Back From Spring Break

Spring Break as come and gone in a flash of what seemed a day or two not a whole week. There was lots of quiet, cleaning, and bonding time with my little man. Let's start from the begining.

St. Patrick's Day celebrations started Spring Break. I took all the left over Lucky Rocks that I made before getting sick and we had a smashing party after breakfast. Connor enjoyed counting his gold coins over and over and over and over again.

Patty left Connor some Lucky Rocks

Alllllllllllllllllllllllll Smashed!

We were heading off to a party to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and I decided to make a Irish Cream Brownies. This recipe required you to make frosting from scratch. I never knew how easy it was. It tasted sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. Like the brownies were gone in 15 min good.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Playing with chalk and his new friend at the party

Once the week of Spring Break began, I started off with some deep cleaning around the house. You know... the cleaning you're embarrassed that you let slide until you realize how gross that area has become?! Yeah... I tackled those spots. Monday morning I dropped Connor off at daycare, went for a run at Ft. Smallwood Park and then started cleaning cleaning cleaning. By the time Connor came home from daycare, I was done. D-O-N-E done.... Monday was the only day last week that I didn't take Connor to the park.

A foggy run at Ft. Smallwood Park where I saw two huge deer.

Tuesday I wrapped up cleaning, caught up homework and when Connor was picked up from daycare we went for a walk at Ft. Smallwood Park with my friend Lindsey to help get her baby moving since she was almost a week past her due date. More than halfway through the walk we stopped at the playground so Connor could run around and play. I think his little legs were worn out because he was only interested in swinging.

We saw a beautiful swan on our Tuesday evening walk.

Wednesday turned out to be an AWESOME day for me. I have a group of friends online that I met through an online forum for mothers.Over the last two years a group of us has navigated to a group on FB so we can easily chat with each other and stay in touch. I was able to meet one of my friends from Maine for breakfast while she was in town for work. It was so great! People asked me, "Wasn't it weird". Honestly, no. We pretty much talk almost every day in our group so why would it be weird to talk in person?!

At The Grill for breakfast

After breakfast, I got a few things done around the house then picked up Connor from daycare early. From there, we ventured to Downs Park and met up with my sister for play time at the park.

Spring Fever!

On our walk at Downs Park Connor found that path that leads you to the dog beach.
He shouted... "A Clue! A Clue!" My kid watches too much TV :)

Thursday morning I woke up and realized that Spring Break was almost over but I just kept trucking forward. For the rest of Spring Break I was keeping Connor home from daycare so we could spend some extra time together.

Thursday at lunch we met up with some of my former coworkers that I hadn't seen in a while. Connor was quite the character at lunch and I can say that he's just not a fan of Chinese food. Sigh....... On the way home from lunch we stopped off at Olde Mill Park. That was one quiet park... no one was around and it looks like it could use a face lift. Connor kept trying to climb the bars up to the slide.... one day kid... one day.

Trying to be a big boy.

Friday we spent the morning lounging in our PJs and then decided to meet up with daycare at the park so Connor could play with his friends. The afternoon went by quickly and then Kevin and I found ourselves on a mini date night while Connor played at grandmas with his cousins for a few hours.

Saturday morning came and we made a trip to the neighborhood elementary school for Connor's first day of gymnastics!! He LOVED the activities but he hated waiting his turn in line. He cried and cried and whined over and over while we were in line. Once it was his turn the water works turned off and he was all smiles. Silly boy! He'll learn allll about waiting while in this class for the next 7 weeks! The class is a mommy and me type of class so I'm doing the activities with him. We did the Bear Crawl, Snake Crawl, rolled down the mat, hopped down the mat, walked the balance beam and swung from the bars. I can't wait for next week!

Total Monkey!

Sunday I ran around from place to place. First, I visited Lindsey's new baby boy who finally decided to grace us with his presence on Friday evening. Then I was off to Pandora Bracelet Bingo..... I didn't win a single thing! Boo.....

