Teaholic not quite anonymous

So I'm pretty thrilled that Maddy slept through the night last night! Yep! 7:30-6:30! I slept pretty well although I think I'm relapsing on my cold a bit. I felt worse yesterday than I had in a few days, actually. Kinda sucked.

Maddy was also thrilled yesterday when a neighbor girl rang the door bell and gave Maddy a pirate hat she made out of paper. She LOVES the big kids and always wants to play with them. I try to keep her away and that way she doesn't get disappointed. I mean, what 8 year old wants to play with a 2 year old? Really now? So she was SO EXCITED when they came to HER to give her that!

Ok, off to get a couple things done. We're staying in all day today. I have to say, it was nice to get out to the grocery store by myself last night! You'd think I wouldn't be going stir crazy after just being away all weekend, but staying in with a sick kid while being sick can get old pretty fast. If the weather is nice later, we'll probably venture outside to play in her playhouse a bit more. Just for the fresh air.

Tea of the day: Orange Deluce and also Chai, I have a pot on the warmer of the chai.

Quite literally. I don't mean me, either! Matt was working with some wiring guys last night after work (6pm) until 1 am getting some things moved for their upcoming move of their servers/firewalls/etc... to another location. He literally collapsed into bed at 1 and was out before his head hit the pillow. 8 am to 1 am is a pretty long day--if you can even call it that. Fortunately, he doesn't need to be in until 10 today so I don't need to wake him up until 8.

Maddy went to bed pretty early last night-7:15. But she took an early nap from 11:15-1:15 because she fell asleep on me watching Mary Poppins. She was up early, about 6:15 but that was still 11 hours of straight sleep! Second night in a row, yippie! She's still really stuffy/runny and tends to cough early morning but no fever and is playing. We did go out last afternoon and played with her house. She enjoyed getting out of the house as did I. I think we may venture out to the grocery store for a quick run today. I keep forgetting to buy more margarine every time I go! I do wish I had taken some sinus meds for myself last night, but I really couldn't with Matt not being home. I didn't want to take night time and not hear Maddy but I didn't want to take daytime either. Don't they have a general neutral one? I mean, really, they should.

Ok, well, off for another cup of tea and to see if I can get some more mint herbal tea into Maddy. Combined with some cold meds it really does seem to clear her out first thing in the morning. The warm steam on her nose and the liquid in her throat really clears out that flem. And another cup of tea for me, too although I am craving coffee... maybe I'll do that instead.

Tea of the day: Mighty Leaf Darjeeling Choice Estate, going with Oriental Spice from Adagio next

Yep, Matt now has what Maddy and I had/have. He has a slight fever and is pretty miserable. Poor guy. I will send him to bed early tonight if I can get him to go. He has some PM cold meds in him now so hopefully that will help some.

Maddy and I did make the trip to the store today and we also went to the park, too. She thoroughly enjoyed herself! Hopefully she sleeps all night since her nap was pretty short today. She felt warm tonight so I gave her tylanol cold instead of the mucinex cold because it has the fever reducer in it. I would have to say at this moment I am the least sick of the bunch. Hopefully this all passes soon since my parents will be here next weekend!!

Ok, off to hang out with Matt.

Tea of the day: Lots of different kinds.

So today was a busy, busy day! Matt stayed home to oversee some painting that we were having done. It went well for the most part. Everything looks great! It is the same crew we have in every time we need anything done with drywall or painting. Great as always! Although it took a lot longer than I think any of us anticipated.

I had an appointment down by where I used to work so I decided to leave a bit early and stop into my old school to see the kids and coworkers. I had SUCH a blast. It was so nice seeing everyone. Although, I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't a bit embarrassed by the attention my weight loss received. But I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't proud that it was noticed either. :) It was great catching up and just saying hi. Again, I thank my replacement so much for being so welcoming all the time. Especially since I showed up unannounced today on top of it! It was right at the end of school though, so I tried not to disrupt too much of their workday.

