Rainy Fall Days

You know the feeling when you've mentally made super exciting plans- say, picking up some donuts and milkshakes for an afternoon at the park. What toddler doesn't want to spend the afternoon taking on big kid slides while double fisting chocolate munchkins? You're positive that you must be the best afternoon adventure planner in the history of moms. And you can't wait for the babe to wake up from his nap to get the party started.

Then it all goes to hell in a hand basket because mother nature just took a giant you know what on it all. Now you're trying to soothe the stir crazy baby monster as you watch her rain on your entire parade, donuts and all.

I thank these mini pumpkins for restoring my sanity last week. This fun activity kept little Picasso busy for a golden half hour. Three mini pumpkins, a few permanent markers, and some paint was all it took. There are so many fun possibilities with these mini pumpkins- and they are just the perfect size for teeny baby hands! 

Also the perfect size to pretend that you did actually go and get donuts ;)

A girl can dream.

And speaking of dreaming, or lack thereof, it is the middle of the night and I am wide awake. My body seems to be in some state of denial that it's going to be waking up and catering to the boss in about four hours. So because it is technically Tuesday, I can finally say that tomorrow Austin and I will be taking a road trip to Georgia! I'm either getting mom of the year or dumbass of the decade for taking on this eight hour trip with a twenty one month old by myself. But there really is no question that it'll be worth it.  Dare I say I would take a screaming backseat driver all the way up if it meant we got to see some real fall weather. I'll keep you posted on that ;)

Enjoy your week- and Happy Halloween!!!

no-pumpkin patch

   I hope we've reached a general consensus about the food trucks, thumbs up all around? I'm so so wishing for something similar near our new home… but my hopes aren't too high, from what I hear we are moving to the middle of nowhere. Hooah! Let's rewind back to last weekend.

We woke up Saturday morning ready to hit the Pumpkin Patch.  These early birds not only beat the heat, but the pumpkin sellers as well. Turns out we were two hours early, so we snapped some pictures, talked to a few pumpkins, and then headed home.  So this weekend we will finally take a pumpkin home. Unless they all rot in this heat before we get back out there. And that's very likely.

Right after our no-pumpkin patch visit, we ran home and put on clothes more apt for the real Florida fall weather before heading to the Farmer's Market. These cool mornings are total fake outs. Just this scarf alone was enough to have me calling it quits after a twenty minute stroll around the market. You can't see in this picture, but our Farmer's Market is right below us and to the left a bit. We're so lucky to have such a beautiful downtown area, right on the river!

Tomorrow begins another weekend and we're kicking off major Halloween festivities with the Fall Festival at Austin's school… and obviously we have coordinating costumes. Would you expect anything else?? ;)

Have a wonderful and festive weekend- it's the last one before Halloween!

Food Trucks

Here we are smack dab in the middle of the week, and I'm finally sharing our weekend adventures! Instead of three days late, let's just call this that tiny bit of encouragement that you needed to get through the last few days before another weekend.

Our weekend was packed full of awesome. My sweet, not so baby cousin was here for the weekend, so we spent the days enjoying her company. On Friday we headed down to the Food Truck Invasion in Tradition. This is our second time going and holy amazing deliciousness, go next time if you're local. Just go. If Fried Oreos aren't your thing, maybe you'll turn down for tacos, lobster, donuts, or chocolate dipped gelato popsicles? No? You cray.

 This place has a crazy variety of food and fun. It's a good time and such an awesome way to spend Friday evenings with the kids! The first time we went, it was just the two of us.  I didn't even take a stroller. It was working out for the most part, until it wasn't anymore. Yeah, use your imagination.

Lesson learned. An extra set of hands is always a good thing and this time we brought along Austin's Radio Flyer trike. He loved being able to see everything going on around him, whereas in his stroller his view would have been really restricted. He pedaled, I pushed, and my cousin and I were able to enjoy the evening- meltdown free. 

I can't tell you enough how much I love this time of year! I feel like our weekends are already booked full with adventures up until our big move at the end of the year! By the way- if you haven't heard where we are going yet, follow along and get caught up on Instagram! Until then, I'll just call our soon-to-be home "The Great Place" ;)

My Thing

Everyone needs a hobby. I have to use both hands and feet to count all of mine. But if I'm not doing these things on a regular basis, can I even really call them all hobbies? I love scrapbooking, but it's been a year since I last scrapbooked. I'm a huge fan of long road trips, but seriously, how regularly do I go on them? So in reality, I have many interests- but hobbies? Only a couple, I guess.


So let's talk ballet.
Before my first adult ballet class, I hadn't stepped foot in a studio since sixth or seventh grade. Like every other five year old girl, I begged my mom to put me in ballet. Then six or seven ballet recitals and 20 or so costumes later, self conscious thirteen year old me begged to quit. About two seconds after popping Austin out I told Juan that I wanted to join an adult ballet class to help lose the baby weight. Thank the Lord that never happened, I can't even imagine how I would have squeezed all of that into a leotard, let alone leap through the air with the slightest hint of grace.
Or dignity.

