After reading my own blog post last week I decided I needed a day to enjoy life without working or worrying about my work email. Combined with my recent 5 year anniversary at work (another week of PTO!) I realized that if I’m not careful I’m going to give a significant portion of paid time off back to my company come December 31, so I took Friday off. Gracie’s daycare teachers were so sad when I told them she wasn’t coming in on Friday, telling me my Mother’s Day card wasn’t ready so would it be ok if I got it Monday? (I’m going to love that card whenever it comes.)
(Gratiutous photo of Gracie mastering the art of open cup drinking) Come Friday, after waiting to get out of bed until the wee one began her morning ritual of “come and get me” (yelling “hi” from her crib) we lounged around the house, eating breakfast and playing with toys until we met up with some family friends who were in town for a late morning at the zoo. We roared at lions and checked out the baby gorillas before heading back to my aforementioned zoo-lunch-spot for kids meals, adult beverages and good food. B had been downtown for a deposition that ended at the exact right time so he was able to come join us for part of lunch, an added bonus to the day. To add to the decadence of it all, when Gracie took her afternoon nap, I took a snooze too. Pefect start to a three-day weekend? Check.
Saturday B “had” to go sailing. Last summer was tough with his sailing schedule- it was hard to get out with the baby (still taking 3 naps a day) and we only had 1 car so depending on the event I had to rely on transit if we wanted to go anywhere. This summer though I’m determined to enjoy my one on one time with Gracie (and meet up with B post-sailing as well for more family time) so I said to hell with it and after breakfast we headed down to the farmer’s market which is across the street from the zoo. After meandering the market, splitting (much to my chagrin, I thought I’d be sharing a few sips, not basically handing over) a fresh fruit smoothie, sampling some cheese, listening to musicians and picking up fresh apples and shallots I swung us by the Farm Zoo, thinking we’d check out the cows and pigs before walking back to the car (parked in the zoo lot, since we get free parking as members). We ended up running into some of the February Club so I decided we didn’t have anywhere to be, and we spent the next hour and a half checking out the farm animals and the “regular” zoo animals. Two zoo trips in one weekend? Not too shabby. After a long afternoon nap (the zoo comes with the added bonus of toddler exhaustion) we made it down to meet up with B and the guys he sails with, and we let Gracie run around the (mostly empty, bothering no one) club with reckless abandon. All in all, a great Saturday and more of the “just what I needed” kind of day.
Sunday was Mother’s Day, my second as Mama. See also, Mother’s Day 2013:
I know for many it is a holiday frought with issues and expectations, but we tried to make it a low-key but fun day. We started off the morning with my one request, doughnuts from Do-Rite, and on a whim decided to spend the afternoon meandering Michigan Avenue.My best friend and Gracie’s god-mama lives downtown, so she met up with us (and spoiled G with a new frock) and we ended up hitting up a new seafood restaurant for an amazing lunch. Lobster rolls are my love language and I was so happy at the end of the meal I could have shot glitter out of my finger tips. Gracie was a gem while we window shopped (she was delighted by the fans in Cole Haan) and even let us cram many pairs of shoes on her feet as I work on finding her the best summer sandals (kids shoe department at Nordstrom, highly recommend for their level of patience and help). I was also greatly amused by watching the looks on B’s face when he inadverdently began checking out the Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana kids sandals (and their prices)- worth any downtown parking fee.
We eventually high tailed it home, realizing Gracie was long overdue for a nap, and B and I spent some time enjoying the warm weather on our porch. We ended the day with post-nap porch dinner and play time, and after G went to bed B and I induldged in sushi and a viewing of Frozen. All in all, it was one of those weekends where nothing was over the top, but it was exactly what I needed – time with my family, time outside in the sun, and nothing on the agenda.
Also, Gracie now makes “monkey noises” which I pretty much ask her to do every 5 to 10 minutes, so insert a lot of “ooh ooh ahh ahh” into the above commentary. Kid tricks? the best.
