Spring Break!

Okay, I don't "work" and Lucy isn't in school so spring break is technically not an accurate term but it was similar to a spring break in that I tried to make it extra special. Craig was gone all week for work and luckily, I was feeling pretty good and completely ready to do something other than sit around the house. Of course, we both still need our naps so I didn't go crazy but I think I hit a good balance between our regular rhythm and enough excitement that the days didn't stretch on forever without even the relief of Craig's arrival in the evenings.

Monday we had a play date with Neighbor J and her two kids plus our mutual friend "N" and her baby.  Finding time to talk with other adults this week was pretty important since Lucy is good company but not quite a great conversationalist yet.

 Tuesday was library day. Lucy loves the library and this time we were in no hurry. We read books then joined in for storytime where we have our little routine. She likes storytime but their book selection isn't normally very good and she loses interest. About half way through she'll say she is all done. I'll then remind her if we leave now, we'll miss the craft. She loves the craft so instead she'll grab one of the books from our bag and sit quietly on her carpet square "reading" to herself until the librarian is done. I might feel bad but she is one of the youngest and other than her lack of attention, she's still one of best behaved kids. (The little girl next to us this week kept running around and bumping into us and the only way her mother could would get her to stop (after her idle threats didn't work) was to hold her feet while she did a head stand.)

I'm glad we put up with headstand girl and stayed this week because the craft was a big hit with Lucy. She made a green St. Patrick's day hat with foam shamrock stickers and a rainbow over the top. I made the mistake of saying it was a party hat and she thought I said potty hat so she insisted on wearing it to the potty for the next several days. Now I'm waiting for her to forget about it so I can throw it away :-)

On the way home, we went grocery shopping and picked up the ingredients for homemade ice cream (and other healthy stuff too :-) I followed this recipe and it worked pretty well. Lucy helped me measure everything and then we took it outside to shake it.

 Shake, shake, shake...

 and enjoy!

She actually put in quite the effort but I switched our bags every few minutes just to make sure that both would be edible. The recipe is not very sweet which was perfect for her but I might add a bit more sugar (I used succanat), a few drops of stevia or even a tablespoon of chocolate syrup) to my bag next time. But it was still a hit and since it was so soft, she could eat it without help which meant I could eat mine in peace too. Then she had fun playing with the ice on the driveway and then the sand. By the evening, she was dirty and exhausted which was perfect because we were still working out some daylight savings kinks and a nice warm bath and early bed time was the perfect remedy to all those issues.

Wednesday was supposed to be our fun shopping trip day. But the maternity selection at Old Navy was really picked over so we left empty handed and then we ended up getting berated and cursed at in the parking lot by some psycho lady which left me shook up and Lucy in tears. I'd get into the details but I don't want to get worked up again so I'll just say it took the fun out of the trip. I tried to redeem the day by going to Target but I had to return something and when the target lady said hi to me and Lucy, she freaked out and climbed onto my head/back and then I forgot the bubbles which I had promised her. We headed home for more backyard time. Backyards are fun and safe and nobody yells at your there. We played in the sandbox and then we looked for worms. We found a giant worm while digging for the sandbox and she is now obsessed with them. Luckily she doesn't seem to notice the all the ones she finds are shrivel up and dead.

Thursday was another play date, this time at a friends house. Lucy was a bit clingy but it was a low key morning and we all had fun. Then one the way home, she started vomiting. And she didn't stop all afternoon. Right before she got sick, I had picked up some chick-fil-a and even though she didn't actually want to eat it, Lucy insisted on holding her chicken for several hours until she fell asleep and I pried it from her hands. After her nap, she seemed to feel pretty good as long as she didn't eat. She wanted to play but then would get tired and just fall over and lay on the floor looking up at me. Finally I said we needed to get into bed and watch Caillou and she agreed. So we spent the afternoon snuggled up and it wasn't really that bad - other than her lack of "bucket skills" and the fact that we now need to wash every queen sized blanket/duvet/comforter we own. I guess a trip to the laundromat is on this weeks agenda.

Friday was supposed to be park day but a day at home turned out to be alright. She was ready for some toast and bananas in the morning and everything stayed down - both her food and her fever. She helped me do some basic cleaning so things were decent for Craig's return then colored while I made brownies.

 I swear I'm not a cruel making my sick kid clean, she wanted to and she really doesn't look sick here, but wait 20 minutes...

All that fun must have really worn her out because she fell asleep on my lap at 10:30 - right after I put the brownies in the oven! She was so tired that when I woke her up so I could take them out of the oven, she just said "no, sleep" and then went right back to sleep on my shoulder. I must say that while I hate having a sick kid, a happy but sleepy sick kid really is the best kind to have. Then it was just a few hours until daddy came home!

So things didn't all work out like I planned but even so, we had a pretty fun week. Now that I feel like I'm pretty close to my old self again, I'm really looking forward to doing more things with Lucy. I feel like I'm always saying "this age is my favorite" but really, I mean it this time. She is just so much fun now!