A Weekend Away

We had the busiest, most eventful weekend.  It's always good to remind ourselves why we appreciate our quiet weekends at home ;)

Molly and Noah- this picture actually preceds the weekend, but was a perfect reminder of the time we spent that day during the week with our little buddy.  He wanted to follow Molly everywhere.  And she was so proud to have him as a shadow.  I'm so thankful for cousins and friendship for Molly (even if sometimes it's full of disagreements and lack of sharing), for they'll always have each other!

We took off  Friday for Pittsburgh for the FMCSA certification exam- long acronym, basically the certification I need to perform DOT physicals in light of new regulations.  Not exciting.  However, what was exciting- the hotel!  Complete with a small water park, it made for more fun than we could have imagined.  I forget how adventurous our toddler is until she sets foot in a water park.  That child has her father's spirit- it's unbelievable.  She was fearless.  She loved the water, and kept saying "I can't wait to go on the slide!" each time we left.  It was a nice, warm indoor weekend- a much needed treat amid the freezing temps of February in Pennsylvania.  And the perfect Valentine's Day getaway. (Of course, dinner was a disaster- who knew it could be so difficult to get a two year old to sit for 20 minutes?!  We ordered dessert to go- much more enjoyable.)

My sister's baby shower was a few miles away on Saturday, so after a long morning of swimming, we spent an afternoon celebrating baby Ethan.  Her shower was lovely- Molly's favorite part was, of course, the cake!  Most of my own pregnancy memories are me with a HUGE belly.  My sister, not so- she's a beautiful picture of pregnancy.  A "just right" baby belly.  Pregnancy suits her.  And I'm so, so excited to see this baby she's been growing- only a few short weeks :)

And after a late night visiting with friends and visiting family all day Sunday, I was glad for the calm of Sunday night.

I pray that my family we remember and cherish these times together, myself included, because Molly is growing and changing so quickly, and I know I don't want to miss it- even for a moment.

I hope this week is a great one, we're already covered in another blanket of snow in PA!

xx,

Lisa

February: Our Weekend

 

It's beautiful outside- a winter wonderland.  But seriously, this the coldest winter I can remember.  It's the kind of cold that really is tough to enjoy.  We tried to bundle up and head outside this weekend for some snow play-- not worth it.  It's hard to enjoy ten degrees.  For the first time, I'm excited to see temperatures reach thirty.  That's the fun stuff, the kind of cold weather you can actually enjoy without freezing to your core.  To the core, I tell you.  And it's only February.  Winter, it's been real.

So we've been enjoying our weekends indoors more than I had anticipated.  Molly loves hanging with me in the kitchen, and that mixer sure got some use this weekend.  We baked the most amazing chocolate cake, complete with homemade buttercream on Saturday (just the recipe for cake and frosting from the Hershey's cocoa container- easy peasy). Sunday we made bread, chocolate chip cookies, and mashed bananas/avocodoes/spinach for our weekly smoothies.  That stand mixer might be my favorite appliance.  And side note, I honestly think I enjoy cookie dough more than a baked cookie.

Molly's new favorite toy is a group of nesting blocks listing the ABC's, and we've made the best game of stacking them while singing the ABC's, only to smash the stack as the song ends.  She thinks its absolutely hilarious, and I'm not joking, we played this game for at least an hour- nonstop. 

Her next favorite toy is probably a tie between a mini wagon and the Fisher Price farm.  Pretty much every toy/baby/barbie has had a ride in that wagon, or spent some time hanging in the barn.  I try to limit tv time each day, and I'm so thankful that our house has a separate playroom for her to pretend and imagine, away from that tv.  We're not huge tv people anyway, and honestly our home only has one functioning tv.  But put that girl in front of Caillou, and she won't move. 

Much to our delight, I have a certification exam on Friday, and because we're headed to Pittsburgh for my sister's baby shower, too, I found a really fun hotel with a small indoor water park.  So we're about to pretend it's not winter- if only for a weekend.  I've shown Molly the picture of these water slides only once.  She now asks to see them constantly, followed by "I wanna go there!'  The excitement of a toddler--I promise to take a picture.

After an eventful Sunday evening, we're glad to have a calm night.
And plan our garden- dreaming of warmer weather to come.

Have a great week.

Wednesdays at Home

Our day at home was really not that exciting.  Other than our attempt to pick up Jesse's truck at the repair shop which led to spending the next 30 minutes stuck about 100 feet from our house, we really had a rather boring day.  And you know what?  It was wonderful.

As I've mentioned here in the past, I've been working with my current job to find a way to be home with Molly a little more each week.  And after some schedule rearranging, I've managed to work a few hours on two different Saturday's each month and extend my working days slightly in order to gain each Wednesday at home.  What a perfect day, too.  It's the best mid-week catch up, for all of us.  Molly's the best napper here at home, and the worst at her babysitter's house.  So we catch up on a good nap.  And some of our favorite books and songs.  We color a beautiful picture depicting what our yard will look like in a few short months.  We traced an idea of our garden layout.  Made a yummy homemade soup and cookies.  Enjoyed our time together.

And I know that I'm appreciating a day at home more than I would if I didn't work outside of the home.  I need to realize the good in my life, and always try to be thankful.  So here are some of the reasons I'm thankful today:

- The look on her face when I tell her "Mommy's home today!", and her response (with a big grin and loving hug) "Mummy no work today!"
- A quiet snowfall outside
- A handy, adventurous husband who gets us stuck in the driveway, then gets us unstuck.
- Washable crayons ;)
- The excitement and anticipation of warmer weather (our drawing was titled "Molly's yard in summer")
- A hot pot of soup on the stove.
- The sweet sound of a toddler sucking her thumb (I know it's not going to last forever).


Happy Friday.
Here's to another enjoyable, media-free weekend over here!

xx,

Lisa