Bits of Our Weekend: Florida Trip

We returned from our long weekend in Florida yesterday.

We were only there Friday-Monday, so it was a short trip, but Audrey and I had fun, Audrey especially. Man-friend's parents live in Palm Coast, about 20 minutes from the beach. When we arrived Friday it was raining. The rain kept up for the rest of the day, varying between down pouring and drizzling. However, Jason has a nephew a year younger than Audrey, so she had a playmate the whole time, and lots of toys to play with indoors. His parents also have a pool in their backyard, and my little fishy was determined to spend as much time in it as possible. At one point, she decided she didn't want to wait any longer to go swimming, rain be damned, and convinced my boyfriend to get in the pool with her.




The pool was covered but it was mesh, so it kept out the insects but not the rain.

Unfortunately, the rain continued on Saturday. We had planned on going to a dolphin aquarium and doing a pet and feed with the dolphins, but the tank is outside, so we had to skip this due to the weather. We ended up going to an indoor arcade and out to lunch with Jason's sister and nephew though, so we still had fun. In the afternoon, the rain finally stopped, so Audrey spent a couple hours in the pool. The water was freezing, so I opted to watch.

 

 

Sunday was gorgeous. Hot and sunny: perfect beach weather, which is exactly what we did. We went with his whole family so Audrey had plenty of people to splash in the water and build sandcastles with. After the beach there was more pool time, of course.




Post Beach Ice Cream

We had an early flight Monday morning. After a long day of travel, we got back to NYC Monday afternoon. It was a nice last-bit-of-summer trip, and I'm glad Audrey got to meet Jason's family (I'd met them all 10 years ago, but hadn't seen most of them in 8 or so years). She loved everyone and was sad to go.

Potty Training

Not Audrey. She's been potty trained for a couple years now, thankfully. The dog on the other hand ...
 

who, me?

I swear, potty training Audrey was easier. Why can't puppies just wear diapers till they're old enough to get the whole potty training thing? They make diapers for senior dogs with health issues, don't they?

Madelyn was drastically improving but then had a setback, seemingly out of nowhere. Not only did she stop holding it through the night, she wouldn't last even a couple hours in the crate, no matter how many walks she went on. We didn't think it was a health issue, because everything else was fine. She's started to improve again, but who knows how long this will last.

I had jokingly said a few days ago that if the dog didn't stop peeing on the floor I was going to put a pull-up on her. I kept a handful for some reason after Audrey no longer needed them. This morning, Maddie peed on the kitchen floor, and Audrey remembered my comment. She ran and grabbed a pull-up and we put it on the dog, just for fun. She got it off pretty quickly. Wishful thinking.

Um, what is this, human?

 

Get. It. Off.

Anyway, I hope the regression was a one time thing, and she continues to improve from here.

Princess Bed + Ombre Dresser

At the end of last year, I redid Audrey's room. She was still sleeping in a toddler bed, and her dresser was an old, small thing her father had brought with him when he first moved in. I bought her a twin size bed, a bigger dresser, a nightstand and a bookshelf. The first three pieces were these wooden ones from Ikea. I painted the bedframe, the body of the dresser and nightstand white, and then did the drawers on the dresser in ombre purple. Not to pat myself on the back too much, but it came out awesome :) I don't really have a specific tutorial to link to because I read a bunch, so here's what I did:

It was pretty simple, just time consuming. I bought a quart of white paint and the sample size of a purple. I assembled the body of the dresser and the drawers, with the exception of the knobs. I used a roller for most of the painting, and an angled brush to get any smaller spots and corners. I painted the bottom drawer the original purple, and then for each shade of purple, just mixed in some of the white paint till I was satisfied with the color. I did each shade in separate trays so I could make sure I had the same color for the second coat. Audrey helped with the painting - of course everything was uneven and all over the place but nothing a second coat didn't fix. She was adorable, with her hair up and paint smeared all over, but her painting outfit was a tank top, socks and undies so I won't be posting pics.

I've seen tutorials that instructed you to just buy a sample of each color of paint on a paint card, but I went the cheaper route and it worked out just fine. I also would have had tons of extra paint had I bought 5 sample cans - one sample can was enough, with a little leftover for future touch ups. When everything was dry, I attached the knobs. The nightstand was the same, except it only had one drawer, which I painted the original (darkest) shade of purple. The bed was slightly more tedious to paint - it had less surface space, but all these nooks and crannies I had to get into.

