All Animals, All Weekend!

What a great two days we had this weekend! I hate how fast the weekend goes though, but every week of work gets me closer to the summer when I can be a "stay at home mom". 

On Saturday Charlotte and I went to the zoo with some friends, and it was very fun.  We had great weather, although it was a little chilly when the wind blew, it was sunny.  Charlotte had a great time.  She went down slides, watched animals, ate ice cream, rode the carousel, banged on glass to wake animals up haha and fell asleep in her bob. 

Charlotte loved the carousel, it was her first time on one.  She loved when it went up and down and laughed almost the whole ride.  She had a great time looking at the animals, she was really focused.  As always she loves being out and about and cruising around in the bob.  She is such a joy to take places and easily adapts to all environments which is nice. 

On Sunday Charlotte and I went to see even more animals.  We went to Clarks Elioks Farm with some friends.  It was my first time there, but had heard good things.  It was again a little chilly, but sunny and pretty outside. It was so fun!! They have all the old Enchanted forest things, so it is very nostalgic and fun.  We got to go down more slides (which if I haven't mentioned yet, SHE LOVES), pet the cutest baby goats (seriously they had baby goats smaller than Charlotte), go on a tractor ride, and have a picnic outside. 

Charlotte loved petting all the animals, it was like a real life touch and feel book haha.  She was fine with all of them, until the big cow looked at her and she SCREAMED.  Cows are not her favorite apparently.  Her favorite part of all had to be the hayride.  She loved looking out over the fields and laughed every time we hit a bump.  Clarks was a fun place, and very affordable, only five bucks to get in for me and Charlotte is free, which is nice.  When she gets older, I know Ill miss the days when she was free to get into places. 

We had a great weekend and soaked up a lot of sunshine, every day with Charlotte is a gift and I am lucky to be able to do fun things with her.  I cant wait to see what we get into next!

I. Am. Awesome!!!

What a shitty shitty day it has been! First getting to the car this morning was a disaster, I had so much stuff to carry and Charlotte, and I got stuck on the door and fell down, I purposely dropped to me knees because I was holding Charlotte and didn't want to fall forward or backward with her in my arms! I thought I was fine but then as I was driving to work I realized I was bleeding on my work pants...oooops.

A bunch of other crap also happened today, That just had me feeling down and like I was not good enough/not doing a good job. It is tough being alone when you get no sleep and things get messed up. You don't have a partnership or anyone to rely on, it's just you. This is new for me, I thought I would always have that other person to be there for me when I needed them, to support me emotionally, so I am learning to be strong on my own.

Anyway, I got home and all my neighbors had mowed lawns. I've been wanting mine mowed for awhile, it looks like a jungle back there, some of the grasses were so tall! Well I've had no luck getting it taken care of, so I tried to take matters in my own hand....

FIRST I've. Never mowed a lawn in my life SECOND I don't own a law mower.

I borrowed a weed wacker from my mom. I have a small backyard and have seen Adam do it before, it looked fairly easy.

WRONG! I literally had no idea how to start the damn thing! A half hour of trying to start the weed thing I had no success.

Thank god for my neighbor! (Have I mentioned I loved my neighborhood?, I'm so hopeful lotte and I can stay in this house a little longer!) he came over to show me how to start it!

Luckily it wasn't my fault (I should mention I googled the owners manual so I did have an idea of what to do, I also watched a YouTube video!) the choke wasn't catchin right...look at me, I know what a choke is!!

Anyway he helped me get it going and I weed wacked the backyard! I feel so accomplished!!! I am so freaking awesome!!

It was harder than I thought due to the length of grass, my arms are extremely tired and I was covered in grass, like literally I have grass stains on my legs. But I cut my lawn! It made me feel amazing and capable. I am awesome!!!

However, I remembered why I have never mowed before...allergies!! It was so bad I could barely breathe! I wanted to take some benedryl, but it knocks me out and I can't do that when I'm listening for the monitor all night!

I felt less accomplished after I finished and came in bc Charlotte was displeased when I tried to put away her clothes with a flashlight while she was sleeping! Disaster! Have you ever tried to put away laundry with a ten month old? All she likes to Sonia throw things across the room, folding is futile. Although I sort of sucked tonight and didn't get the laundry finished I still rock and anyone else who says other way can........

Supermom did also fail because I can only get my daughter to sleep for an hour at a time which causes me to be exhausted.

I'm doing my best to raise my daughter & give her a happy life, I hope I am succeeding and ill sleep when she goes to college :)

Due to the utter exhaustion and terrible allergies I hope I never have to mow the lawn again but I'm happy to know that if I do need to I can do it!

Turning One!

This weekend Charlotte and I went to one of her friends first birthday party! It was adorable and fun! It got me to thinking about Charlotte's first birthday which is coming up soon.  I am excited, happy, sad all at the same time.

I am so excited and happy she has grown so much and is turning out to be a great little girl, but so sad that she isn't my little baby anymore :( I know babies grow up, but I have truly enjoyed the last ten months, and will miss cuddling with my little one.  I know cuddling time is limited.  I can not believe how fast time has gone.  I am so happy I have taken moments to cherish the time I have had with her.  She is AMAZING. 