I saw two of my favorite kids today. I guess I should have them remain nameless since I didn't receive parent permission to take their pictures. Although I did see the girl's mom since I walked her out to kiss and ride. It was fun seeing her, too. But it was GREAT seeing them. The girl is now ready to graduate grade school in a month and I can't believe it. Wasn't she just 5??? I mean, I taught her from Kindergarten to 4th grade and honestly, she was my very first kid. We went through quite a few ups and downs in those years and I will always hold a very dear place in my heart for her. Overall, the trip was very special to me. I'm glad I was able to make it in at least once this year. I hope to go back again with Maddy when she's totally well before the end of the school year since everyone asked where she was!

I made shrimp and grits tonight and threw in extra jalapeños! Ooooh! It was spicy, but SO GOOD. We'll have enough for left overs tomorrow night which is even better since that means a night of no cooking!

Maddy seems to be doing better today. She was up a lot last night, up early and didn't take that long of a nap. But she's not as stuffy or runny by any means. I too am feeling a lot better, thank goodness! But man she was feeling her oats today (what does that mean, really, anyway?) She was in rare form!!! She's got spunk and much like Lou Grant, there are times I HATE spunk!

Ok, well, I'm off to watch Dancing with the Stars with Matt. Have a good night, all!

Our sign went out today. Yep, we're in the process of selling our house. We'll see how it goes since the market is slow right now. But it's a great time to buy so I can only cross our fingers that our house will move relatively quickly. We've worked and worked on it and cleaned out and organized (what a run on sentence). Wish us luck in the selling process!!!

We've started looking at other houses, so that's been fun. I think we have an area picked out. We'll see how it all goes though. Again, we need to sell our house first. Our house doesn't go on the market until next week. Now I get to have the fun of trying to keep it clean all the time!!! Ooohhh... that could be interesting!

I poorly planned dinner tonight and forgot I was going to do a crockpot thing. So instead we ordered in. It's some of my favorite. Can't wait for it to get here!

I am SO relaxed right now. A few weeks back, a friend of mine told me about a package called Spa Girl Promotions. You get a ton of mini-services for a flat fee. Tonight I went for my 30 minute massage and enjoyed every single second of it. I think my masseuse was able to work out all my kinks and that's really saying something! Of course I still need to pay gratuity, but my 30 minute massage would have cost the same price as the package alone! In two weeks I go back for my hair appointment. Now I'm all relaxed and think I may hit the sack early tonight.

My parents are coming tomorrow morning for a visit! I'm so excited to see them. It has been a while. I showed Maddy their picture today in her book and she showed it to Matt later telling him who was coming. She keeps wanting to go to the window to look for them. Hopefully the rain we are expecting won't play too much havoc on their flight!

Off to hang out with Matt. I surprised him and bought him Grand Theft Auto IV today.

Belated, but still! I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day! Our day was great here. I slept in and it was much appreciated! I woke up to find balloons and chocolates and Maddy signing her mother's day card to me. Matt made steak, eggs and hashbrowns for breakfast. We had left over steak from the night before and that was great. Although, if you've never seen 12 eggs in a pan all at once it's quite a sight! Although I don't suggest you try it! I took a nice long hot shower and got ready for the day. Then during Maddy's nap grandma and I went out shopping. I bought a couple pair of shoes and some makeup/girlie stuff at Ulta. Always fun! I also bought a few things for Maddy at World Market, too. I can't go without buying a couple things for Maddy! That night I gave myself a pedicure and even added a bit of 'bling' to it. I'm addicted to bling on my toes now. Nothing too crazy or sparkling, just a bit. We played Wii too and that is always fun. Matt and I purchased my Mother's Day gifts last week online. I wasn't expecting anything and it was really just an excuse to buy the couple things I've had my eye on. One is a CD set--Omigod! The 80's pop culture box set (totally!). And then also an iPod portable speaker docking system with FM as well. I was shocked to find them on my front stoop yesterday afternoon! I've already loaded the CDs to my itunes and now I need to sync up my iPhone with it and upload my favorites to my phone. Too much fun! The docking station is even nicer than I thought it was going to be and really does have great sound.

My parents trip went well. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time. Today it looks like it's going to be sunny and warm. We did get a brief stop in the rain where we went out to play. Maddy found a few of the left over dandelions that were floating around so hence the above picture. I love that one! I did upload a TON of pictures and a few videos to the gallery, so go check 'em out!