Spring Break is over and its back to the grind and hopefully more blogging!

Helllllllo Spring Time!

Spring has sprung early this year in Maryland. We've been looking at 70 - 80 degree weather with zero humidity. Lots of sun, warmth and a nice breeze. The last two days I have sat outside in the sunshine and read my book at lunch. It feels so good feeling the rays on my pasty skin. When we get home in the evening it's still light out and we've been able to take Connor for walks and play outside. The 10 day forecast is nothing but 70 degree weather and sunshine. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. What is your favorite part about Spring?

Enjoy these pictures I took yesterday.

Welcome to Motherhood My Dear Friend

One of my most dearest friends, Lindsey, is about to have her first baby. I couldn't be more happier for her and her husband. I can't believe the due date is here in front of us already. I feel like we were just sitting at my kitchen table talking about how they were going to start trying to conceive last year. My heart is filled with so much joy for her I can't stand it.

We tried to go for a walk last night, but when we arrived at Ft. Smallwood Park we realized that the park was closed on Wednesdays. Sooooo we turned around and headed for Downs Park. By the time we got there we saw the sign that said the park closed at 7pm. We had 20 minutes. Boo. We let Connor spend his time running around the playground and swinging on the swings. A little after 7 the Park Ranger told everyone to get the heck outta there.... well not really... he said the park was closed. :) We drove back to my house and walked around the neighborhood and enjoyed good old fashioned conversation like we used to as kids walking through the neighborhood we grew up in. After she left, and while I was doing my nightly decluttering of the living room.... I kept thinking about everything she is about to experience in the next week and following year. I started jotting things down and it turned into a letter.

Dearest Friend,

You are about to embark on a journey that is filled with such emotion, heart bursting love, awe, insomnia, and questions with everything that you do. You're getting read to bring this life into the world. The thought is scary and overwhelming, but the "prize" at the end is a cute squishy baby that will bring so much joy into your life that it will completely blow your mind and heart.

You'll be faced with lots of unsolicited advice and what you should do or shouldn't do. Just love your baby. Love him with everything you got.

There will be moments with just him and you in the middle of the night. You'll be so freaking tired but so freaking in love at the same time. This love I can't put into words. I'm sure you've already been feeling it. Just wait until he's in your arms looking up at you. This love is what gets you through the long nights, the explosive diapers, and "oh my god will this kid stop crying" moments.This love makes your heart burst from within your chest.

In my two years of being mommy I've learned there isn't awards and you can't screw up (too bad). You're judged on everything you do from carseats, to what and how you feed your child, to where you baby sleeps and how clean your bathtub is. It can be a long and winding confusing path but so worth it at the same time. The love from your child at the end of the day makes the unnecessary noise go away.

I'm so blessed to have you join me in this crazy thing they call motherhood. Our lives are pointing in the same direction and we can navigate this journey blindly together.

Love you and Good Luck!

The Good Kind of Karma

I mentioned in my last post that Connor and I took a trip down to the neighborhood beach yesterday and a neighbor gave him a toy car on our way there. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to post something here.

I am very thankful that our house is a short walk to a little beach that Connor can put his toes in the water when it's warm and play in the sand with his toys (which in turns makes it so we don't have to have a sand box at our house). The sad thing I've been seeing (and saw last year) is the trash that builds up. Its like people picnic there and then don't pick up their trash. HOW HARD IS IT TO PICK UP YOUR TRASH!!

If everyone is leaving behind trash we're not going to have a place to play... AND FAST. The end of last summer I started packing a grocery bag with us in the stroller so I could pick up some of the trash while we were there. Before leaving on our walk yesterday I grabbed a grocery bag again because I've noticed over the last two weeks its been building up again. The community is only as good as the people in it. Respect the area around you.

