Falling behind...on posts.

Instead of trying to read through my entire blog list before I write my own post, I thought I would just get down the business. I tried to do it the latter way on Friday and ended up reading blogs until it was time to step away from the computer. Not cool, Stefanie!

Philadelphia!

I wanted to write a post about all of the things that we did in Philadelphia, but that seems so long ago now, so I will make it short and sweet...

She's the Eye of the Tiger.

The three of us went to Philly to celebrate two years of marriage and ten months of an awesome baby. We had such a blast! The city is so walkable that after we parked our car in the hotel lot we never used it again; we never even needed a cab or public transit, we just hoofed it everywhere. We had recently purchased a Maclaren for Maddie, so this was the maiden voyage for lots of use and I must say that it handles great and is SO easy to fold up and throw over the shoulder when not in use. We saw some awesome history and visited the Eastern State Penitentiary and the Mutter Museum; we made sure to check out the Liberty Bell (from the outside of the museum) and the steps to the art museum (made famous in Rocky). The statues and parks around the city are gorgeous and always remind you that you are in a city filled with history.
There were some good eats, and we arrived with a list that, for the most part, we knocked off. A few delicious restaurants we went to were Brauhas Schmitz, Monks Cafe and Oyster House. We got our obligatory cheese steak from the Reading Terminal and were definitely happy with our choice. A bonus feature was getting to see a very close friend of mine from my Reno life and his lovely lady. Maddie got to go on some pretty awesome swings and swim in the hotel pool; Mama got to see lots of weird stuff in museums and Matty got to be the best dude ever letting us have so much fun! We all loved our time there, and cannot wait to visit again!

After our trip to Philly we spent the next weekend in Brooklyn so I could help my sister-in-law register for my niece that is due at the end of the fall! I cannot wait to meet the little lady and I am so excited for Madeleine to have a cousin. Poor kid only gets this one, so I am sure they are going to be little besties, especially with only a year separating them.We brunched with my newly-transplanted from Boston to NYC friend at the Buttermilk Channel and did some strolling around Brooklyn enjoying the weather. Then it was back in the car and back home; Maddie is such a trooper, having spent about 22 hours in a car over two weekends. So thankful for our huge back seat in the Mazda that lets me hang out in the back seat with her to keep her happy and entertained.

We came home to Boston only to get a family cold; Madeleine's first time being sick, which was heartbreaking. She was so lethargic and snuggly and I just stayed home and nursed her and napped with her for an entire twenty four hours, which was about at long as the worst part lasted. Then of course I got sick, Matty got sick and our nanny got sick - so everything was a blur of grossness that we are really only just coming out of. The good thing was that before Matty and I got hit by the sick truck we were able to switch out our bedroom and the nursery making a bed den for sleeping and an awesome playroom for Maddie and her nanny-share buddy. She has a ton of room to romp around and play with toys and there is a sweet little reading nook to sit and read her stories. We still need to take care of some window treatments for both rooms and I would love a headboard or decals for the bed den, but things look pretty great and feel really cozy. It is nice to be able to be in the kitchen cooking and have Maddie right there in her playroom where we can interact with her but she can stay out of harm's way while the stove is going.

My poor sick little cuddle bug.

This past weekend was pretty chill, which is a nice change around our homestead. Friday I was out early and we just hung out at home and tried to relax, catch up on the DVR and get a good night's sleep; Saturday I went to my morning yoga class and then we went for a family run in Southie. I did five miles for the first time since the Harpoon race and was feeling really good; I think that doing yoga before a run really helps my endurance, I felt like a limber gazelle! Afterwards we headed down the Cape to visit with Maddie's Papa and his wife then we took a walk on the beach in Dennis before coming back into the city. Somewhere along Route 6 I got a serious craving for La Paloma, so we had dinner there and then headed home just as the rain started getting crazy. Madeleine slept in short increments that night and was on a mission to nurse, so neither of us slept well. My husband the hero, however, got up with her at 5:30 when she decided she was done laying in bed and let me have an hour and a half of solo/like the dead sleep.

I love, love, love these two.

Sunday was my first time lectoring at St. Gregory's so I was extremely thankful to show  up and not be a tired, hot mess! The Mass went really well and I felt really comfortable reading and interacting with everyone; our priest is seriously the nicest guy and is so laid back (and he is a Social D fan!) and he just really just has such a calming presence. I am such a big fan of him and so glad that it is the parish that we ended up in after our move to Dorchester. Speaking of the Dot, we tried out the new breakfast/bakery spot in Lower Mills and really liked it. It is called The Sweet Life and has been open just a few weeks; we got a yummy breakfast and got to see some sort of Vietnamese parade happening at PJPII Academy.
I sure do love our neighborhood!
We ended the weekend with a dinner party over at friends' who have a 15 month old boy so Maddie got to have a little play date while we hung out and ate some good food and watched football. Matty didn't get yesterday off so Maddie and I met the bestie for lunch downtown after an epic two hour morning nap. We got home and Maddie treated me to another epic nap, so I was able to finish the Tana French book I was reading. Awesome Monday holiday!

Nap-o-rama Columbus Day.

And now, here is Tuesday already. Matty and I have a sitter tomorrow night (WHAT!?) so that we can go to Hell Night with our friends. It is sure to be crazy and I plan on carrying around a bottle of milk on Thursday. This weekend we are going to the Wellfleet OysterFest, which is something that we have wanted to do for at least four years and hopefully we will get the windows in the newly switched rooms taken care of. In between then I will definitely be posting again - I promise!

Hope you are enjoying the crisp fall weather as much as I am (hellooooo knit tight season!).

XoXo