high life, as always). When I was pulling it out of the oven, the oven mitt apparently had a thin spot and I jerked my hand because of the BURNING and the pizza slid off the pizza stone landing cheese side down on the bottom of the oven. All that was left was a crispy thin piece of naked crust. Tears were shed. And dinner ended up being much more lame than even a $1.99 frozen pizza.
• Sunday morning we squeezed in some outdoor play time in the yard, including swinging, sliding, and sand. Not bad for JANUARY.
• I invited my dad over after nap to assemble the balance bike he bought my son for Christmas. The assembly process was a nightmare, but at least he had the cutest "helper" ever. And then WITHOUT COACHING my darling not-yet-3 year old more or less invited his grandpa to take us out to eat at "Paneria" so he could "eat bread and grilled cheese." Hahaha! Well done, sweet boy, well done. And he ate every single bite.

Weekending

Saturday morning started with another batch of apple crisp because we're still drowning in apples. The funny thing is that the apples are mostly irrelevant when it comes to apple crisp, for me anyway. I double the recipe for the crisp, but include the apples because it wouldn't be socially acceptable to make "crisp crisp."

When the apple crisp came out of the oven, we headed to Second Home Nature Center. I was feeling a strong need to be outside in a natural setting. However, the whole time we were there it sounded like we were parked on a highway. I don't recall the road sounds being so over-whelming in the past. I wonder if it was the lack of wind and less leaves on the trees. Whatever it was, I had trouble shaking my irritation. Aside from that it was beautiful, of course.

We hit Target before dinner to get more chalk because the Little Man is OBSESSED. He actually used every last little nub that we had, but it turns out mid-October is not chalk season. I had multiple employees helping me search, but they finally found a box of huge fancy chalk that boasts being washable. Um, isn't all chalk water soluble? It has always washed off the driveway in the rain. Weird. Regardless, he's thrilled.

From there we went to Panera for dinner because I had a gift card I was eager to use. We NEVER eat out, so this was a special treat. It felt downright festive, like Christmas. Little Man sat on the bench seat with me, ate all his food, and drank water from a regular cup. We watched a baby at a nearby table and danced in our seats to whatever music they were playing (nothing I recognized).

Sunday morning we put together and decorated a pretty Halloween house ("haunted" seems unnecessary at this point). He had soooo much fun sticking the jelly beans and candies in the frosting. I think that inspired him to ask me to draw houses with the chalk when we went outside. Lots and lots of houses.

Weekending

This weekend felt a little unsettled for several reasons. My son's father asked to switch the days he gets our son (on Sundays I drop the little man off at his dad's house and then go grocery shopping). This week we did that on Saturday AND I went to a different store, so everything felt mixed up. On top of that the little man has a cold so isn't operating at 100%.

On Saturday morning after his dad dropped him back home we made apple crisp. We clearly picked WAY too many apples last weekend. The apple crisp hardly made a dent. Note to self: next year buy the kiddie bag.

All for me!

Sunday morning we went on an adventure, driving to a picturesque village on a small lake. I would've liked to have explored a little more, but most things weren't open yet and the toddler wasn't in the best mood. Even at the park, he was unimpressed. Rocks! Where are the rocks? What is this stupid sand stuff?

No rocks. Sorry buddy.

It was VERY windy. We saw several canoes and kayaks on the water, despite the wind and the sky. Crazy people!

I have a thing for shadows.

Both afternoons were spent at our neighborhood park, playing on the playground. Little man is obsessed with "big kids." He follows them around, imitating what they say and do. It's adorable. Surprisingly to me, other kids keep assuming he's a girl. I don't think he has particularly feminine features, and he's usually dressed in shades of blue (although I guess the red shirt he's wearing in the photo above could be interpreted as pink). It's interesting to me that the mistake is most common with the elderly and with the young crowd (under 10). I don't care really and depending on the situation I may or may not even correct the person. I love his beautiful hair and he doesn't even know the difference between boy and girl. One of the big kids asked him,"Are you a boy or girl?" He was so delighted by the older boy's presence and said "Yes!" with great enthusiasm. Works for me.

Weekending

On Saturday my son and I went to Second Home Nature Center for the annual harvest festival. We checked out a few crafters selling their homemade goods, ate some fresh sugary donuts, went for a "hike" with Grandpa before his volunteering shift started, and petted some animals at the petting zoo. The weather was delightfully cool and fall-like. We missed most of the crowds by getting there minutes after the festival opened and leaving before lunch.

I've been wanting to try the bread machine my husband left, but all of the recipes I'd found online said to follow the machine's instructions, which I do not have. I finally found one that didn't say that and didn't call for bread flour, so I tried it out during my son's nap on Saturday. But then, I lost count while adding the whole wheat flour and the dough was rock hard once it started mixing so I panicked and threw in some extra water. The loaf came out oddly misshapen and very, very heavy. Like heavy enough that it could be used as a deadly weapon. My son won't eat it, and I'm finding it requires A LOT of butter to make it edible. I probably won't use that recipe again, even if it was my own fault for losing track of the flour.