Maddy warmed up to my parents right away the first day. That was nice to see! She wanted to play with them like crazy. She still wasn't that keen on sitting and snuggling, but she was very friendly and loving, so I'll take it. She's such a blast to watch and it's fun to share that excitement with other people. She had my parents chuckling all the time.

Matt really burned the midnight oil this week--quite literally. He worked from 8 am to 4:30 am one day and then for five hours on Saturday and even a couple on Sunday! Now he's back to work today after getting up at 4:30 to get my parents off to the airport. I will be happy for him when his work move is done. It's a lot of stress and work for him, I know.

The house thing is really revving up! Today we have some cleaners coming in to deep clean the house. (I'm thrilled they're going to do the oven!) Then tomorrow the camera guy comes to take pictures of the house and by the weekend we'll be on the market. There seems like there is so much to do before now and then. It will all get done, I know.

As for me, I want to get back on the wagon with eating right and working out. I've been HORRIBLE this last month. With being sick, not sleeping and really busy I haven't worked out and my eating habits are slipping, too. I can tell I am getting flabby! I still fit into all my new clothes without issue, but not as well, so I'm back on the wagon starting today!!

Oh! Maddy finally made it to class for the first time in three weeks yesterday after being sick. She loved it and I'm so glad to be using the class we paid for.

Alrighty, I'm going to get a quick shower before the kiddo is up. Have a great week everyone!

Tomorrow is the big day! Tomorrow the house goes on the market. Today the photographer was here taking pictures. It's amazing that even with how much I prepped for his arrival how many things I still had to do this morning. Matt took Maddy out so I could have free reign of the house and when he got home he asked how my shower was. What shower?! I barely had to time to toss on clothes, stick on a headband and slap on some powder! But, I have to say the house hasn't been this organized, clean and clutter free in ages. We've worked hard to get it this far!

I need to praise my little girl though. She is SUCH an angel and so flexible. There have been a lot of changes lately going on around her with the house and a lot of people in and out (painters/cleaners/photographers/realtors) and she's really taken it all in stride. I told her last night that the photographer was coming today and she was very excited about getting pictures taken. She was kind of bummed today when he left and SHE still hadn't had HER picture taken!!! Yes, she thought he was coming here to get her picture taken. I may just have to take her to portrait innovations for their $10 package deal as a fun trip out to let her get her picture taken!!! She's such a ham.

We did go out to Lowes today to pick up a few things we needed and then over to Petsmart to look at the animals. She loves it. Although she caused quite a stir in doggy daycare! she went up to the glass and one dog came over to say 'hi' and then they all did and they were all barking!!! Hahahaa... if looks could kill I'd be dead from the chick working in there. I took a chance and bought a new litter box today for the cats. It's a corner one that has a lid and door. It's very discrete. Fortunately, it looks like they are using it as I don't have puddles or poop anywhere else yet. I did keep the old one just in case, but I don't think we're going to have an issue.

Can I say, I am not looking forward to keeping my house clean all the time?? I'm not much of a clean freak. I'm more of a declutter freak. I don't like clutter anywhere and that helps in this case. But I also have an eye for detail so it drives me crazy to constantly notice things that should get done that I just don't want to do. Yes, I am lazy. :)

Ok, well, Matt made a trip up to storage so he should be home soon. Then we're going to watch a bit of TV before bed. Early bedtime for me tonight--ok, maybe not since it's already 9. Ah well!

Tea of the day: Orange Spice tea and Strawberry sun tea with caramel sugar free syrup

Well, it was our first real outing in about a month today! With Maddy being sick for so long, then the rest of us having it, it just didn't happen. Of course even after the sickness was gone it rained for days straight, so no outings there, either! Then there was getting the house ready...etc...etc..

But today we went to the farm and then to the park. Maddy had a blast and there are so many babies at the farm right now! Kids, piglets, calves, lambs, ducklings, chicks... the only ones we didn't see were ponies. I'm sure Maddy was disappointed in that one! But she loved seeing the piglets and calves the most.

Then we went to one of her favorite parks where we found a tennis ball. You would have thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. We were the only ones there so she had fun rolling it down all the slides.