I am super sad I have to work on her birthday.  BUT the good news is that her birthday is my LAST day of work for the summer break. Charlotte will get to enjoy a trip to the zoo that day with her daycare friends and then after I get off work, I plan to take her out to dinner and get her a giant piece of cake :) I am truly looking forward to spending the evening with her.  If you haven't marked your calendars yet, her big birthday party will be on Sunday June 16th, so get ready for the fun and her cake smash!

They grow so quickly, but I am so blessed to be her mom. 

This weekend, in addition to the birthday party we also had a picnic at the park with some of her friends, she also got to spend the day playing with Holden and working on some crafty things for her birthday party!

Tilted planter

Charlotte and I had a great weekend! We made the most of the nice weather with the trolley trail hike and then decided to do some yard work! I decided to try out another pin I saw!

I wanted to spruce up the backyard, so I decided to plant some flowers. I saw this great tilted flower planter and decided to make it! It was simple, easy and fast, so if you like it make one of your own! Of course it was inexpensive to make as well!

First gather your materials. You will need rebar, I bought the two foot size for $1.79 at Home Depot. Then I got one medium sized planter for $1.50 and five smaller ones for $1.25! Home Depot had some good deals! You will also need some pitting soil and flowers/plants of your choice! I bought pansies because they were pretty and $0.88 each!

First get your rebar into the ground. I just hit mine with a hammer until it got far enough in to be stable. I'm sure there is a better way, but this worked for me!

Next out in your medium pot level with the ground & fill with the potting soil. Then grab the smaller ones and start to thread them into the rebar too, tilt each one and then fill with your potting soil. After you have it to height you can plant and water your flowers! Done!

I had to hammer my rebar into the ground a little further after threading all my pits onto it so it wouldn't show, but it was very easy. Just make sure your tilting your pots the right way! The pin I saw had spray painted pots, I however have did not have the time and personally like the terra cotta look, so so what you will :) easy to make and an adorable accessory for my yard! I had the best yard work helper too who loved the sunlight!

Happy gardening and I hope your helper is as cute and happy as mine :)

Trolley Trail Hike!

I love my neighborhood! So close to so many fun things for me and Charlotte to do and so family friendly! I have seen the trolley trail signs and decided we should get outside and enjoy the weather!

We picked trolley trail number nine. It starts on edmondson ave and ends in old ellicott city. It's 1.5 miles each way so about three miles round trip! Perfect length for me and lotte, with a couple five k's coming up we could use the practice hahah! It is all paved and one section has a cute boardwalk so it's great for strollers! There are also little small trails off of it that we didn't check out but will in the future.

Along the trail is a butcher shop and a bakery called the breadery, which is fun! The end is old ellicott city which is great! The trolley stop and old mill bakery are right there! Charlotte and I bought some marrow bones from the butcher shop for dexter and some peanut butter chocolate chip bread at the bakery! The breadery really makes the trail smell yummy!

All in all it was a perfect trip! It's a super fun walk and easy enough for kids and has lots of fun things to look at on the trail! We liked it so much we might even do it again tomorrow! I recommend it to anyone!

Spring Break & Easter come to an End.

Well, I had ten glorious days off of work, in a row! It was amazing to be able to spend that time with Charlotte.  We didn't take a vacation or do anything that special, but it was amazing for what it was.  Charlotte and I got to enjoy our mornings together and leisurely eat breakfast.  We got to go for walks in the neighborhood and to our library for baby boosters and visited Storyville.  We got to visit with her cousin Holden and do some shopping and we got to nap together, and generally just enjoy being at home during the day!

It is so luxurious being home during the day.  I don't know if anyone out there gets to do their grocery shopping during a weekday, but it is AWESOME.  There are parking spots, and no crowds, and no rude jerks.  It is totally different from after work hours and weekends.  It pretty much rocked my socks.  I really think my favorite part was getting out of bed around seven and actually sitting down and having breakfast with my Lots.  My dreams of being a stay at home mom at least part time did not pan out due to circumstances, but I have the next best thing.  Spring Break, Winter Break and Summer Vacation! I had amazing time spending ten whole days with Charlotte in a row.  This is something I have not been able to do since I returned from maternity leave.  I am looking forward to Summer Vacation more than ever.  I love watching her grow and play and truly cherish the time I get to spend with her.  I know these times will go fast, so I want to soak up as much as I can!

In other news, Charlotte had a GREAT first Easter.  We had a big family meal and she got to see her bestie Holden.  She was spoiled with gifts from everyone! On Easter morning her Easter basket was waiting for her from the Easter bunny! She got bubbles and a giggle gang doll! I filled all her little eggs with her Gerber puffs and she had a blast shaking them and then getting them out to eat.  She is so animated these days.  She moves so quick too! At my moms house during the Easter dinner she was zipping around the floor so quickly no one could tell where she was haha! She also got to swing at GG's which she LOVES.  She is a sucker for a park and a swing, but who isn't? She is such a joy to be around, everyone loves hanging out with her because she is always laughing and having fun exploring. 

Charlotte likes to be left to her own devices these days.  She loves to organize things, put them in boxes and take them out.  She likes to group like objects in specific areas and will move them around until the are arranged the way she likes.  After she is done she will look at you for approval and smile and laugh when you clap.  It is adorable! She also loves to share! She is constantly handing me things and smiling and laughing when I say and sign thank you! She is growing so quickly, but I love every minute of it!