On the way down the community area I looked down and saw the wing that has been missing off of Connor's dragon for the last week along the side of the sidewalk next to someone's lawn. I thought it was in our house hiding somewhere and with being sick I just didn't feel like looking so I put the toy away and planned on finding the wing at another time. Well..... it must have fallen off the when he took the toy with him to the beach with us last week. I gave universe a quick thank you and we ventured on our way.

Once we got to the community area (a big field) I saw three girls leaving the beach area and they walked past us. I could hear and older woman calling to them and it sounded like she was asking them to bring Connor a car. Sure enough.... one of the girls ran up to us and asked if she could give Connor a toy car. I did a quick inspection not wanted to look paranoid and said sure. I turned to the direction of the woman's house and there she was up on her deck waving at us. I waved back and yelled thank you. I've never met this woman in my life!! I don't know if she's seen us before on our walks or what but I was very blessed for the gift, as was Connor.

We go to the beach and sure enough there was trash. Connor played with his new car on some logs and I walked around picking up some trash. What I found:
1. A brand new looking tennis shoe (I left it as there was only one and I figured the owner would come back to get it)
2. Empty chip bags
3. Empty beer cans
4. Empty microwavable hormel chili container (and why... there isn't a microwave at the beach!)
5. An American Girl magaizne
6. Empty zip lock bags.
7. A fishing reel
8. Empty yogurt container
9. Empty water bottle
10. Random pieces of plastic

There was several other things that I picked up as well. I filled the whole bag and I could have found more to pick up. I just don't understand the lack of responsibility people have in regards to cleaning up after themselves.

On the way back I was thinking of the events of the last hour. Making the decision to grab a bag to throw trash in, finding the missing wing on the sidewalk, the gift Connor received and me picking up the trash. When we got home, I washed my hands and realized that I was in the middle of good karmic reactions. You usually only hear people wishing bad karma on others or talking about bad karma happening to them but yesterday.... we were in a whirlwind of good karma!

Here are some pics of our last two trips to the beach.

One our first trips out here this year the tide was scary low.

BUT we had a fun time playing in the sand anyway.

Playing with his new car.

Looking for boats

It Snuck Up and Got Us.....

Just when I was thinking we escaped the winter without major illness... it snuck up and got us.

It all started with an ear infection and pink eye in our little man a week ago from last Friday. I caught his nasty little bug by that Sunday. My ears and throat never hurt so bad. I was so exhausted I was having flash backs to my first trimester with Connor.

Last week was a week from congestion hell. Exhaustion, congestion, and non stop coughing from Connor was totally the worst. I don't think I've been that sick in a llllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooong time. Thankfully we're both on the rebound officially. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that some how Kevin escapes this last week germ and sick free.

Saturday and Sunday the windows were open and I was letting in the fresh breeze hoping it would clear out the stagnant sickness in our house. Connor and I went for a walk down to the beach yesterday and a kind neighbor gifted Connor with a toy car. Things were finally looking towards the positive and we had some very yummy corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot for dinner.

So what have I learned this week??

1. Putting drops in a toddler's eye is not easy. No matter how much you try to show and explain to them it's ok and it's going to help them. Kevin and I felt like this trying to trap Connor and getting the drops in his eyes.

2. No matter how much you wash your hands.... if your son is snuggling in your lap and coughs in your face... you're gonna get sick.

3. When your exhausted, take a nap and let the non sick person in the house take care of you.

4. Johnson and Johnson Vapor Bath works for a toddler who is up all night coughing. After trying almost natural way to help relieve Connor's cough.... the Vapor Bath was the only thing that helped. A big thank you to my PNB momma friends.

5. When you cook corned beef and cabbage your house will smell like cabbage the next morning. Warning... its gross.

I was hoping I would get to blog about our St. Patrick's day crafts and lucky rocks but the truth is.... we've been so exhausted we haven't done any! I'm hoping to squeeze a few in this week so keep your fingers crossed that the germs have officially left the Sachs residence!!!