Hello everyone, and happy March! Today we are linking up with Heather for a Hello Monday post.
After a very rough February, I am beyond ready for the fresh start a new month brings. I am hoping for a healthier month for our family, and more predictability with our schedules... It's a busy month ahead. Here is what my planner calendar looks like currently. LOVE my happy planner!
I am picking up a few extra days of work to make up for my really slow month in February and we have a couple of fun things planned too!
After a very rough February, I am beyond ready for the fresh start a new month brings. I am hoping for a healthier month for our family, and more predictability with our schedules... It's a busy month ahead. Here is what my planner calendar looks like currently. LOVE my happy planner!
So today in the blog world, we are starting off the month of March by recapping our weekend. Michael was in classes all weekend as he is currently learning orthodontics. I totally forgot he had class all weekend, so our family trip to Palm Springs is going to be put on hold. Sigh. Either way, the weekend was nice, especially getting some girl time with Ella.
Friday-
Ella and I started our morning off at Target. I wanted to get her some Huggies overnight diapers as they were buy 2 get a 10$ gift card, and an Easter dress... we were successful!
We had some fun, but sadly this is the only pic I got. Ella loves Target and especially loves doing a walk-through of the toy section. After Target, we stopped across the street at Jamba Juice. I got an acai antioxidant smoothie, and Ella got the strawberry-banana off the kid's menu...
Waiting for our smoothies and practicing high-fives with my big girl.
We ate the smoothies outside because it was such gorgeous weather.
Ella LOVED hers. I couldn't believe that she drank the whole thing! After all that sugar, I knew she needed to go run around for a while and burn some energy. We went to a different park than we usually go to. It's the park we had her 1st birthday party at, but a park we rarely frequent. She had so much fun exploring the 'new' area.
We were there for well over an hour!
After some lunch, Ella took a nap and I cleaned!
I also wrote in my Gratitude journal. I saw this on a fellow bloggers page and knew I wanted to try it. It's nice to look back and see what things I had written down in the past.
Michael ended up getting home a little early, so we walked to the beach together, and let Ella play at the park... again! Baby girl got a lot of play time in.
A selfie that we both look goofy in, but I never share his picture, so here it is! Seeing this pic is a massive reminder that I need to get to Michael's office and have him start my Invisalign.
And a selfie with my girl too....
(My girl who doesn't smile!)
Playing hard for a second time!!!
After the park, we went to a barbecue restaurant down the street for happy hour! If you haven't noticed, we absolutely love eating out on the weekends.
Ella balanced these crayons all by herself and it blew my mind.
This was probably the best behaved Ella has ever been at a meal. She sat still in her high chair, colored, ate, drank from her cup and didn't give us a hard time at all. It was amazing and I wish she behaved that well everytime we went out somewhere! She even got in some dancing, which was so precious.
We got a banana pudding for dessert and it is my favorite.
The rest of the night was pretty standard... books, toys, baths and bed.
But here is a final pic of cuteness from our fun Friday.
Saturday-
Michael took Ella out for a walk in the morning, so I could shower and get ready for the day. He left for his orthodontic course around 7:30.
After breakfast, Ella and I went to the craft store to get some March & Easter supplies. They had 2 coupons we were able to use and we got a great deal. After picking out some craft supplies, we went next door to one of Ella's favorite play spots... We Play Loud in Huntington Beach. It was still cloudy and chilly in the morning, so I thought some indoor play might be fun. They disinfect everything constantly, and we were actually the first ones there, so less germs. Yahoo!
Ella was loving all the space to run and play. She spent most of the time chasing a ball around...
And then we spent lots of time climbing. Ella is a very cautious girl, and plays very carefully. She is not one to put herself in dangerous situations. I always wish she would be a bit more brave and exploratory, so I was so impressed watching her practice her climbing without me doing it first.
She had a lot of fun! The colors, loud music and other kids make this one of Ella's favorite places to go.
A cute video of her riding a dolphin, hahaha!
We stayed at We Play Loud for around an hour and a half. After, we headed home to eat some lunch and nap! While Ella napped, I cleaned the house, and worked on setting up a sensory activity for her.
I shared more on this in a separate post here.
After Ella's nap we headed outside. I packed some snacks to-go (blueberries & string cheese) and took some of our beach toys and leftover sensory play to the park with us.
We buried the 'gold coins' and other green knick knacks in the sand. Ella and some friends used beach shovels to dig them out and put them in the bucket. They had so much fun together.
Some swinging is always fun!!! Such a gorgeous day.
And a snack break!
We were at the park for TWO HOURS. Ella was playing so nicely and I saw no reason to leave. I got to have some sunshine and chat with other Mommas!
