Super HOT Sunday!

Sunday was 90 some degrees.  It was HOT!  But we wanted to have a fun day.  Sooo...Sunday morning we loaded up our bikes in the back of my husband's truck, packed some snacks and a small cooler and we ventured out to Kensington Metro Park.  It seemed like a good way to spend a family Sunday; a little bit of biking,  trailing around the beautiful sights and scenes of the park, a stop to the petting farm for Carly, a quick brunch and a nice leisure bike ride back, then back home to our cool house. 

When we got to the park Carly and I hit the nearest playground while Chris set up the bikes & carrier.  Carly was having a mini melt down about the fact that I would not fit on the slide and go down with her.  It was actually pretty funny and it earned a laugh from one of the other mom's walking by with her little one in the stroller.  Carly thought she was pretty funny to...

Such the faker!

I finally convinced her that holding my hand would have to do to go down the slide. 

I confess it was partly a selfish suggestion...I love it more than anything when she holds my hand!  She squeezes my fingers so tight - it's the best!

Finally we started our biking trip...we biked a few miles (a few long, very hilly, very HOT miles) to the petting farm.  Where, upon arriving, Chris realized his back tire of his bike was flat.  Did that stop us from enjoying the petting farm....nope!

After making our rounds to see the animals, I quickly hopped on my bike and rode back the very long, hilly, HOT miles to the truck and drove it around to pick up Chris and Carly at the farm.

Now as I have mentioned a few times, it was very HOT on Sunday.  And while we enjoyed our cool ride home in the air conditioned truck, when we actually got home we were greeted with another surprise...our air conditioning at home was OUT!  So what does one do on a very HOT day with no air conditioning....we go outside and play with the water table!

Chris turned the sprinklers on for Carly, but she was more concerned with watering my flowers, then running through them.

In fact, she did every thing she could to NOT get sprayed by the water! 

After water time was over, we came back into our very HOT house and took a very cool bath...after which my Love Bug was treated to a Sunday pedicure!

We did try to call the air condition fix it man to come out, but he couldn't do much until tomorrow...so you know what we did then on the very HOT Sunday in our very HOT house.......absolutely NOTHING!  It was too HOT!  At 85 degrees (which is what our thermostat read in our house) you do whatever you can to keep cool...which isn't a whole lot. 

And so now as I write this, I have a sleeping, underwear-only-clad girl laying snow angel style on her little couch, with a fan blowing on her...and you know what...it's the cutest thing ever!

It was a super HOT Sunday!  And even though we were gooy hot messes, we were a little crabby (because who isn't a little crabby in an 85 degree house), and didn't get our air fixed...we still had a Super Sunday - HOTness and all!

Celebrating Love

Celebrating is something that I enjoy oh so much!  Any reason will do really...you have the basic holidays (with Halloween & Christmas being front runners for me in that category), anniversaries, milestones, and let us not forget - BIRTHDAYS!  And on this one day, to specify more clearly - my Hubby's birthday.  This 28th of August he is 28 years young.  Carly and I spent most of yesterday trying to pull off a fabulous 3 person party for this day!!

Carly was in charge of the cards & signs, which she, of course, dug into with relish:

I set out to make a fantastic birthday cake - the birthday boy's favorite of course - Carmel cake with Carmel frosting (and a chocolate filling).

Not exactly Cake Boss material, but edible no the less.

Carly put on the candles

We wrapped presents...ok ok...we stuck them in gift bags.

And we were just finishing the final touches on the cake when the side door swung open and in walked the birthday boy -  EARLY!  I loved the smile on his face when Carly, so excited, told him we were making him a birthday cake.  He graciously offered to leave and come back when we were done...but him breaking up the mad rush of birthday preparations and his "I totally busted you, but I am glad I did" grin were too charming to turn away.  So we finished icing the cake together, and Carly got a few digs in with her fingers (at her Daddy's encouraging of course)!

Birthdays mean presents, parties with loved ones, cake & ice cream - all for you!  And you look forward to it with eager anticipation (I used to claim August as my birthday month!).  And when it's my birthday -presents, parties and ice cream can always put a huge smile on my face - but I love it even more when I can put that smile on someone else's!  Especially someone I love. 

It is greater to give than to receive.

I loved seeing Carly excited and giddy to give her Daddy a big birthday surprise!  It brought me pride and joy that she was my daughter working so hard to make her Daddy the "most beautiful picture"!  Never once did she say this was her party or ask which present was hers.  She packed her own present for Daddy, and put her own card in the bag for him.  For her little two and a half years, she has such a big heart! 

I loved seeing Chris.  And watching his face when he came home and realized that we did this for him.  Seeing Carly tell all about what we did today brought on a smile that only little girls can bring to their Daddy's face!  And the sweet kiss and thank you he gave me before he went to sleep made all the crazy, wild painting, finger slicing (during the cake assembling), mad rush of the day worth it!

And on this one day we are celebrating not only his birthday, but the love in our little 3 person family!

Albert Einstein & my Love Bug

I love my Love Bug's imagination!  I love to getting down on the floor with her and playing dolls, or coloring, or letting her spend time torturing... I mean brushing my hair all the while telling me, "Mama you're gorgeous!" (as she says in her special Jerseyish accent).  But what I love more than anything is sitting back (and yes sometimes spying) on her, just listening to her create her own little world while she plays.

On our trip to the park today, she didn't disappoint me....today at the park we were a princess in a castle:

We fed the birds their very special food...

Behold "Birdie Mulch Food"

We looked in the cave for treasure...

We tried to swing high enough to touch the clouds and airplanes in the sky....

Now that is a look of pure joy and thrill!

And we got another wonderful surprise...

"Aunt Jessica"!!

And after we got tired of castle hopping, birdie feeding and treasure hunting...we tried oh so hard to catch butterflies and dragon flies! 

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge.  For knowledge is limited to all we know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."  Well Al, by your standards my daughter is a genius too!  And if knowledge is power by some people's standards, then I would have to say imagination is something far greater!  My Love Bug's unlimited pool of happiness, energy, and ingenuity today was the perfect essence of that!  

      

I love my daughter's imagination.  I love that she shares it with me.  I am so lucky!

One Day at a Time & a little visitor!

The other morning, and I am talking early (8am! which is early for me!), my Love Bug decided she wanted to go outside to play.  So I grabbed my chai tea latte, plopped a hat on her blonde little head and out we ventured.  I went to get a chair to sit on (because even though she wanted to play, Mommy still needed some wake up time) and behold, a little visitor!

Hello little tree frog!

Carly was thrilled!  But we both weren't quite sure what to do...

"Can I touch it?"

So we took him over to the nearest tree (him being a tree frog and all).

It's kinda like a "Where's Waldo?" deal. The frog is on there.

In my new adventures of "Stay at home Mommying", I must say that so far I love it!  But there are some days where I feel a little like this:

Just trying to take it one day at a time and be thankful for the opportunity that God (and my wonderful Husband for working so hard) has given me!  I am so lucky to be able to spend these days with my Love Bug!  Even if I do feel like I need to break out every now and then, that can only mean that I had an eventful day with my Carly.  And good or bad or somewhere in the middle it was one full day!