Tag: weekend | Baby Doodah!

Weekend Adventures

Posted on April 28 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We had some serious fun this weekend!

Since our week pretty much stunk (like I mentioned in this post), I really wanted to make sure we had a good weekend. I wanted to spend time together as a family, both being productive and getting out of the house and enjoying the slowly warming weather. However, I kept our weekend free of set plans, it always seems when we plan something in advance, those plans fall through (well, other than my pedicure, but more on that in a bit), and I didn’t want to be disappointed. I wanted to have a really lovely time with my guys!

We all know Spring is here and the temperatures are slowly warming, which means one thing in my world… Sandals! I love them, but during the winter I let my feet go. I rarely lotion them, and I definitely don’t paint my toe nails, so an intense pedicure was needed. My friend and I booked an “Excuria Ultimate Pedicure” at Excuria Salon and Med Spa. Oh my goodness! Not only do my toenails now look gorgeous, this was one of the most relaxing pedicures I have ever experienced. They have massaging chairs, and the products they use are to die for. It was heaven! I will definitely be going back (and I recommend anyone who lives in the WNY area, plan a visit to Excuria). We then had a lovely brunch at Milos. I am so grateful to Seamus for handling Emmett, while I went out and enjoyed some relaxing lady time.

Cuddling while momma got a pedicure.

The rest of the day was spent unpacking some more boxes (we still have so much to go), Emmett napping, and then a trip to Home Depot. We’re planning on painting our laminate bookcases. I know you’re all probably thinking I’m crazy, but I found a great article on how to do it properly so that the paint actually sticks and lasts. We’re going to use a new backing on it, rather than the cardboard that it currently has. We got that yesterday, our paint brushes, primer and color swatches, so we can choose the color that best matches our TV console. We still need to get some sandpaper and the paint. I’m really hoping for a nice weekend, next week, so we can get started on this project (I’m really excited).

And our Sunday was just as good!

Emmett had us up early, cuddled up in bed, watching TV, so there are no complaints from me. We spent a lot of the morning coloring, and when we weren’t coloring we were running around like a chicken with our head cut off. LOL Eventually we sat down and made our shopping list and hit Wegmans for our weekly grocery trip. We grabbed some Little Ceasar’s for lunch (because you know you can’t make any of the food you just bought). 😉 And then lil E took a nap.

Emmett has these alphabet cards, when he got to “M for Monkey” he decided he needed to go on a monkey hunt and find each monkey he owns, and pile them all on daddy.

While he was sleeping I did a great deal of laundry, organized some things around the house and spent some time blogging / perusing the internet. I was super excited for Emmett to wake up, though, because I was looking forward to a trip to Anderson’s and the playground.

It was my first Anderson’s of the season, and MAN! did it hit the spot. My vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone with rainbow sprinkles was just delicious. Emmett had a baby-sized vanilla ice cream that he very obviously enjoyed. Then it was off to the playground for some epic swinging. 🙂 Emmett loves loves LOVES swinging right now! He squeals and giggles and has the biggest smile on his face while he goes up and down. It makes me endlessly happy. He also did some sliding, playing in the sandbox and running with mom and dad. He was one happy little boy!

This ended up being a bit longer than I had intended, but as you can see it was an awesome weekend!

Your turn!

How was your weekend? I’d love to hear all about it in the comments below!

PS: I completely forgot to mention – WE GOT OUR COUCH ON FRIDAY!!! And it fit!!

It’s growing on me. When we first got it in, I hated it. But as we slowly rearrange things and make this a home, I’m liking it more and more.

Filed Under: Family

Weekend Recap

Posted on January 12 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

What a seriously awesome weekend!

Happy Sunday (evening) everyone!

I hope you all had a really great weekend, we sure did. This time of year is always busy because it is full of fun holiday things, but let’s be honest, it sure does feel great when things slow down and you’re able to be a bit of a lounge lizard, right? Let me tell you, there was quite a bit of lounging going on. Woot woot!