Audrey's dresser

I purposely bought an inexpensive bed frame because I knew I wanted to eventually switch Audrey to a loft bed. Her room isn't that big, and her toys are overflowing into the living room (I need to do an overhaul, but that's another story). I figured if I eventually switch to a loft bed, I can set up a play area and some toy storage underneath. The last time we were at Ikea, Audrey loved a set up they had - a low loft bed with a green tent. Green doesn't match her room at all, and I knew I could find a much cuter tent. We looked online a bit, and of course Audrey got excited over the most elaborate bed she saw:

The bed is adorable, but I think she would grow out of the princess theme eventually, so I'd rather get something more customizable. Besides, I think the slide would take up too much of her room. And it's a bit outside of my budget. I thought about going the Ikea route again, but would rather just buy something already painted this time around. I found this loft bed on Amazon:

 

And this tent, which she will go nuts over:

I also want to add a curtain around the bottom, to create her own little space where she can hang out and play, either this one, or maybe just something plain purple or pink:

 

I have ulterior motives behind this new bed, other than creating more space in her room. She's taken to coming into my room in the middle of the night, and the only way I can get her to go back to sleep in her own room is going in there with her and laying down till she falls back asleep. Most of the time, I'm so tired, I just let her spend the rest of the night in my room, but I need to break this habit. I'm hoping an awesome bed will help ... and I know I need to be more firm about it. Easier said than done, unfortunately.

Bits of Our Weekend

This weekend was mostly the usual - gymnastics Saturday morning, some errands, etc. Saturday evening we went to the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy. I've gone almost every year for ten or so years now, and I swear it gets crazier every year. Going on a Saturday was definitely a mistake. We could barely walk, and someone had to carry Audrey the whole time because I was afraid she was going to get trampled. We didn't really eat the street food, we just went straight to our favorite restaurant, Da Nico. I love that place, the food is delicious and the service is almost always great, but I swear they jacked up the prices - whether permanently or just for the festival, I don't know - but everything was definitely a few dollars more than I remember.

She insisted on wearing the crown headband. Like most kids, she's obsessed with band-aids. There was no real reason for wearing this one. And she stole the glasses from Uncle James. Queen of the hipsters.

 

We didn't stick around long afterwards. I grabbed some of the flavored cannoli from Stuffed Artisan Cannoli's stand. This is one of my favorite things about the festival (ok, at this point probably my only reason for still going). They don't have a storefront, but they make awesome flavored cannoli - birthday cake, cookies and cream, peanut butter chocolate.

 

She wanted to sit outside and blow bubbles, so we took the dog so she could get some fresh air too. Maddie was quite interested in the bubbles for a while, but then her attention shifted to digging in the little bit of dirt she could reach.

 

Friday's outfit, chosen entirely by Audrey. She asked for a picture but when I tell her to smile this is what I get ...

Funny Randoms

I compiled some of the random pictures I have on my phone that make me smile (besides pictures of my mini-me). Some pics are Pinterest finds I loved so much I saved to my phone, most taken by me.

This is actually sadly relatable for me - when we were entertaining the possibility of moving, we looked at Brooklyn. Thanks to my awesome rent deal in Manhattan though, Brooklyn would have either been a huge downgrade, or a huge rent increase.

 

This is a real dog toy that I found in a pet store. It just happens to look like a dick?

 

Notice the baseball bat ... why does Dora need to carry around a baseball bat? Is her school in the hood? Does she need to take it up a notch with that pesky Swiper?

 

I saw this on  Pinterest and literally a few minutes later saw a (white, yoga pants wearing, suburban) friend's Facebook status: "Yay Fall! Pumpkin Spice everything, sweaters, leaves falling!" It made the pic even funnier.

 

I just ... what? Ramen is one of the easiest things you can possibly make. It's also not at all healthy. How does microwaving it instead of cooking it in a pot make it any better for you??

 

Yes. This goes through my mind all the time. It's like there's a set of twins in there, the evil one telling me to devour cookies and the good one telling me my body is a temple. The evil one usually wins.

 

HOW? This person is paid to drive people around all day! Are there more in depth driving tests to become a taxi driver? I hope so.

Bit of our Weekend

This past weekend was another relatively quiet one, as planned. Audrey had gymnastics Saturday morning, which is still going well. On Saturday, I met up with a friend and we had drinks and then went to see 50 Shades! The Musical Parody, which was hysterical. My friend was able to get pretty cheap tickets, but it would have been worth even if we had paid full price. I had actually forced myself to read the first 50 Shades of Grey book at the height of its popularity, just to see what all the hype was about. Despite wanting to throw the book down a well by a couple chapters in, I soldiered on and actually finished it. Saturday was the first time I was glad I had done so. Having read the book actually made the musical even funnier. I'd go see it again in a heartbeat - in fact I'm thinking about dragging the man friend to see it.



Highly Recommend.





Double fisting the bacon at breakfast.

 


Her face when "Let it Go" came on during our second carousel ride. I swear her hair isn't always such a mess.

 


I bought Audrey her own umbrella: this is how she sat on the couch watching cartoons on the iPad


On Sunday, Audrey and I went to the park, had a snack in the grassy area of Chelsea Waterside, and rode our favorite carousel a few times. I also made a couple pots of soup. Now that it's (already!) getting chillier, I've been craving soup lately. I made Broccoli Cheddar and Cream of Chicken with Wild Rice. Definitely not the healthiest soup options, but making them at home is much better than getting take out - I can control what I put in it and know it isn't loaded with sodium, etc. I liked them but will try different recipes next time, or at least tweak these. These were good but both could have used a little something more.

One more quiet weekend till our mini vacation!




One more quiet weekend and then our mini vacation in Florida!

Hair by Audrey

Audrey did her own hair this morning. It's um ... fabulous? Call for your appointments. Her schedule is filling up fast.