On Sunday during nap I threw together a family specialty, mac and cheese with only three ingredients. I didn't put enough milk in initially and then I didn't check it soon enough, so the top layer of noodles are too crispy for my preference. I spent most of dinner time last night picking them off one by one so hopefully the rest won't be so yucky. The rock hard crunchy noodles ruin it for me. Sadly, my son wasn't impressed with our family tradition and refused to eat more than a few bites. So not the most successful cooking experiences. But otherwise, weekends are wonderful, of course.

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

This was yet another weekend of SICK. Fever, vomiting, more fever, no appetite, etc. all make for a sad little guy (and sad mommy).

The temperatures were unseasonably mild though, so I bundled my guy up and dragged him outside for some fresh air. He didn't want to walk or play much, but at least we got outside for a little while. I managed to inhale deeply a few times under the hemlocks. I sure do love the smell of rotting leaves, wet soil, and all the other wonders of the WOODS. It's been too long.

Ice spine made for some trickier than expected walking on the boardwalk.

Weekends

After the hustle and bustle of the last several holiday weekends, we needed a commitment free weekend to just chill. Although I would've preferred the temperatures weren't so chilly, or frankly, so painfully cold. Extreme cold always does a number on my motivation.

On Saturday I subjected my son to an instant oil change. I hate going to those places because they're so over-priced, but I guess you have to pay for the convenience of not having to spend an hour or more trying to entertain your toddler in some gross, stinky waiting room with talk shows blaring out of the TV at you. I also dislike driving over the giant hole. It terrifies me. But we survived.

From there we went to Starbucks to get a green tea latte. Gift cards to Starbucks always make me happy. Most people would probably be surprised to hear that from a non-coffee drinker. There is an older lady barista at my Starbucks who routinely makes derogatory comments about my orders. I am torn between being entertained and being annoyed. Perhaps she finds my sunny personality and adorable son irritating too.

I bundled us up Saturday afternoon to play outside for a few minutes. I couldn't get my son's thumbs to stay in the thumb spot (uh, what's that called anyway?) in his super-duper warm mittens, which meant he couldn't pick things up. He was getting super frustrated so I switched him to his thin cotton mittens, which made him happy and me paranoid. He was still happily playing (well, ringing the doorbell repeatedly) when I decided it was time to go inside. Naturally he disagreed, but my fingers were frozen inside my big wind-proof snowmobiling mittens, so...

It was even colder on Sunday, so aside from our grocery store / bank run we hunkered down inside. I kept cranking the thermostat up, but it had almost no impact on the actual temperature inside the house. 62 just isn't warm enough for me. I couldn't convince myself to get out from underneath the blanket during naptime until I had about 10 minutes left. Then I brilliantly decided to start moving furniture around towards my goal of getting rid of several pieces (a matching set of two end tables and a coffee table). So now the house is trapped in the 'gets worse before it gets better' phase until next weekend when hopefully I feel super motivated during naptime. Ha.

Discovering the doorbell. Good times.

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

We had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday morning we got our Christmas tree, a balsam fir which smells divine. I picked one of the smaller trees on the lot, but of course it seems quite large in my living room. I'm decorating in stages to see how my toddler reacts. I put the lights and garlands on Saturday night and hung a few ornaments while he napped on Sunday.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the thrift store to buy a dining room chair. Yes, just one. And yes, I already have dining room chairs. However, they are very lightweight and flimsy and I did not feel at all comfortable with my son sitting in them. I knew that one slight push off the table and he would topple over backwards. I had recalled seeing some sturdy looking chairs on a recent (unsuccessful) trip to the thrift store to look for clothes for him, so we went back and fortunately they still had the chairs. I picked the sturdiest of the bunch. I might've bought two for a matching set but decided it was $10 I could spend elsewhere, so he gets a special captain's chair and I'll stick with the old flimsy one.

On Sunday we did our usual grocery shopping and outside playtime (walking around the block). We met my father for dinner at Chipotle, where they were out of sour cream, mild salsa, and medium salsa. How does that even happen? Won't be going back there for a while...

I forgot to record The Holiday (one the movies on my list) on Saturday night, so I'm bummed. It's not listed again and I didn't see it last season either. I'm going to have to do some further research to see if I can find it.

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

And that's exactly what I did this weekend. Nothing exciting. No big outings or activities. Walks in the neighborhood, playing in the leaves, our usual grocery store run, and a semi-regular trip to Target. We sang, we played, we watched Elmo videos. We hugged, we kissed, and we even snuggled for a few minutes (thank you, Elmo).

