Good morning! Did you all have a fabulous weekend? I sure hope so! We had a great time around here. Although, exhausting!

I kicked off the weekend with one of my final long runs before Savannah. That means in less than TWO WEEKS I will be running my first half marathon!!!!! 

The run went really well. I did 12 uneventful miles.

Uneventful is a wonderful thing. I dressed well enough for the weather so I didn’t die of cold in the 40 degree weather (go ahead and mock me, you Northerners!). I kept a steady pace. I had no pain and didn’t battle any mental walls to finish. I just trod along until I finished and it felt fab-u-LOUS.

The only downside I had was that I think I tied my shoes too tight. The top of my right foot hurt – no stabbing pain, just tender – for the rest of the day and part of Sunday. So, odd.

Do note, however, that running 12 miles and then having to turn around right away to prep and throw a toddler birthday party is no small task. I had just enough downtime for breakfast, an ice bath, and a shower, before I had to break into party mode for the birthday girl.

I didn’t have too much to do because I managed to pick the perfect snacking arrangement. We had:

Flower Cheese Crackers (wheat thins with cheese cutouts using a mini flower cookie cutter and finished off with a mini pepperoni)

Fruit & Pink Dip (berry Chobani Champions yogurt with grapes + strawberries)

Princess Party Mix (random assortment of kid loves – popcorn, pretzels, and pastel colored marshmallows)

Spinach & Artichoke Dip (my mom’s special dip she offered to bring – OH. YUM!)

It turned into the perfect spread for the perfect birthday party day at the park.

The kids snacked, ran around, and fed the ducks.

Then, came time for the special cake!!! Sadly, I didn’t get a great shot of it…but it was a princess with a cake dress made to look like Belle’s on top of a cake “stage”.

Makenzie was in love. Go figure.  

All in all, it was a perfect party and I had such a great time! But, man, it wiped me out! I literally crawled into bed right after laying the kids down. Then, promptly slept for ten hours straight. Oh, how I would love to sleep ten hours every night!

• What was the most tiring thing you did this weekend? And, then…what was the most relaxing?
• What is your favorite kind of dip? Mine is my mom’s spinach & artichoke dip by far!!! I ate two very hefty servings on Saturday and wish I had more!

I think I know an underlying cause for my emotional madness earlier this week. HORMONES! I had forgotten about those suckers and just how much they can affect a gal. Yikes! It’s madness, I tell you. Madness!

However, that realization doesn’t change me wanting a more mindful approach to how I spend my time. I’m still definitely cutting back on the extra posting and working out a schedule so I’m blogging-free on weekends, thanks to pre-writing and guest posters (let me know if you want to contribute!). So, thank you hormones for helping me sort things out for more balance…but you can pass by quickly too.

Birthday For Her, Presents For Me

I let you all know that today is Makenzie’s 3rd birthday in my earlier post. That meant we had lots of special treatment in the FFF household for the little princess today. I didn’t mind too much. I actually scored quite a bit in the process of her birthday love.

First stop, school! Although not just any school day. I had to return shortly after dropping her off for a special birthday snack and celebration.

None other than “teddy bear” sugar cookies with PINK sprinkles. You have to try really hard to picture the teddy bear. I seemed to forget that the cookies spread when baking. Oh, well. The kids didn’t complain…and neither did I.

After snack, I went ahead and brought Makenzie home for the day. Then, asked her what she wanted to do for fun for her birthday.

Of course she wants to play in the fabulous ball pit Auntie “Haha” gave her. Chaos ensues with reminders every 5 seconds to “play nicely with your brother”.

One of these days my sister will have kids and I will have the joy of sharing such gifts with her children. Until then, she leaves me with no other choice than to do this…

Mwahahahaha! Payback, sister! That right there was like birthday and Christmas rolled into one. Love you, Heather!

When the ball situation (hehe) continued to spiral out of control, I suggested the library to Makenzie. That got her attention…but only if she could go in her princess pajamas. Sooooo…

We went. Let the kid enjoy the freedom to parade around in princess cozies before she reaches the age of eye rolls and scoffs. Not that that ever stops me. Ask the dude in the baking aisle during my emergency store run for cookie needs last night.

And just so you know, cookie needs go hand in hand with other needs. Which is why I got very excited to find THIS at the library…

Yessiree. I get to try the Shred for FREE. They have a bunch of other DVDs too!

And the goods don’t stop there. Look at what I found at the consignment store while picking up presents for Makenzie -

Another hiking pack for kids! We have one already and needed a second for Braedon to sit in to be able to do hikes as a family. I have looked for MONTHS! I happened to look down while getting puzzles for Makenzie…and there it was. For $32!!!! Score!

Told ya. It’s like happy birthday to me here today too. Although Makenzie certainly doesn’t mind.

Let the birthday fun continue!!! <--- aka let me finally haul my booty to the store to get stuff for the party tomorrow. Have a great rest of your Friday!

• Did you do anything special for your birthday as a kid?
• What’s the last great discovery you came across unexpectedly?