We came home and our realtor dropped off the brochures for outside and inside and changed the sign out front. We are officially on the market today!!! I have to say, they did a great job on the brochures and showing the best of our house! Now it's up to us to keep it looking nice while we show!

Tea of the day: Adagio Vanilla Tea

Well, the weekend went by in a blur! Friday night seemed so long ago I can't even remember what happened. Oh! Matt had a fax line switch over to the co-lo and he didn't get home until 9:30ish? I think? Or was it 8:30...dunno. Whatever the case, it was late. During the day on Friday Maddy and I went to At Play Cafe to meet up with Nate, Annabelle and Hailey. Sarah even found a free coupon for the playroom. That was awesome! However, Maddy was not at all interested in going in the play area to play without me. I refused to go in, since I didn't want to start that trend. They have people who work there and play with the kids while they have a cafe where moms can get coffee/snacks and sit and chat and watch the kids play. Great concept--if your child will leave your side. She did go in with a woman who worked there went down the slide but after she was done it was, "Come on, mommy, come on!" Anyway, I wasn't going to push it since she's so flexible with everything we have going on and she had her mind made up. So we went to Target instead to pick up some necessities that we needed.

Saturday morning we met our realtor to look at a few houses. I liked some that Matt didn't like, he liked some more than I liked. In all, it was a busy house hunting day. We were pretty bummed when we didn't get any calls for walk throughs until 6. But at least we had one! Today was a total bust though--no one came through. Aren't Sundays house hunting days??? We have had a lot of drive-bys and people picking up our fliers. I am hoping those amount to something!

Saturday we also went out to BJs to pick up some stuff we needed but Matt dropped me off at Ulta first. He said I needed some 'adult time'. I bought a Garden Botanika Lipgloss set on sale and also a really awesome red nail polish that will look great on a pedicure.

This morning we went to church--FINALLY! It's been two months! But with the illness and house stuff, we just hadn't made it there. I got up with Maddy this morning while Matt slept in (that I did on Saturday) and I was exhausted by 1 so I took a good nap. I got up to find Matt and Maddy gone. Maddy didn't nap because she fell asleep on the way home from church. Ooops! Well, after seeing the caller id and checking my computer and finding a mapquest directions I figured out that they met the realtor to look at a house. I did a couple loads of laundry and cleaned up a bit.

My workout tonight kicked my butt. I haven't been working out regularly and I can really tell. I feel flabby! I haven't been eating as well as I should be either, so I'm getting back on the wagon this week on both counts. It's not that I've gained weight, but I can tell my proportions are off from where they were when I hit my goal weight.

I have to say, keeping this place totally clutter free all day long is driving me batty. And that's not even CLEAN! Fortunately, it's still pretty clean from the deep cleaning it received last week, but man, cleaning up and keeping it looking meticulous is going to wear thin. Matt's a great help, don't get me wrong, but it's still a lot.

Speaking of Matt, Maddy has been attached to his hip all weekend long. He's been working some crazy hours for work with his upcoming server move to the co-lo happening next weekend. So Maddy hasn't seen much of him lately besides in the mornings before work. So this weekend it was a lot of, "No Mommy, Daddy do it!" Daddy give a bath, daddy rock me, daddy play with me, daddy dance with me, daddy changed my diaper....etc...etc.... Poor Matt. He can't buy a break. But I don't think he overly minded (since I know he missed her too) and it was a nice break for me since this week will be insane again, I'm pretty sure.

Ok, well, I'm off to hang out with Matt! Have a good week everyone!

Tea of the day: Adagio Strawberry Black Tea

So it was inevitable. Matt pulled out his back this morning. I've kind of been thinking something like this was going to happen. He's been going, going, going that I knew his body would give out on him sooner than later. He took care of the front porch yesterday, scrubbing some of the rust stains on the cement and then repainting the railing of the porch on one side. So he was tight all night. Then this morning he decided to vacuum while I was putting away laundry upstairs and that's when it went.

Now he's home trying to remotely work. Poor guy. His biggest work thing is this weekend, too. He's pretty stressed.

It's been a while since I blogged! Matt's back is doing quite a bit better. He can get around now, at least. He worked a part day on Tuesday and I drove him to work and then picked him up. He drove himself in yesterday and came home about an 1.5 hours earlier than normal. He is still trying to do too much, physically and all I can do is nag him to take it easy.

