Theoretically...

Theoretically, I'd be posting something worth reading about (for what that's worth).  But it's been so long since I have felt like I've had a split second to jump on here and do anything that any and all good ideas have fled my mind.  Instead, I'll just say that my favorite thing lately has been teaching Abby to say "Oh, fiddlesticks" when something frustrating happens.  She has taken this phrase and made it her own.  She has to go down the chute (in Chutes & Ladders), puts her pants on backwards or drops a book that she's carrying? "Oh, fid-del-steaks..." 

And sometimes, it amuses me to mess with her a little.  Cruel?  Nope, fun times. 
Abby: "I want to cuddle with you in the QUI-ner."
Me: "The QUI-ner?"
Abby:  "NO, the QUI-ner!"
Me:  "The QUI-ner?"
Abby: "In the RE-QUIner!" 
Me:  "Oh, okay."  :-)  (Who am I to turn down cuddles in the recliner?)

This is where I draw the line

As a mom, I find myself often debating between the "cuddle with them while you can" mentality and the "they have to grow up and learn" point of view. Our little bugaboo is a daddy's girl, through and through. This has kind of made my waffling on the cuddle/let them cry issue a smidge harder because when I actually have the chance to cuddle with the munchkin, I want to. Well the tides have turned lately, and my sweetness has been seeking ME out more than normal, even at the expense of loving on daddy. 2 things are happening here concurrently to allow for such an anomaly to occur: 1) April is the month where Ben is never home because it's the heart of track season (case in point: yesterday was the only day out of last week and this week, including Fridays and Saturdays, where he did not/does not have a track meet and 2) our child is one very spurty--she'll go through a spurt about _________ regularly so that when one ends, a new one begins. A rare I-want-to-cuddle-with-Mommy stage has started right when I'm really her only option. In fact, I'd be willing to wager that "cuddle" is her #1 word right now, and she's perfectly healthy at the moment, so it's not an under the weather thing happening.

How can you turn down so much 2-year old loving?!? Here's how: at 2:54 a.m. when you're having a decent night's sleep after having a lousy night of sleep. At that point, I draw the line. Instead, she got a re-tuck, a quick kiss on the forehead and a very quick and definite NO, I'm not cuddling with you right now speech. Even then, there was that small part of me who was totally on the Ab-stigator's side, pulling for her, trying to talk my logical side into kneeling down on the floor so that I could get into prime cuddle position. And you know what, I hope that part of me never really goes away. Who wants to always be logical about warm, fuzzy moments?

I finally remembered and had time to write a new post about something. Lately, I've been coming up with lots of them at, just usually at inopportune moments, like 2:54 AM!!

I know that I've said this before...

...but I'm just going to say it again. We love staying at bed & breakfasts! It also makes for a lovely Spring Break getaway. Leave the young'un overnight with the grand-parentals and get a night away where we can remember a) what it's like to not have a super early alarm clock and b) what it's like to just BE.

What is it about a bed & breakfast that their inevitable array of coffees, teas and hot chocolates are enough to make me ecstatic? I mean, I have all of these in my own house, yet I don't stare at my pantry and drool enjoyably. I don't drink 3 cups in a row of ______________ just because I can. Why not?

And how can you not love a night away where the cost of the room also includes a serious breakfast including orange juice served in champagne flutes? (Granted, that was a little weird.) But the homemade pastries and super delish fresh fruit were all that I love about eating breakfast out.

If booking a bed & breakfast, a screened in back porch should be a must. In actuality, they always have these groovy common areas where it's just so darn relaxing ensconced in some funky, comfy chair, sipping _______________ while playing board games. It's the basics of comfort! And it's so...darn...relaxing! By the way--I won our Scrabble game.

I highly recommend a suite if possible. Give yourself and your traveling partner some space. And find a room that comes with alternate seating other than the bed; a sweet little armchair or recliner does wonders for one's mental state of mind.

And, I played my first Wii game and lost, by only 3 points, to the hubs in bowling. A Wii shouldn't be a prerequisite for a good B&B, but finding fun surprises most definitely IS.

Above all, my theory is that if the place is well stocked in oodles of comfy, then it doesn't much matter where it is. I don't mind some amount of boonies because that just means that I have to sit back and drink another eclectic mug full of Keurig coffee while the most mental stress that I face is deciding whether to read or play a board game. That's the kind of Spring Break that fits my lifestyle.

Ultimately, I can replicate the beverages, but how in the world am I going to re-create the breakfasts??