Ella crashed after the park and just wanted to lay on the sofa and watch Mickey Mouse while eating a snack. I obliged while I figured out dinner and did some clean up.
Michael got home around dinner time. We had Mexican- burritos, rice, veggies and black beans... yum!
Ella was in bed around 7 and I hate to say it, but I am pretty sure Michael and I were both in bed by 9 pm ourselves. All that time in the sun wiped me out. I don't know if it was gas from the beans, but Ella was up off and on throughout the night... I actually rocked her back to sleep around 10:30, something I haven't done in ages. It actually felt so good to hold her and have her fall asleep in my arms.
Sunday-
Sunday had rain in the forecast, so I knew it would probably be a pretty lazy day at home... which is always okay with me! We started our morning with a yummy breakfast favorite of Ella's and Mickey Mouse on TV. SPOILED girl.
Ella had some toast with almond butter and banana slices. She loves that combo.
Because it was forecasted to rain in the afternoon, I wanted to make sure we headed to the park early to run around for a bit.
Ella was loving the park, but not loving the wind!
But hey, I got a smile out of her!!!
A couple sweet smiles!
We eventually realized it was too windy and cold to play at the park... and the clouds overhead were dark and low! We ditched the park to take a walk on Main Street.
We stopped at one of my favorite cafes for a latte and a bagel, and then headed home.
On our way back home, we stopped at the dog park right next to our apartment, so Ella could enjoy a snack and watch the dogs run around... it's one of her favorite things! There was only one dog there on Sunday, but she loved it just the same. She munched on edamame, and I was so happy that she liked it!!! It was her first time eating it as a snack and now I know edamame is Ella approved.
You can't see the dog because he was wayyyy out back, which is good because otherwise Ella would try escape her stroller to chase him.
Ella played with her toys while I relaxed, ate my bagel (she stole a few bites) and finished my latte.
Ella played long enough that I was able to finally pluck my eyebrows...
They were getting out of control. I am happy with how they came out! My eyebrows have come a longggg way.
After some relaxing and cleaning, Ella and I headed to take care of some grocery shopping. We decided to switch it up and go to Trader Joe's. We live 3 minutes from one, but it's usually packed no matter what day or time I go. I decided to brave the crowd and it actually wasn't bad.
The guy who checked us out was so good with Ella and gave her an entire roll of stickers.... hahahaha!
And I actually remembered my grocery bags... win!!! I use a Vera Bardley tote because it holds A LOT, but we also use these bags from Amazon and absolutely love them.
Ella was loving the shopping complex, so I let her run around for a few minutes before heading home. Anywhere new and different is her favorite place.
All of a sudden the sky cleared and it was super warm and sunny... So much for that rain?!
We got home, put groceries away, made lunch for Ella and put her down for a nap.
Lunch- yogurt, blueberries, asparagus, spinach tortellini and salmon.
I am going to share all of our Trader Joe's goodies in detail in a separate post tomorrow!
While Ella napped I did my Mom thing...
-Cleaned the living room
-Vacuumed
-Swept & mopped
-Cleaned out the fridge
-Took out trash/recycling
-Did dishes
-Did 2 loads of laundry
Whewwww. When I had a break, I sat down to watch...
Yes, I am obsessed and in love with Damon Salvatore. Judge me for being a 16 year old girl, I don't even care!!!
I love a clean fridge, with lots of prepped fruits and veggies for the week!
Ella woke up and she had a snack while watching Vampire Diaries with me. (lol)
Her favorite things... cucumber, berries and cheddar cheese.
After Michael got home, we headed to his parent's house to have dinner with them.
We had some delicious food with orange slices for dessert.
Ella ate a ton and then came home and wanted to eat some more...
She is definitely going through a growth spurt!!!
We did some clean up together, did bath time and put Ella to bed early. I had told Michael I felt like having a drink, so he ran to the store to get me some of these...
It was just okay. I couldn't even finish one before just dumping it and going to bed, haha. Overall, an uneventful weekend. I am used to Michael working on Saturdays, but not having him home on Sunday was kind of a bummer. I am glad he's done with his classes for the year! Despite the uneventful weekend, it was really nice weather overall and Ella was on her best behavior. We're hoping for a great week as well!!!
We hope you and your family had an amazing weekend.
We'll be back tomorrow to link up with Tanya and share our favorite recent Amazon purchases.
-Ashley & Ella
xoxo
Lovely weekend!! Now I'm craving banana pudding & wishing I could make a run to Trader Joe's ;)
ReplyDeleteThat indoor play place looks amazing! I love how you balance getting chores done and squeezing in lots of fun family time too.
ReplyDeleteBusy and fun! I love all the play time. We used to love those indoor play places!
ReplyDelete