Tuesday was busy trying to keep up with everything including Matt and Maddy who wanted to lay all over him. There's really not a whole lot to say, just a very busy day.

Oh yeah, and Dancing with the Stars was soooooo boring! I can't believe I stayed up until 11 for a result I already figured was going to happen. Man, can they draw it out, huh? Fortunately, Matt and I DVR'd it so we watched other shows while we let a lot of it cue up so we didn't need to sit through the stupid stuff. And since most of it was pretty stupid.... we got through it pretty fast. But we knew we had to watch it that night otherwise the news would spoil it the next day. I don't know when reality TV became news.... but....

Yesterday Maddy and I were supposed to have a walk through so we went to the park and then out to A&W for lunch. She had her first root beer float! She LOVED it. She knew there was an 'ice cream cone' in there and then she was asking if it was made of chocolate. So I had to describe that it was root beer, not chocolate. Anyway, we had a very nice time and she did a great job at the place. Last night Matt and I ordered in Ruby
Tuesdays (drive up and they take it out to your car). The desserts were heavenly and the meals were ok. The appetizers were just ok and my soup wasn't very good at all. But since I ate dessert last I would say that overall it was a very pleasant meal! I had the left over other half of the burger for lunch and Maddy and I shared the fries.

Today Maddy and I met Nate and Hailey at the park for playgroup. It was really windy though and Maddy's hat kept flying off her head! I think she was actually pretty glad to get home and I think she will have a great nap. The wind knocked her out. I wanted to nap during her nap, but I did my workout instead. I have my hair appointment tonight for some highlights at the salon for my package deal so I knew I wouldn't have time tonight to do it. Now I want to lay down but man, I just know I won't have enough time! I think I may actually make myself a cup of coffee instead.

So besides my hair appointment I have a couple other fun things going on soon! Mom's night out is next week and a friend and I are going to a small concert at the Birchmere next week as well! Whoo whoo!. Of course there's always thanks to Matt who's willing to let me get out whenever I want to. Thank you honey!

Tomorrow Maddy and I are going to get her pictures taken professionally. Maddy wanted to get her pictures done when the guy came to take pics of the house. She was disappointed when he left without taking her picture! So I set up a appointment at Portrait Innovations for tomorrow morning. They have the $10 deal that I plan on using. Of course today she scratched her face at the park next to her eye. So I'm hoping that is less red by tomorrow morning. I need to figure out her outfit before then as well!

Ok, off to get some stuff done! Have a great rest of the day everyone!

Maddy and I had quite an enjoyable day today. First thing this morning she got all gussied up in her dress (as she spins she calls it a tutu) and we went to Portrait Innovations to get her pictures done. She wanted to go after the house had its pictures done. She's such a girlie-girl. Anyway, our appointment was for 9:30 but we were there by 9:10 and they were able to get us right in! As always, they do not disappoint. They took over 50 pictures and I was able to narrow it down to two. I bought the great package deal (follow the link above) for one of the shots and then a 5x7 sheet of the other (of which*I*scanned*cough*and*printed*cough*my*cough*own*copies*of). So I'm excited for those to be arriving in the next week. I also printed some of her Easter pictures as well which I had been meaning to do but never got around to! Maddy did great with the pictures. She was wonderful! I knew she would be since she asked for them after all. While I picked out pictures she played legos. It was quite an enjoyable experience without much if any stress. On our way out the door they told me that my pictures were already coming out of the printer so they'd be done in about 5 minutes. We went over to Whole Foods and bought a mini Hagan Daz for Maddy since I told her originally we'd go to Maggie moos for a snack but it doesn't open until 11. We walked back after our treat and picked up the pictures! They turned out cute.

After we got home, I quickly scanned 'em and we went back outside to play for a while. Then we had our first picnic lunch outside. Maddy really seemed to enjoy that! I had a blast, too. The morning must have worn her out because at 12:55, right after Franklin, she walked to the upstairs gate and called me to take her to nap! WOW! I loved that!