So fast forward to Thursday morning, about two months ago. I'm not sure what flipped the switch, but I began searching for studios online. I ended up emailing the only one with classes that worked with my schedule and heard back within the hour! She asked me to come in for a class that same night. Oh okay, I haven't stretched my leg above a 90 degree angle in years and I'll be damned if I can balance on my toes for more than a second, but sure, I'll come. I showed up with a pony tail in my yoga pants and bare feet and did my best to blend in with the bun heads in their matching black leotards.

I can't remember half of the french terms, let alone what they mean. I know techniques and how to do the steps, but I cannot (for the freaking life of me) match the movement to its name. To its French name. Ask me to do a Battement Frappé, and I'll tell you sure I love coffee, extra sugar. But put someone who knows what she's doing in front of me, and you might mistake me for someone who knows what she's doing, too.

Next to this dude, I guess ballet is my main thing right now. It's my weekly hobby, matching black leotard and all. Except the bun- there aren't enough bobby pins in the world to convince my hair to stay in a bun during ballet class. And I'm getting pretty used to ponytail whiplash…


Have a good week, folks! I can't believe I'm saying it, but…. we have had a few cool mornings the past few days- and it's been won der ful!

Soon

I'll eventually get another post up. For now, I'm shooting out this itty bitty list of thoroughly notable episodes from the latest days of our lives.

We went to the park. Ate some goldfish. Tried out an indoor playground.

Won a giveaway. Did a few reverse rain dances. Ordered new rain boots. Searched for worms. 

Attended a second birthday party. Wore Sperrys to the birthday party.

Got four blisters. Bought bigger Sperrys.

Found a stale goldfish (or six) in the couch. Ate them. 

 Read a book in the car. Drove the car. Discovered scented nail polish. Forgot to post the scented nail polish to Instagram. Went to ballet class (x3). Realized it's been three weeks since my last post. Started a post about joining a ballet class. 

 Is that enough proof that we are, in fact, still alive over here?? ;)

In far more interesting and exciting news… we know where we are being stationed! But, that's a secret I'm going to keep for another week or two ;)

Have a great week!

Handprints

As kids, we all did handprint art. You know what I'm talking about- cover your hand (or foot) in paint, slap it on a piece of paper and call it a present for mommy. Every Christmas my parents still display my handcrafted wreath, circa 1995. After doing a few handprint and footprint projects with Austin, I see why they've kept my wreath all of these years. (Aside from it being a stunning work of art probably worth millions one day.)

This craft is timeless, super easy, and kids love mushing their hands in paint.

This was my mom's Grandparents Day gift... a little messy, but she loves it and will no doubt treasure these baby hand flamingos forever. This year we handmade all of Austin's Grandparents Day gifts at almost no cost. Gifts on this day really should come straight from the heart, or in this case, the hands. Austin is so lucky to have four grandparents, and four great-grandparents, so his little hands have been busy these past couple of weeks!

Another cute idea is to decorate a coffee mug with permanent markers. My dad is a daily coffee drinker, so this was perfect for him. Austin went to town with these Sharpies and created a scribbled masterpiece. I let both the mug and the flamingo plate dry overnight, and then baked them in the morning. Before the plate had been baked, I was easily able to scratch off the paint. And I'm not sure if washing the mug will cause it to fade... so I definitely recommend baking both, just in case ;) I put them in the cool oven, set it to 350 and then turned it off after 30ish minutes.

 If you're making your own art, remember to leave it in the oven until it has completely cooled! A sudden and extreme temperature change can cause it to crack. In my anxiousness to get it out of the oven and wrap it, I almost cost the flamingos their lives. So yeah, don't do that.

I'm seeing Thanksgiving turkeys and Austin's very own Christmas wreath in our handprint crafting future. 

How neat would it be to hang our wreaths together!?

Have a great week folks!

Still Summer, Still Sassy

This past week I've been seeing hints of Fall all out alleluias for the return of PSLs and the dawn of cooler weather. Except. Fall weather won't be gracing us down here in south Florida until right around winter time- and only then will we be lucky enough to have a few days in the 50s. I'm all for a festive drink (hello, Starbucks White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha: Christmas in a Cup), but I can't stomach pumpkin and sipping on steaming gourd juice in the heat of Florida summer just doesn't do it for me. Yes, it's still summer here. Yes, it will be for a few more months. And yes, I'm a little bitter about it.

So for those of you enjoying your cool evenings and light sweaters, we'll be down here cooking eggs on the sidewalk and praying that our kids don't want to play outside after we've just straightened our hair.

Also on my radar lately: this kid's sass. The faces he makes kill me. He used to be a champ at cleaning up his toys after himself, and I know he does it every morning at school with no problem. But lately it's been a power struggle to get him to clean up before bedtime. He knows what I'm asking him to do. He knows that he will eventually do it. But from the moment when I initially tell him to put his legos away to when he actually does it, seems like a lifetime. And when he does finally start to pick up the legos one by one, his looks of contempt and complete sarcasm and sass that are plastered on his little round face just about send me into hysterics.

I really have no idea where he's picking it up, but I kind of love it. Almost as much as his cheese.

It's Thursday and that means we're already about to roll into another weekend. Already and all ready, right? 

Have a great weekend and Happy Fall September!