I love this kid!

Saturday, Emmett was up right around 7 and we enjoyed some morning cuddles before getting up and starting our day. This time together, as a family, is one of my favorites. We’re all still a little sleepy and groggy and content to just lay there cuddling with one another. It doesn’t last long, because as soon as Emmett’s done with his morning milk, he gets impatient and is ready to start his day. We had a yummy breakfast at home and then spent a good long while playing with E’s blocks. He’s obsessed with those things, I’m sure it’s because he can so easily put them together and take them apart. He also is quite fond of helping someone else build their tower higher and higher, and I’m quite fond of watching him play. I love watching him work, I can just imagine what his brain is thinking. 🙂

The rest of the day was spent, with Seamus at the gym, Emmett napping, me doing laundry, a trip to The Cheesecake Factory (free of charge, thanks to gift cards from Seamus’ aunt), and then back home to play with BLOCKS (I told you he was obsessed) and relax!

Sunday started just about the same way as Saturday, but then we all got up and showered and headed out for some yummy brunch, and then grocery shopping. We’ve been going to the Dick Rd. location of Wegmans to avoid some of the city Wegmans congestion. So far it’s been working out great, even with it being a Sunday afternoon, it was NO WHERE near as crowded as the city. We were in and out of there in record speed, and then back home for nap time. Oh! And I found something new, and they are so good — Olivio Sea Salt and Vinegar olives. They’re so delicious, if you like olives.

While Emmett napped, Seamus and I relaxed and caught up on some TV, Dr. Pol in particular. I love this show and if you like animals, then I definitely recommend that you check it out. We had to head back out to Trader Joe’s and BJs, but other than that we spent a lot of the day playing and relaxing. It was fantastic!

Now, it’s time to get all geared up for the week ahead. I’m starting it off with a positive and focused attitude, hoping it carries through until next weekend.

Your turn!

What did you and your family do this weekend?

Filed Under: All About Me, Family

Active Weekend – Unofficial End to Summer

Posted on September 2 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

Since this weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer, I wanted to make sure I made the most of it. We were active and busy every single day and I wouldn’t have it any other way. If you had asked me a year and a half ago whether I’d want to have a jam packed active weekend, my answer would have been no. Now? I love it! I love having something to do with Emmett and Seamus, it makes the weekends so awesome!

On to what made this last weekend of summer, so great…

Emmett actually let us sleep in until quarter to 7 on Saturday, which was wonderful considering he had kept us up most of Friday night. Once he did wake up, we spent our usual time in our bed cuddling and waking up and then got up for breakfast. It was still early, and the cloudy sky had started to turn sunny, so I decided that Emmett and I would head out on a walk and end up at the Farmer’s market. It was pretty humid, but it felt good to get outside and to grab some delicious fruits and veggies from the market. This week’s spread was similar to last week’s.

I grabbed some tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, red onion (that ended up being rotten inside, yuck!), nectarines, a cinnamon roll (for Emmett and I to share) and finally some First Light Farm and Creamery Garlic and Dill Chevre (of course).

Once we were home, we attempted to put Emmett down for a nap but since he had taken a quick little nap in his stroller, he fought going down in his crib. He fought hard too! He scratched me and kept hitting me to get down, I knew he was exhausted because he kept rubbing his little eyes and yawning. Eventually I gave up trying to put him down in the crib and we went back in our bedroom and took a family nap.

Have you seen anything sweeter?

I eventually dozed off too, for a good hour and a half! I think we were all still behind on sleep from Thursday night / Friday morning. It felt good to nap and we all woke up in much better spirits! We played for a bit and then went out to grab some Five Guys for dinner, definitely not the healthiest but it sure was tasty. My favorite part about Five Guys are their fries. They fill up the fry container and then just throw (about) another small fry on top of the bag, and they’re SO good.

I made plans Saturday evening, to go out for a bike ride with a couple friends, and Emmett in his trailer, on Sunday morning. Emmett woke up bright and early at about 5:30, which gave us plenty of time since our ride wasn’t until 7:30. We ate breakfast, got dressed and then played, while we waited for my friends to show up.