After she woke up we went back outside almost immediately. We played outside for QUITE a while and we took a good long walk. I was inundated with neighborhood kids selling 'newspapers' for .25. They'd cut out pictures of magazines and glue it onto paper and then write a story to go with it. It was cute and Maddy LOVED buying it from them. Then she'd take it to her piano and stand it up right and play it as if it was music. I told each one not to come knocking after 6:30 since Maddy would need her bath and bed.

We ordered Vocelli's pizza tonight. Maddy saw me taking out the cash to pay for it before the driver got here and she kept saying, "Maddy do it! Maddy pay?!" Ok, kiddo, you can pay for it. She wanted to play with the coins (I didn't have enough $1s for tip) and I let her but only if she promised me she WOULDN'T lose it!!! She didn't! In fact, when the doorbell rang she grabbed the money and was ready to throw it at the dude! He thought it was pretty cute since he was giggling. As she handed him the money, she said, "Thank you! See you soon!" hahahaha... I laugh since we very seldomly buy pizza from Vocelli's we like our other places better. Tonight we did have a great chicken, artichoke, spinach and onion pizza. Maddy loved the red onions! She'd pick them off and eat them plain and they were virtually raw, too. She also loves onion rings. Anyway, after pizza I did splurge and we bought a La Dolce cinnamon sugar pizza. I can tell you that I've never had such heavenly sugary, molten goodness in a very long time. Maddy didn't like it and I thought she was nuts. Fine kiddo, go ahead and eat your raw onions, that means more dessert for me!

She's been so cute lately with her little sayings. If I ask her if she can help me she says, "Of course, mommy." Or if I ask her if she wants to go and play something she'll say, "Sure!" I don't know why, but that little sure coming out of her mouth was really cute. We took our long walk today and ask people would pass us on the sidewalk or the like I'd tell Maddy we need to move over. We have great neighbors here and it's not that anyone would run us off the sidewalk, but we are slower than them so we step aside to let them pass in either direction. Well, after the first time she had it down. She'd see someone walking a full block away and she's say, "Mommy pass, pass! Move over! Move over!" Ha! They weren't even close yet! I told her tonight at 6:52 that she needed to get out of the bath since Joe needed to bed fed at 7 so we had to be out in 3 minutes to get dressed. She said, "Joe shot? Ok, mommy, quick! quick! Quick like a bunny!" Again, she hears that from me often enough. And of course there is the, "Faster, faster!" when I come to a red light or if I'm behind someone who doesn't like to drive like I do. I also love the "DUDE!!!" when she hears a car beep. Thank goodness I don't use any other words (anymore) in the car! It's funny to hear her little annoyed, upset "DUDE!" when a car beeps. Too funny.

Ok, that's it for tonight. I'm falling asleep so off to bed I go! Have a good night everyone! Click here if you want to see some new pictures for today. Oh! Yes, I did put up a new gallery since Maddy is officially 2.5 today!!!

Ok, I am all about giving compliments lately. If I like some lady's hair... I tell her. If I like her shoes or purse, I tell her. I'll tell them when I think their kid is cute or being really good. I saw a neighbor walking and she has lost a LOT of weight. I've never spoken with her before, but I pulled the car up next to her and told her. She grinned ear to ear and now she waves at me every time I see her. While you're at it, tell people you appreciate the work they do. The garbage men LOOK for Maddy in the window. It's because she's excited to see them and waves happily at them. One of the two man crew must have moved on because now there is a new guy but he's quickly fallen into the routine as well. If we are outside she always says, "THANK YOU!" Anyway... why just think it? Say it! People like hearing things like that! It makes their day!

Our day was pretty good here. We had two walk throughs today. Don't get me started on the second one--who showed up 1.5 hours LATE and then was still 45 minutes later than what is normally cut off to show houses. ARGH. We had just got back from dinner out (to stay out of the way since she and her clients would be there) and they ring the door bell, it's 7:50!!!! 7 is normally cut off time for showing houses. Well, after giving her at least a few seconds of grief, we did let them do the walk through and we went out side to take a walk. Matt came home for a while tonight from work and hung out and went out to dinner. After Maddy went to bed he went back to work to fix some VPN issue. I guess he should be done with everything by the end of the weekend.

Maddy and I played outside and ran quite a few errands today. We still have more to do tomorrow. But not that bad.

