... and sometimes you just gotta lick.

We celebrated Easter early with my loving family back home in Florida when we were visiting in February. My sis and I staged a little Easter egg hunt for Max and his cousin in the backyard. We don't miss any opportunity to find a rocking outfit to match the occasion/props. The kids had fun hunting fighting for eggs and baskets. (Though, Max's version of "hunting" consisted mostly of tasting each egg, then throwing it back on the ground.) Did I mention I was an Easter egg hunting champion back in the day? Yep, I was even photographed in the local newspaper when I was about five years old.

Like a baby

Good news: I've never had the flu before. Bad news: I do now. I just learned the hard way that the flu gives you a cocktail of nasty symptoms: fever, chills, aches, sore throat, fatigue. Basically, like you've been hit by a truck. You know what's worse than having the flu? Having the flu when you have an active toddler who needs you all the time. Well, life goes on and you muddle through it as a stay-at-home-mom. Faced in this town with no family nearby, I seriously considered dropping off Max to a temporary childcare thing––but he's sick, too, so I resisted the urge––for one day that I was absolutely incapacitated (read: The Fella came home from work to find me immobile on the couch, no lights on, cape cocooned around me, blanket pulled over my face). That's how bad I was. I did my best to treat myself like a baby all weekend long––hot honey and lemon water, lots of couch time and eating oatmeal––and it's finally paying off, five days later. 

What do you do to make yourself get well quick? 

Confessions of a mom

Lately I find myself consumed with thoughts about work, working, and the workplace. That's because I'm making my return back to work. I accepted an offer today. GASP! As if that is so extraordinary of me, yea I know. Surely the many working moms out there must have some good tips from the trenches on how to transition/survive, yes? I cried already at the thought of leaving my precious baby little one while driving home from a second interview, pretty certain a job offer would be extended to me––and it was––and so now, I'm going back to work. It's been 17 months of staying at home that I can't help but worry about so many things: Will I still be a good mom? Will I fare okay in corporate America? Will my heart be in the work? Will I make it to work on time in the mornings? Will I make it to daycare in time to pick him up before they close? Will the dog be okay? Will he still remember how to be gentle with the dog? Will I still have the energy/time to prepare healthy meals? Will he still love me? If you're reading this, please tell me how you do it all!

17 months ago.

Let's take a walk, shall we?

It was all Max's idea to take his Snoopy dog out on a walk. A real walk outside, folks. Clever boy just one day decided it would make more sense to walk this little wooden doggie outside of the house, same as how Momma walks FurFur.

Mini-Me style

Max's cool dude style is just too good, Dadda has to copy it! The Fella came home with this new sweater today after running errands shopping, and it totally rips off of Max's preppy look, don't you think? They wore these look-alike cozy knits to an early-bird dinner of yummy Neapolitan wood fired pizza. Like father, like son. Or in this case, like son, like father.

10 days of sunshine

Max and I both left Florida a few pounds heavier, with much-needed haircuts and some weird tan lines. The way my family keeps us well-fed and pampered, this was a true vacation in every sense of the word! I had 10 glorious (neurotic) dog-free days, and FurFur had a mini vaca from Baby. I didn't have to lift a finger once and I had built-in babysitters for Max. Which allowed me to escape for little chunks of time to visit with girlfriends, laze by the pool (I got tanned in less than 15 minutes!), and to have late night dinners out with my sisters, mom and aunt. I got to play with my beautiful niece. Max got to play with his beautiful cousin. We made it "rain pom poms." We were all together for my mom's birthday, which we celebrated all week long. I'd call this all pretty awesome, wouldn't you?