Toddler Photo Shoot

My entire goal was to get a cute picture of her smiling and showing "Daddy's Lucky Girl" on her shirt.  Apparently, my years of professional photography experience did not prepare me to capture images of my own child.

While this one is good, it's not her smile.  It's just another in a series of silly faces.  But those eyes! 

All of this occurred over the course of about sixty seconds.  And, as it turns out, I love the entire photo series.  

New St. Paddy's Day

Many times in the past years, I would race home from work to meet my friends out for happy hour and try to catch up since they had already been drinking for six hours.  We would create memories, meet randoms, and enjoy shenanigans all night.  The next morning, we would relive and recall it all through brunch.

This year, we traded out green beer for ice cream.

After hitting a huge consignment sale at the fairgrounds, we stopped at the Dairy Zone for a treat, effectively ruining our dinner.  My Cake Batter Tornado was totally worth it.

The skeptic: 

mmmmm....

Signing "please" for more = a huge success! 

This was the taste of summer I wanted during Spring Break.  It was a perfect afternoon with a crisp 67 degrees.

Reality Returns

The sweet spot of Spring Break has passed.

I am now haunted with reality.

The papers I have barely touched really need feedback and grades.  The books I need to read instead of want to read are demanding my attention.  The rough sketched out lesson plans for next week are begging to be finalized.  The load of laundry I purposefully avoided last week because it was all work clothes must get cleaned.

I can only deny it for so long.

No longer will I get my long, slow morning with my coffee and Scandal reruns waiting to hear Mila's sweet voice stir awake upstairs.  

Thankfully, summer is just around the corner.

Spring Break: Cabin Fever Edition

Last night, we got snow.  It's the middle of March, and we got measurable snow.  Since we've been tempted with multiple 70 degree days, this bout of cabin fever is a little more severe.

To fight this Cabin Fever, we tried finger painting for the first time.  I'm not sure we have a future artist.  She quickly figured out it didn't taste good.  After trying to get her to play and draw, she picked up the paper and threw it off in disgust.

Apparently, books are her thing.  (Trying to pretend this doesn't make me burst with pride.)  She saw her new Dory book on the island after I cleaned up all the paint.  She pointed at it and said, "da" as in "that."  We snuggled in the big chair while she read it, upside down.

Pointing the all the pictures and telling me what is going on.

Then, you moved to your chair and continued to read it aloud.  Turning pages.  Pointing to pictures and words.  Studying everything.  

Babies, movies, and snuggles rounded out our morning.

THIS FACE!!  My heart just melts. 

She slowly taps her baby's back to soothe her.  I love when she does this to me when she gets up in the morning.  

If we have many more snowy March days, we will need to increase our Disney movie collection...for Mom's sake.

Spring Break Plans

Only once in my life have I ever gone anywhere on Spring Break.   And I was twenty-eight years old at the time.  I went to South Carolina with my now-husband.  It was fun, but whether or not I travel does not define my Spring Break.

Spring Break to me doesn't mean tropical, warm locations.  It doesn't mean traveling in a car for hours on end to reach a destination.  It doesn't mean I have to go anywhere or do anything at all.

To me, Spring Break is just that -- a break.  A time to breath.  A time to relax.  A time to recharge so I can power through until the end of the semester.  I don't need to go anywhere to do this.  I can do this right in my big comfy chair snuggling in my living room.  And this year, I plan to do just that.

This is me drafting my ideas during nap time about what an ideal spring break would be this year.  (And spending too much time Googling how to draw flowers...).

Add in a couple glasses of wine and this is the ideal break for me.  If we're really adventurous, we will head out to the zoo, but then again, we are suppose to get the most snow we have had all winter on Sunday night.  Instead of blowing bubbles and sidewalk chalk, we may be in snow pants building snowmen.

If everyday of my break is like this, it will not be a waste.  It will be exactly what I need.