 

I don't know what this facial expression was about.

Dreaming of ...

Bora Bora

... a vacation. This is a bit embarrassing but I've never technically left this country. The furthest I've been is Puerto Rico. The extent of my family's vacations when I was a kid were the Jersey Shore and one trip to Disney. I didn't have my own money to travel during college, and Audrey was born only a year and a half after I graduated. I plan on taking Audrey to Disney next Spring, but after that would love to do some trips abroad. I'd like for Audrey to experience most of these with us, but of course would love to do a "grown-ups only" trip here and there.

Cinque Terre, Italy

Santorini, Greece

Paris

An African Safari

Bits of Our Weekend

This past weekend was the first in what will probably be a series of quiet weekends in the city. We go to Florida at the end of the month, so this past weekend and the next two leading up to our trip will be low-key (in other words, inexpensive).

Scaffolding - the jungle gym of the sidewalks. Classy.

The most exciting part of our weekend was Audrey's first gymnastics class. I had signed her up for weekly gymnastics classes for the Fall semester over the summer, and they finally started on Saturday. She was very excited, and in the days leading up to the class kept telling me she needed to wear a "bathing suit" to gymnastics. I didn't buy her a leotard right away, I wanted to make sure she liked it before spending any more money. The kids could also wear shorts and a t-shirt, so that's what I sent her in. I noticed most other kids were wearing the same, so she didn't feel left out for not having a leotard on.

Parents weren't allowed in the studio, I watched from a tv in the seating area that overlooks the gym.

My less than stellar view :(

After gymnastics, we did a carousel ride in Chelsea Waterside then ran a couple errands. It was supposed to rain on and off all afternoon, so we went home a little early, and other than a quick walk for the dog, stayed in for the day.

Oh you know, just waiting for the horses to go by so we can cross

On Sunday, Audrey was with her father so I used the afternoon to run some errands, clean up a bit and watch a couple episodes of Game of Thrones.  I also made a pot of this sauce, because we were almost out of the previous batch.
 

A quick Scooter ride Friday after preschool

 
 
 

Post Walk, little fox.

From the Interwebz

A grown up coloring book. Because hey, who doesn't still like to color? But Dora coloring books are lame.

Relationship Goals. So Sweet.

50 Best Joan Rivers Jokes. RIP.

Whoa, this is awesome.

Kale salad trend ... haha

This awesome bachelorette party

Overwhelmed

Quote: Andy Dwyer, Parks & Rec, Pic: Buzzfeed

Lately I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed: the frustration that is family court, finances, taking care of a child on my own, dealing with the puppy, classes resuming and work picking back up now that summer has ended, etc.

I'll be the first to admit that patience is not my strongest quality. Whining drives me nuts. I get overly irritated when the dog pees on the floor. Ironically, I've been told I have the "patience of a saint" at work for being able to put up with my boss. Maybe it's the fact that although he behaves unreasonably sometimes, I'm able to actually communicate with him? I can explain to my boss why his request is unrealistic or why he's being overly difficult. I cannot, unfortunately, explain to the dog why the carpet is not an acceptable place to urinate. I just have to teach and reinforce consistently, and hope she gets it eventually. Same with Audrey. Well, Audrey doesn't pee on the carpet. Anymore. But I have to explain why whining is not the way to get what you want over and over again. I have to repeat requests multiple times sometimes, and then explain why this is not ok. Although bedtime rolls around every day, I still have to deal with the inevitable "Noooo! Please five more minutes!" (I have started giving several warnings leading up to bedtime and have found that helps).

I have to remind myself to take a deep breath when I want to freak out. I have to remind myself not to stress over the small stuff. I have to remind myself that my kid is happy, healthy, and has everything she needs and then some. I have a good job, a nice home in a great neighborhood, a life I've built for myself. I need to remember to pat myself on the back once in a while. I may have dived into this motherhood thing totally unprepared, without a clue as to what I was doing, but I'm clearly doing something right. So although I do need to continue to work on my patience, I shouldn't beat myself up over feeling overwhelmed occasionally.

Etsy Finds

I was browsing Etsy today and it didn't disappoint:

 

 

 This mug is a great reminder when I'm overwhelmed that there are people who are far busier than I am.

 

My Frozen obsessed child would love these hooded towels.

 

Move in gift for Man Friend? He's watched Game of Thrones for a while and I recently got into it.

 

Love globes, want to add a few to my living room.

 

Ha!

 

This is a cute, inexpensive ring.

 

From my favorite Christmas movie, Home Alone 2. Might have to get matching ones for this years Christmas pictures ...

 

Sweet, dainty little necklace. I'd get Audrey's initials. And/or J & B. (have to put man-friend initials first cause otherwise it'd be B & J ... uhhh)

 

Dr. Seuss inspired print for Audrey's room.

 

Love this unique print - combo of drawings and gorgeous flowers. Also eyeing the Fox.

 

Another fun reading inspired print for Audrey, this time Maurice Sendak.

 

Parks & Rec Inspired Print.

 

And another sweet little necklace, with a line from one of my favorite poems.