Ok, well, off to bed. Have a good night, all!

Gypsy Tea: Lemon Rooibos

I make sun tea (Adagio Mango blended with Adagio Vanilla) and hang laundry on the line. Happy Sunday! Happy Memorial Day weekend!

In the midst of the cook-outs, games, fun and picnics, let's remember those who have laid down their lives for our country and our freedom today. May we be forever grateful.

Jason 7/22/77-01/05/08

Yesterday was a very nice day! Matt was home for all of it! He had been working both day and night since Friday for the co-lo move but was able to finish it by Sunday night at 2:30 am. I was so happy about that! Monday he slept in for a while and I got up with Maddy who's been getting up God-awful early at 5:55-6:15 latest. I think it may kill me. But anyway, I packed a picnic lunch for us and we went to the park and had a blast.

We did stop at Matt's work for about a 1/2 hour but not that long then we all came home and took naps. That was heavenly! Matt and Maddy went out to the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner (since I didn't plan eating out since I wasn't sure he'd actually be home for it). We grilled out and had a very nice time. Then Matt and I shared a bottle of wine last night! So nice!

When he came home at 2:30 on Sunday he told me he wanted to send me away to a spa trip at Hershey this weekend. I decided I didn't want to go that far, but definitely wasn't going to turn it down. So instead I'm getting out of town a little ways (about 45 minutes) and staying over night on Friday and having tea and a spa package on Saturday. I am so excited for both!

Today Maddy and I stopped at the bank, Target and Costco. It was quite productive. She was so worn out by 12:30 I put her down for nap though. Poor kiddo. She was up at 5:50 today!

Speaking of being productive. I have a few things I want to get done before she's up from nap. Have a good one, everyone!

Tea of the day: Earl Grey

Yesterday after Maddy's nap we went to the pool for the first time this season! We were the only one in the kiddie pool and there were very few people in the big pool either. I wasn't sure how Maddy would handle the water so I didn't take any toys with us, just a quick trip. Well, she LOVED it! I took over her really cute swim cover up when we got there and then I had to take off mine. I couldn't even get mine off before she went running for the pool! YIKES! I was chasing after her because I knew she'd go in headfirst if I didn't catch up to her. She waited as patiently as could be for me to get my cover up off and then we went in. It was COLD! We had some rain her and there hasn't been a ton of sun although the weather has been warm. Well, it didn't stop her from barging on in! She had such a blast. She loved to splash me (which I didn't love, but that's water play right?). They had some water toys there and she enjoyed playing with those. Overall, we had a very nice time! Finally, she was just too cold and I insisted that we leave. She didn't want to but then she had the idea that the ice cream truck was going to come by so that convinced her to leave. It didn't, but we had different ice cream at home anyway. Oh, it should be said that she went under 4 times losing her balance but handled it splendidly! I was surprised. I know I wouldn't want to go under in that water. Of course, I pulled her up in less than a second, so it wasn't that she was under for very long. Pool pictures can be seen HERE or by clicking on the photo above.

Matt was home by 5 last night and it was sooooo great just to hang out the three of us. I helped Matt put the kiddo to bed. She actually had a warm bath after the pool to warm her up, so that was done before he got home.

OHHH! She went on the adult toilet for the first time yesterday, too! She's always been willing to sit on it and has asked if she went or not (which tells me she wasn't ready for training yet that she couldn't control it to come out or not). But yesterday she did! So it looks like we're heading in the right direction. I'm not going to push it, just encourage her to try again.

After Maddy was in bed, I went out to Mom's Night Out last night. It was a lot of fun to get out and see the girls. I felt kind of guilty leaving Matt when he was just finally getting home from working, but I know he enjoyed his time playing his new XBox game that I bought for him. He feels guilty playing it if I'm around and would rather hang out with me. So when I am gone he can play as long as he wants without feeling like he needs to pick between the game or I. (Not that I make him feel that way, he just does.) So I didn't feel guilty for too long since I knew he was having his own downtime and fun and I did help get the kiddo to bed before I went anyway.