We rode 5 miles down to Canalside where we stopped and got some coffee (and milk for Emmett). It was gorgeous down there! The City of Buffalo has done a really nice job of beefing up the waterfront to attract more visitors. Emmett was so cute by the water, I let him out to walk around, he was watching the birds bounce around and playing silly games with my friends. Rest assured, he had a good time!

Our ride back was decidedly more difficult than the ride down. There’s a very steep incline, that you have to go up in order to get back home. Sadly, I got off and walked at one point, I just couldn’t make it up the hill. I couldn’t peddle fast enough to keep my bike moving forward. I think if I didn’t have the trailer and Emmett, I might have been able to make it. It would have still been a challenge but definitely something I could have accomplished. Either way it was a great workout with great friends!

We got home, Seamus had just finished up his workout at the gym, so we all had a small snack, showered and then headed out for some lunch. We ended up at Milos, the food was fantastic! Seamus needed new work pants so our next stop was the Eastern Hills Mall once we were finished with lunch. We weren’t in any hurry so we walked the whole mall just to see what other stores were there (we haven’t been to this mall in years) and so Seamus could find a couple pairs of pants that weren’t astronomically expensive. He found the best deal at Sears and bought a couple different pairs.

Emmett was the best little boy. He just sat and was friendly with all the strangers we came across, smiling at them and waving. He was very very happy!

We got home and played for awhile and eventually it was time for dinner, then bath, milk, cuddles and bed. We were both so worn out!

And finally today, Labor Day! Emmett once again had us up early at 5:30, I went in and nursed him and then we went back to our room where we all cuddled and tried to get Emmett to sleep for just a bit longer, it didn’t work out. We were up and making breakfast before we knew it. That’s okay, when you’re up early, it gives you time to get everything done that you need to.

We went to Target and got some household items that we needed, and also a few items that weren’t needed. (It’s just not possible to go into Target for only what you need.) Then to Wegmans for our weekly grocery shopping, it was dead when we got there but eventually got pretty busy. I’m assuming it was because of all the kids who return to school tomorrow and Wednesday.

We got home, put the groceries away and then put Emmett down for a nap. While he slept I was able to relax, clean and work on my blog! Call me productive!

Our weekend ended with a trip to Babies R Us for new shoes for Emmett, he lost the pair we got him two weeks ago, well we have one shoe but the other is gone, it disappeared into thin air. We also hit up Kohl’s for gym shorts for Seamus and then Anderson’s for ice cream for the whole family.

We were active and busy and it felt good to enjoy the last “unofficial” weekend of summer.

Your turn!

What fun things did you do this weekend, to end your summer right?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family

Wonderful Weekend – Fun as a Toddler

Posted on August 26 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

That title says it all, it was an absolutely wonderful weekend!

We didn’t have any major plans this wonderful weekend, but I did knew that I wanted to get Emmett out of the house as much as possible. The warm weekend summers are slowly but surely coming to an end and I want to do as much as possible before the first flakes flies.

Emmett woke up very early on Saturday morning (5 am) and I decided to take full advantage of that. We ate a quick breakfast and then decided to hitch up the bike trailer that my in-laws (THANK YOU!) got Emmett for his birthday. It was so awesome! The trailer is the inStep brand and is just perfect, it has room for 2 kids and little pockets on the side that Emmett can put little toys or snacks in. We put on his little helmet, got him all buckled in and away we went. I think we were riding for about 15 minutes, before I turned around and saw that he was fast asleep. So when people ask me whether I think Emmett had a good time or not, I say, heck yes he had a good time, he was comfortable enough to fall asleep. We ended up riding for 6.5 miles and then heading back home because I wanted to get to the farmer’s market before it got too busy.