I watched some of my shows, did not enough laundry, swept the kitchen floor, vacuumed a fraction of what needed vacuuming, and said the heck with the rest. A tidy house is never going to be a priority for me.

My priorities should be pretty clear: my son and getting us both outside. Check. Check.

Burning bush, Euonymus alatus, in the yard of one of the many vacant houses in my neighborhood.

Around the block we go.

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

The highlight of our Saturday was a trip to Second Home Nature Center. I used my reliable method of putting him in the stroller to get him away from the car and on to the boardwalk. Once there, it's smooth sailing for hiking and exploring. It's totally worth pushing the empty stroller the rest of the time. Plus, it makes it easier for diaper changing supplies, which were needed on this trip. At some point I'll have to develop a new system that doesn't rely on the stroller, but for now it makes my life easier.

He just loves the bog trail (as do I). This time around he discovered the joy of throwing leaves and pine needles into the water. He sure is a fun little guy.

Dropping cattail pieces between the boards into the water below.

The highlight of our Sunday was dinner at my sister's house. My nephew is celebrating his 6th birthday today, but because of our hectic schedule we won't be able to join the festivities. So we went over last night to see him and enjoyed a super yummy meal. Six years old! Good grief! So big!

How was your weekend?

Joining Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

The rain was relentless on Saturday. We went to Target for baby wipes and Kraft Parmesan cheese (my favorite grocery store doesn't keep it in stock in hopes that I will buy their store brand, which is never gonna happen). I tried putting my son in his full-body rain suit so we could play outside, but he was inexplicably terrified by it. By the time Sunday rolled around I was DESPERATE to get us outside.

After our usual grocery store run, we met my father, sister, and nephew at the pumpkin patch. The rain was gone, but in its place was a ferocious wind. I bundled my little guy up, but even so it wasn't the most enjoyable weather. We loaded 3 pumpkins in the car and headed back home for lunch and nap while the others went for a hay ride and played in the corn maze. I was sad to cut our outing short, but I am a firm believer in the importance of sticking to meal and nap schedules.

Hot cider to help me warm up.

The wind had died down by the time my son woke from his nap, but I didn't want to drive anywhere else. Plus, it'd been a full week since we had time to play in the yard and I wanted to be home and available for him to have a visit from his father. So snack bar in hand we went outside to romp in the leaves and stayed out until it was time to cook dinner (or you know, boil water for pasta). I had splurged on his favorite pasta sauce, so we both ended the weekend with nice full bellies.

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with family.

This weekend I did 87 loads of laundry (OK, yes, I'm exaggerating, but only slightly), enjoyed some much needed time with my son, and visited with my mom and her husband as they stopped in town on their way home from vacationing in Maine. We ate delicious food, got the latest updates on our Maine (and beyond) family, and enjoyed the lovely weather. My son and I walked at Second Home Nature Center, got more books from the library, and played at the neighborhood playground. 

Post-nap reading session.

At the restaurant Friday night.

Bog Trail

Bog Pond

Red Maple

New England aster

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

On Saturday morning we popped into Target for my usual Green Tea Latte from Starbucks and then headed to the library. I'd been hoping to find the next book in the YA series I'd just finished, but my branch doesn't have a copy. They did have a copy of another YA I've been reading occasionally on my cell phone. Since I stare at a computer all day at work, I'm not anxious to stare at my phone on my lunch break, so I grabbed the book-on-paper version. Then we went to check out the kids section. And dur, why didn't anyone tell me there were fun things at the library besides books? Blocks and trains and stuffed animals, and needless to say, we'll be going back when we have more time. I do wish they opened earlier on the weekends. When your kid wakes up at 5:30am, waiting until 10am for things to open is not always ideal. We picked out a board book about pumpkins for him and then headed to our next destination.

I'd been hoping to do some walking at the nature center, but the rain put a damper on those plans as I can't find the hand-me-down raincoat from my nephew. I wouldn't mind a little drizzle, but it was pouring while we were at the library. So we went for the pancake breakfast only. My guy sat in a booster seat and ate like a bog boy. It was impressive and tasty.

He loves signs. What is it with little boys & signs?

After his nap and the rain we played in the yard for a little bit and he got to stomp through some puddles in his dinosaur boots.

On Sunday morning we did our grocery shopping as usual and played outside for few minutes before lunch. After nap I put him in the stroller to check out the newly renovated neighborhood park. He refused to get in the baby swing but happily rode on my lap in the regular one. Then he hopped down and climbed the stairs, presenting me with a big parenting moment. He wanted to go down the slide and I did not (my wrist still hurts from the last time I took him down that slide), so my only choice was to let him go by himself without any help and without anyone at the bottom to catch him (single parenting, yo). He did great and he loved it. Phew. After climbing the stairs and going down the slide a second time, he was done and went back to the stroller. Short attention span, this one.