I didn't get home that late, not knowing if Maddy would be up early again. She wasn't! She slept until 6:45!!! I was soooo thrilled. I can handle 6:30 and after. I don't mind that at all. It's the before 6:30 thing that kills me. And every minute before 6:30 seems infinitely worse than the minute later. So I was thrilled with 6:45!!

Today has been pretty laid back and low key. We've been playing a lot, going outside to play and having fun. Tonight will be much the same. Tomorrow I am going to a concert with a friend in the evening. And then Friday I leave for the night and into Saturday! Between now and then Maddy and I need to make a Target run for more swim diapers! We're out!

Tea of the day: Lots of Mango Vanilla sun tea today! I hope to finish it up in the next day or two so I can make more next week.

Let's start with the concert! It was a fabulous time! The drive down was uneventful with NO backups at 6pm in DC Traffic. That, in and of itself, is a amazing feat! Doors opened at 6 and we were there not long after. We ordered dinner and drinks (a bottle of wine!) and chit chatted until the show. There really are no bad seats in the place but we had really great ones. The concert itself had three different vocalists and honestly, I don't remember the first one all that well. He wasn't all that great, but still entertaining to watch. Marie Digby came on next and then Eric Hutchinson after. Both were pretty amazing! Very catchy, fun songs. I bought both the CDs afterwards. Christine wanted to wait in line to get her cd signed by Marie. So that's what she did. Then I heard girls squealing behind me so obviously Eric came out. Eric must be all of 24. Anyway, it was cute seeing the groupies swarm the guy. Then it was fun to realize how far past that stage I am, or well, I never really fell into to begin with. The ride home was almost as uneventful, but a wrong turn getting on the freeway (going into DC instead of out) and we had to turn around down by the Pentagon. Matt was still up when I came home too, so that was a nice surprise!

The rest of yesterday was a whirlwind. I got the house cleaned up in the morning and Maddy and I went to playgroup at 9:30. She had a wonderful time and didn't want to go home. We played outside the majority of the time and she loved the water table. We have plans twice next week to meet up for another playgroup! It's been a while since we've all been together so it's nice to see everyone! After playgroup we went to BJs for gas. I had been been meaning to all week, just never got there. I was virtually running on fumes so I was glad to go. Discount club prices are simply the best around here and can't be beat. We came home and immediately ran back out to Giant to pick up groceries for this weekend. We came home with just enough time to get some food into Maddy and put her down for nap.

I worked out during her nap which was good because of the spinach and artichoke dip, bbq pork sandwich, chips and wine I had at the concert. I quick got a shower and then received two phone calls from realtors who wanted to show our house about 5. So I spent a lot of time running around getting things together for that while Maddy was still asleep. I quick threw on a nice shirt, a necklace and some makeup for the concert and got Maddy out of bed. I quick got her dressed and we went outside to stay out of the way and keep the house clean. Matt got home not long after and then Christine came to get me.

Today Matt is sleeping in and then he'll paint the other handrail that we started two weeks ago. Then I'll give him a quick course in house showing (since I've always been the one to prep). I may try to get my workout in before I leave, but if not I want to check to see if the hotel where I'm staying has a workout room. I may take my stuff with me. Of course, I still need to pack and I still haven't done ANY of that yet. It's only an overnight, but I don't want to forget anything.

Two other things I forgot to mention. While at Costco on Tuesday Maddy and I bought a dozen multicolored roses. They are so pretty! They are opening up beautifully, too! And Maddy will have her first babysitter on Tuesday of next week. Matt's work dinner to celebrate the co-lo move is on Tuesday at a nice restaurant so I want to be there for that. Christine was teasing me about me not getting a sitter for Maddy yet besides grandma and grandpa (ok, once when she was asleep we left with her Abby who is fully capable and a good friend but she said that didn't really count since Maddy was asleep). So I called her on it then and there. I'd pay for all of dinner and she can come sit my kid Tuesday night. I don't know how bedtime is going to work yet. I think I may ask Matt to see if he can make it an earlier dinner so I can get home and put the kiddo to bed, but whatever the case may be, I'm going out with Matt to celebrate his co-lo move (other spouses are invited too). It's important to me that I be there for that and it's nice that it really did just happen to come up with Christine!

Alrighty, off to make some tea! Maddy was up at 5:50 again today!