We stopped home, used the bathroom and then pulled the jogging stroller out to head to the market. I was concerned that Emmett wouldn’t be very pleased with going from one enclosed buckled in seat to another, but he was just fine, in fact, he seemed really happy. Once we’re at the market, he’s always happy because he has so much to look at. He’s totally like his momma, a people watcher!

The colors of fruit and vegetables at the market were just beautiful. Check out this spread I picked up, tomatoes (so many tomatoes), cucumbers, red onion, zucchini, red potatoes and some Chevre from First Light Farm and Creamery. I barely bought any produce at the actual super market, just some lettuce because they didn’t have much at Bidwell. That makes me happy because I love supporting local and things that are fresh, never shipped, ALWAYS taste better.

After all that early morning activity, Emmett was really sleepy and I needed a shower so we headed home for both. While he slept I worked on my blog post, 5 tips for New Moms and got that nearly completed so we could have some family fun after Emmett woke up.

We headed out for some ice cream at Anderson’s and then some playground time. We always get Emmett a baby sized dish of vanilla frozen custard and he eats about a quarter of it and then daddy finishes the rest. 🙂 It really hit the spot. We headed over to a nearby playground next and we swung and swung. He loves it! He giggles and smiles the whole time and it just makes me so happy. After awhile there was another baby waiting to get on the swing so we decided to try the slide. Check out this picture, is it not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?!

Finally, we ended up in a ginormous sandbox, which Emmett loved. We didn’t stay long because we had forgotten sunblock and didn’t want Emmett’s skin to be damaged, but he thoroughly enjoyed himself. He even whined a little bit when we forced him to go, he’s turning into such a little boy, no longer our tiny baby, in fact he turned 13 months on Friday. (OMG!)

Sunday was another early wake-up for Emmett, 5 am again. I normally don’t mind getting up that early but I was really feeling sluggish Sunday morning. Didn’t matter though, we sat down to some breakfast, ate, then I showered and we headed out to the grocery store. I really like taking Emmett to the store, it gets him out of the house and able to experience something new and different each week. Since it wasn’t even 9 am yet, it was pretty quiet at Wegmans and our trip went quickly.

We unloaded and put away the groceries and then it was time to head to Grammy and Grandpy’s house! We were heading down there to celebrate a belated birthday with my dad (it was back on 8/13/13). Nothing special, just some playing, a light lunch and cuddles with Grandpa. We did have some cake but Emmett wasn’t interested, he was having more fun playing with all the new and different toys that live at Grammy’s house.

We headed back to Buffalo around 3:30 and were home in time for dinner as a family. We were all feeling lazy, after a busy weekend so we decided on some pizza… I think that Emmett thoroughly enjoyed himself!

Shortly after that, came bath time and bed. Emmett was going between super cuddly to meltdown mode, when that happens we know it’s nearing bedtime.

We had such an amazing weekend, I didn’t want it to end!

And an announcement!

The winner of the The Magic Path of Yoga Giveaway is:

Commenter number 12, Betsy G! Congratulations! Please use the Contact Me link above and send me the address you’d like the game shipped to.

Your turn!

What fun things did you fill your weekend with?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Family

A Trip to Rochester and Other Friday Happenings

Posted on July 19 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

TGIF!

Am I right?

I really can’t complain, it’s been a pretty awesome week but I’m perpetually happy for Fridays and weekends with my family. Today started out bright and early because I needed to head out to Rochester for work. My company has offices across New York State, and today I provided some training to staff in our Rochester office.

I never mind my Rochester trips because I always get to see people I don’t see often enough, being in a new place (even if I’ve been there before) is always fun and their cafeteria is amazeballs! They have loads of options but not all of them healthy, however their salad bar is to die for. Don’t believe me, see below…

I think my favorite part about it is the different colored tongs, they each mean something different. Green means to eat liberally, yellow says that you can enjoy that option moderately and red is to use sparingly. I realize that most people can probably go to a salad bar and know which options fall into which category without color coded tongs but, now everyone can! As tempting as the sandwich bar was, I stuck with the salad bar and ended up with an absolutely delicious mix.

