Wrapping Up a Wonderful Week

Happy Friday!!! How has the week been? Mine has flown by, and it was a really great one.

On Tuesday I got to spend about four more hours than usual with Terry, because he accompanied me and Marshall to my appointment in Santa Monica. We made the most of it with lunch on Third Street before heading home. Midday lunch dates are such a treat, and Marshall generally seems happy to hang out with us at restaurants because there's so much to see.

Yesterday was a normal day, but it was a fun and productive one. We also took a long walk at the park and I even ran about a mile with the stroller. And Terry and I got to go on a date last night! I'm so grateful for family willing to hang out with our little guy. I'm getting a lot more comfortable leaving him for a few hours, and each date feels a little more relaxed. We made it a traveling dinner, with a drink and appetizer at Chez Melange (I cannot recommend it enough!), sushi at a local place we liked well enough to try again, and dessert at the Melting Pot. Fun fact:

Yep! We had planned for weeks back in May to go to the Melting Pot for a big date night. We thought two weeks before the due date would be enough time, but nope. I went into labor the morning we were supposed to go out, so we finally went last night. Did you know you can customize your chocolate fondue? We had no idea. I wanted dark chocolate (I always want dark chocolate), but almost all the menu options call for milk chocolate. Luckily we checked with our server, and she told us we can mix and match any way we want! She suggested dark chocolate, sea salt, caramel, and a shot of Bailey's. Hello, amazing. We looooved it!

This morning Marshall woke up extra early (so much for my wish), but Terry was getting ready for work so he offered to let Marshall play in the living room while I kept sleeping. I gratefully accepted and snoozed a little longer before finally getting up at 7. A while later we were off to meet my new friends!

If you remember, a few weeks ago while my parents were in town I mustered up the courage to introduce myself and Marshall to two other new moms walking along the beach. We've stayed in touch since and they invited me to walk with them today at the beach. I set out to meet them at 10, arrived on time for once, and then checked my text message only to discover it was supposed to be 9, not 10. Ugh, mom brain strikes again (<--dude, remember that horrible incident???).

I texted my new friend to explain and apologize, called Terry to inform him that he married a lunatic, and then got a text back from my friend saying that she had messed up too and that it was supposed to be 10! Ha! Luckily mom brain was attacking both of us, and it worked out. I met up with three other moms for a long walk, and we even invited another mom (who was just walking solo) to come along. It was so fun to chat and compare motherhood stories!

After that 90-minute walk (whew!), Marshall and I took it pretty easy the rest of the day. I took some fun photos of him (I'll share for his five-month post next week!), and when Terry came home we all went to the pumpkin patch!

(I'll share more photos in a full Halloween post, but this one of Marshall eating the pumpkin was just too funny.)

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this little pumpkin patch on the side of the road, but it was just fine for our little family. They even had some animals (goats, pigs, a bunny, two chickens, and a turkey), so Marshall got to see that. We bought a pumpkin, took some photos, and made it home by 6:30. Not bad.

Tomorrow we're all heading out (yet again...man, we don't go far nowadays but we sure do go often!) for a little trip to Palm Desert. My parents invited us ages ago (before we knew I'd be visiting them the week before!), and it should be nice to relax, enjoy some good food (we're ordering lasagna to eat in from my parents' favorite place down there), and do laundry (yes, that's a luxury). I'm sure my parents are getting sick of me, but we're looking forward to the trip.

And that wraps up the week! Another great one around here, and lots to look forward to as we approach Marshall's first Halloween. We have a couple costumes for him but nowhere for him to wear them. A nearby town is having a Halloween festival next Friday, so hopefully we can make it to that, but I guess pictures will have to suffice this year. Next year, though, I'm totally using my child as an excuse to either throw a party or dress up to go trick-or-treating.

Any fun costume ideas this year? I've always wanted to go as William and Kate, but we haven't gone anywhere for Halloween in years.

How does the weekend look? I'm just thrilled that Terry's home and we're getting to spend some quality time together!