Our Weekend

I don't post too many weekend updates these days, cuz, honestly, our weekends are all pretty much the same: football (bonus if the Gator game kicks off after the Hubs gets home from work!), brunch and laziness on Sunday, a project around the house, pool or beach time, and trips to Publix and the produce market on Monday. Not too exciting.

This weekend was a little bit more eventful. My mom was visiting, and during a break in the lousy weather, we decided to take Zoey to the public library for the first time. Holy wow! She was in heaven! It's well documented that the kid loves loves books and being read to. She goes nuts in Barnes & Noble and the library was no different. Running up and down the aisles randomly pulling out books and DVDs. She was so cute!

On Sunday, after a late night and triple overtime in the Florida game (Gators FTW!!), the Hubs, Z and I needed to get ourselves out of the house. So what if it was minutes from nap time (parents of the year, folks!!)? Since it's still so hot here (no fair to everyone enjoying gorgeous fall weather right now), we bummed around the mall for a while. Exciting stuff, I know.

After the mall, we headed to our favorite little froyo joint. This was Z's very first taste of froyo...with rainbow sprinkles to match her dress, of course! I think we all know that the froyo was a hit.

To our surprise, Z zonked out in the carseat just minutes from home. Typical. So we cruised over to the inlet to watch the boats, though the people watching is way better. (I once saw a woman walking a cat on a leash there. Who does that?!)

We headed home and watched a little football before the power went out - during the last quarter of the Packers game! With no way to cook, it was Jersey Mike's and PB&J by candlelight.

Z didn't appreciate the romance of a candlelit dinner. Not sure if she was freaked out by the dark all around or the flickering candles, but she just wasn't having it. The FPL guy walking around out front with a headlamp and flashlight didn't help either.

Thankfully, the power came on after a while and life was back to normal. Bed time for the bambino and vegging out in front of the TV for us. Life is good!

Any excitement in your weekends? Football, froyo, and power outages spell excitement for us!

Month Eighteen Must-Haves

Happy September, friends! I don't know about you guys, but I've got an overwhelming urge to light a pumpkin spice candle and start decorating for fall. Too bad the tremendous heat outside is keeping me firmly planted in summer. Boo! 

So instead of breaking out pumpkins and pinecones, here's a few of our must-haves from the last couple of months. So hard to even wrap my brain around the fact that my little ladybug is 18 months old. Crazytown! 

1. Mighty 4 bars: Made by Plum Organics, these are like NutriGrain bars for toddlers. And they're delish. We don't serve too many "toddler foods".  Z gets regular people food (for lack of a better term) for the most part, but these are great for the diaper bag, or when you're about to head out the door and your kid needs to get their snack on quickly.
2. Pa Rum Pum Drum: Love, love this! We have a very musical kiddo, and these instruments are so fun and cute. Plus, they all store inside the drum, which is nice, with plenty of room for all of the other random stuff a toddler will toss in (socks, blocks, snack bowls).  (B. Brand toys are often on sale at Target, so check them out first!)
3. Finger Crayons: The fat bottoms of these crayons are perfect for toddler hands that aren't quite ready for Crayolas. Z figured out that they stack together nicely, too.
4. Mega Blocks: We love building with these guys. The Hubs and I were both big Lego fans as kids, so we love that Z seems to enjoy them as well.
5. Beaba Spoons & Forks: Perfect for learning. A lot of the toddler utensils are useless. The spoons are always flat and the forks won't pick anything up. But these have a nice spoony-ness to them and the forks are nice and forky. They're a little pricey, but worth it if you think of how often they get used.
6. Knuffle Bunny: I love me some Mo Willems! The pigeon books are hilarious, and this one is just as cute and funny. And, it cracks my kid up, which is always a bonus. I got My First Farm tabbed board book on a whim at Target. We're not big farm folks, but Z loves animals, so I thought she'd like it. Boy, does she! Ironically, though, her favorite page is the one with all the fruits & veggies. She'll point to something and I'll name it. Lately, she can even point out the bananas and blueberries when asked!
7. Water Table: We have a total water baby on our hands, so it's not surprising that splashing around with this was going to be something Z enjoyed. I can see this being a favorite for a few years to come.

Any must-haves out there that I've missed? We're always looking for new ideas!