I filled my plate with romaine lettuce, baby spinach, shredded carrots, tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, grilled chicken, black olives, raw sunflower seeds and a sprinkle of bleu cheese, for dressing I used olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Om nom nom!

My training went really well, which made me happy. As I was walking out of the computer room I noticed what an amazing view this building has, check it out.

That’s the Genesee River!

It’s probably a good thing I’m not based in Rochester or I’d be distracted by this view daily.

We don’t yet have a Trader Joe’s in Buffalo, so about once a month we try to make a trip. Since I was already out that way I decided to make a quick trip on the way home and grab some of our favorites, I sadly forgot to take pictures of any of my purchases. Sure I could pull it all back out but I just don’t have it in my tonight, sorry! Suffice to say, I had a full cart and now we have a full fridge and freezer.

After my stop to Trader Joe’s I snagged up Emmett from day care and we were on our way home. So. Much. Driving!

Once home, Seamus made us an extra yummy dinner with another one of my farmer’s market finds.

The noodles are from a little locally owned business called The Pasta Peddler, his pasta is drool-worthy! I’m embarrassed to admit this but I never realized that pasta could come flavored, I always just assumed it was plain or whole-wheat, but The Pasta Peddler has so many different flavors. In the picture you see garlic and herb and I would definitely recommend them to anyone! If you’re in or around the Buffalo area or want to have some shipped to you, I recommend you do so.

The garlic bread is just from Wegmans, but it’s really really good!

And finally, my boy and I were feeling silly while we waited for dinner to finish up.

How can you not love him?

How was your Friday? Any fun plans for the weekend?

Filed Under: Daily Updates, Food & Fitness, Food & Recipes

What Did We Do This Weekend?

Posted on July 14 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

We went to lunch, where Emmett tried his first falafel. He LOVE it!

We tried on shoes, so that momma can buy a couple pairs. Which one do you like better?

We napped and cuddled on momma.

We hung out and wiggled around with daddy.

We bought fresh local blueberries that were very tart and made Emmett pucker up.

We prepped some food for the week.

And finally, we played and read some books as a family.

It was such a fantastic weekend! Hope yours was as great!!

What fun things did you do this weekend?

Filed Under: Family

Day at the Park

Posted on June 9 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

This was first weekend in a long time that we were free and had time to do some family bonding. We tossed around the idea of going to the zoo but changed our minds because yesterday’s weather was kind of iffy and we didn’t want to risk getting caught in the rain, so the idea of going to a playground came up but we weren’t sure where a good one (for babies) was. Seamus did some quick googling and actually found a list of the top 5 local playgrounds.

I don’t recall where this particular playground fell on the list but it was really really nice! I look forward to Emmett being older, so we can take him and he can run around. This time we put him on the swing for awhile and he really loved that, then we walked around to see what else was there. It had so many different “obstacles” that I can’t even remember them all. Seriously, can’t WAIT until Emmett is walking (running) around.

Here’s his first swing…

The baby swings at this playground were a little different than what I had seen at others but we were careful not to swing him too high or too fast and he ended up having a blast. Like I mention in the video he really just wanted to stare down at the wood chips, I’m sure that’s because it looked so neat going fast underneath him.

We took turns pushing him so that the other person could be in front and get to see his adorable smile as he flew back and forth. Everyday there are new things that warm my heart, this was definitely one of them. He was so happy!

Once we were all swung out, we went to check out the slides to see if any of them were dry enough or short enough to send Emmett down. We found one and sent him down with me there ready to catch him but he didn’t seem to enjoy it too much so the next one we tried (there were literally 6 or 7 slides on this playground) Seamus went down with him. Emmett seemed to enjoy that SO much more!

Our final stop was at this bouncy circular thing. Seamus and I both remarked how when we were kids the circular toy at the playground spun around and around, until you got sick. This did not spin, it just had some giant springs underneath it and bobbled around. We sat on it, with Emmett, for awhile before we decided to call it an afternoon.