first things first. how adorable is elinor? would you look at that face and all that sweetness? goodness gracious i love her a bunch. those eyebrow expressions and kissy faces and gleeful smiles. i tell ya, this is a really fun age. challenging and intense and exhausting at times but so much fun. i love having a bonafide little person in our home. she brings such life to the place.
so, the weekend. it was a fabulous mix of all things food and friends and fun and projects and productivity and church and family time. we kicked things off on friday night by meeting some friends for dinner at zinburger.
BURGERS. oh my, i don’t know what it is about pregnancy that turns me into a burger beast but my love of patties and cheese that i experienced with elinor is back in full force with ridley. and i think it is even more intense this time because it took me all the way from my plant-loving-quasi-vegetarian ways back into meathood with a vengeance. this restaurant is home to one of my very favorite veggie burgers but it could not sway my (the baby’s) need for meat. a bunless kobe burger with truffle aoili it was. bunless because you know, with limited midsection space these days, one needs to make smart choices. priorities people. and for me, fries are a priority. save room for two baskets.
we enjoyed dinner and then strolled for a bit in downtown gilbert. it was such a nice night and we wanted to make those moments linger as long as possible. the rest of the evening was spent playing with elinor and tickling and giggling and twirling and other such nonsense. then, ben and i got some much needed alone time to gab and enjoy each other’s company. he is kind of my favorite person to spend an evening with, after all.
ben and i got up early on saturday (since we are officially those people now…the ones who get up extra early on the weekend for pleasure) so we could have some time to enjoy our chicory coffee fix before diving into our workout. and, you guys! we did it! we completed our 60 day Insanity Max:30 challenge! wahoo for us. pats on the back and feelings of accomplishment and high fives. truly, i really enjoy working out with my man. it is such a great thing for accountability and to keep my booty in gear (especially on those sleepy, dark thursday mornings when 5am comes way too soon). ben is planning to jump back into the 60 days as a second rotation but adding in the “abs challenge” component this time. since i am currently lacking in the abs area and increasing in the ball of baby-ness, i am planning to join him for round two but add in some yoga instead of ab work. let me tell ya, the body needs all the stretching it can get.
here’s to keeping those “sympathy baby weight pounds” at bay for him and to getting me in fine form for the final stretch of pregnancy and the big event – birth.
okay, onto a few fun and pretty things.
after workouts were completed and breakfasts were eaten and errands were run, our little crew camped out upstairs for the afternoon to work on elinor’s big girl room. i ironed drapes and moved some furniture around a bit and did some space planning. ben installed curtain rods (thank you, hubby. i know how much you *love* that job. and by the way, we did a super fun DIY industrial rod design and install that i might be sharing on the blog. i am a huge fan of how it turned out.) and got the drapes situated while elinor and i got the rest of the room rearranged. (well, elinor “helped” by making a mess of her drawers since she told me that “mama is making a mess” so she was going to make a mess too. helpful. but then, i told her we needed to put away and clean up and she went around grabbing items and shouting, “keeeeeeen uuuuup!” over and over and over. she also heard ben and i doing “curtain hanging math” and decided to help with that as well. she counted and counted and rambled number after number. again, helpful. i am surprised that ben didn’t get a crazy headache from the hubbub.)
the semi-finished product is quite delightful. and elinor is quite pleased. new drapes up. new lighting. fresh or freshly moved decorative bits. we moved her nightstand in and we moved her antique settee in as well. that amazing pink number! we snatched it from ben’s folks when they were moving and decided to give it a new home in miss elinor’s room. that baby will be receiving a nice coat of paint and some new upholstery in the coming months. it will be the dreamiest little book nook you ever did see. i am thinking about an antique bronze finish with vintage dove grey velvet. very parisian chic. and very old world meets hurcule poirot. smashing and dashing.
the final element will be to move the crib out and her big girl bed in. the sheets and velvet quilt are shipping as i type and i will be ordering safety rails (a.k.a. bedtime prison bars) to go along with the bed. i want elinor to get adjusted to the new look and feel of her new space and buy us some time to talk up her new bed before the move. at the end of march / beginning of april, we will make the move. i am excited for her. i know that she is ready for it. and i know that it will be a big change for all of us…but, you gotta do it sometime, right? it might as well be now. that should give her (and us) a couple of months to get used to things before adding a newborn to the mix. adventures in parenting! and we sure do love it.
Filed under: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Tagged: bedroom, big girl, burgers, drapes, family, hubby, insanity max:30, life, miss elinor, new, weekend, workout, zinburger