And that was pretty much it for our weekend. How was yours?

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for unwinding and spending time with my son.

On Saturday morning we made one of our regular trips to Target for a Green Tea Latte and some odds & ends. I'd recently downloaded the Cartwheel app for my phone and was so distracted by trying to figure out how to use it (old person alert!) that I forgot about the actual paper coupon in my bag for $10 off which expired THAT day. I remembered just as I was about to pull into my neighborhood. For $10 I was absolutely turning the car around and dragging my toddler back into Target. For sure.

After his nap I wanted to get us both outside, but I didn't feel like driving far. I just wanted to be outside, somewhere other than our yard. It shouldn't be so difficult to find a spot of trees, etc. to romp around in. I finally settled on a nearby golf community with access to Nature Conservancy land.

I believe this is fake water but still picturesque from the right angle.

My guy is going through what I hope is a phase in which he only wants to go back, not forward. So I carried him as far as I felt like and then set him down. He took off back towards the car and we had a nice little walk (until he decided he wanted to explore off the side of the trail that was choked with poison ivy and I was forced to carry him away).

And off he goes!

Admire the poison ivy, but please do not touch!

The little guy slept poorly Saturday night, coughing on and off all night, so Sunday we did our grocery shopping and played in the yard and generally took it easy. Hopefully his boogers let up soon.

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekends

Weekends are for relaxing and soaking up every second of togetherness with my son. I miss him so much when I'm at work and he's at daycare. I know he has fun playing with his friends, but it's such a long time to be separated from each other every day. Plus our time together during the week is harried: rushing to get meals, to get dressed, to get out the door, to get into bed. Come Saturday, I just want to relax and BE with my little man.

This weekend had its ups and downs, as he's got a cold and I'm fighting one (you don't have to share everything, buddy). When he's not feeling well he swings quickly from glee to despair and was particularly sad both afternoons after his nap.

On Saturday we went grocery shopping and played in the yard. Nothing exciting, but maybe that's what we both needed.

On Sunday morning we went for a lovely hike with my sister and her son. It was pretty chilly when we first hit the trail, but the boys like to play by the river so the temps had a chance to rise quite a bit by the time we headed back to the cars. I carried the Kelty pack, but my little guy did so well I never even put him in it. When he wanted up I would carry him on my hip for a few minutes and then set him back down to walk some more. The hike itself wasn't that long, but I love seeing him cover so much ground on his own.

While he napped Sunday afternoon I hastily whipped together a batch of banana bread. I love baking, but it is simply too time consuming for me these days. I fear I may have made a slight error because of my rushing, but since I'm the only one eating the bread anyway, perfection is unnecessary.

Cold apple cider in a handmade ceramic mug - the only way to drink it!

Already looking forward to next weekend!

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekending: Fall Family Fun

This weekend was for fall family fun.

We kicked off the weekend on Friday night with a visit to the local nature center for day 2 of their 4 day Halloween celebration. Every year they set up two short trails through the woods lit only with jack o' lanterns and luminaries. It is a non-scary, family friendly experience. It was my sister and my almost 4 year old nephew's first time at this event, whereas my dad, step-mom, and I have been many times before.

On Saturday, in keeping with the theme, I enjoyed a bowl of pumpkin soup for lunch and then my husband and I were off to a big family party in honor of the twins' 12th birthday. His family throws big parties for each kid's birthday, attended by all the aunts, uncles, cousins, family friends, etc. that live within a two hour radius. They do this all the way through age 21! It's very different from how my family did birthdays for us as kids. We had small, casual kids parties and small family gatherings with just our grandparents. There was already discussion of us having to compete with one of the cousins for future party dates because their younger son has a birthday at the end of March, just a couple days after our due date. Apparently, it has never even occurred to any of them that I might have no intention of hosting birthday parties for 30-50 people every year (or any year). I'm starting to worry about the number of people that will descend on us in the hospital after the baby is born (or worse, while the baby is being born?).

Speaking of the baby, I cannot get used to having my abdomen be the focus of everyone's attention. It freaks me out when people demand to see my "bump." I wore a loose shirt to the party and was asked multiple times to pull it tight across my stomach to show off the true size of my baby bump. I realize it's done with good intentions. Everyone is SO excited about the new baby in the family. It's really sweet how thrilled they all are.

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.

Weekending

This weekend was for...

... a visit from my mom, who lives in Michigan. We enjoyed two yummy dinners and a nice hot, sweaty walk by the lake.

... an unexpected lunch date with my husband.

... a high school graduation party for our sweet, generous, gorgeous niece.

... a first taste of (non-local) summer cherries.

Linking up with Karen at Pumpkin Sunrise.