Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way-
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

St. Patrick's Day 2010

I’m getting so anxious for the days of long stroller walks with Marley, playtime at the local parks, sitting outside on a blanket in the warm sun, and long summery weekends spent lakeside up north.  This summer will be a bit more interesting, with our Miss Marley all on the move like she is now!  She’s going to be hop-skip-jumpin’ all over the place, splashing in the outdoor pools, canvassing the backyard with her BFF Sasha!  I can’t wait!!  I have plans for mini pots of flowers…….maybe Marley can help momma master this gardening thing after-all.  My attempts to keep flowers, shrubs, you name it , alive in the past have been very weak, at best!  Anyway, I fell it coming…….summer, that is!  The countdown is on!

In the meantime, we’re planning some fun indoor activities to keep us entertained until the snow really does melt!  Marley is all signed up for her first session of swimming lessons!  Starting April 9^th, she’ll be a Sea Turtle, taking swim classes at the Y……parent/child swim classes and I’m so excited!  This girlie has loved water ever since she was born!  Bathtime in our house is always a BLAST!  And when Marley was younger, bathtime was the only thing (well, besides nursing) that soothed our Little Miss Colic!  I think it will be fun to see her splash and play in a pool, learn to blow bubbles, and just get her feet wet (no pun intended)!

With Easter fast approaching, I’m desperately searching for a fun, crafty Easter basket idea for Marley.  Any ideas?????  Send them my way!  I’d kind of like something that I can use every year………working on building traditions, which is something that I love so much about having a child.  Not that Travis and I didn’t have traditions before, but now they are a bit more meaningful and we take time to think about how we will implement them year after year.  Example:  Travis and I had to have a discussion as to whether or not presents from Santa are wrapped or unwrapped under the tree.  In my house growing up, they were wrapped…….and Travis said, “Well, a smart kid would catch on to the fact that Santa uses the same wrapping paper as mom and dad!”  Was that supposed to be an insult?!  In his house, they were unwrapped, so you could quickly spot the Santa gifts……….and so he won that battle and we left Marley’s Santa gift unwrapped this year.  It’s all about compromise, no?  And I figured since I’m the one that wraps everything, I’ll be saving myself time in the long run!  Tradition #1 in the bag…………………….now for Easter!

Looking forward to a fun filled weekend with family!  Dinner and a trip to the Mall of America Aquarium on Friday night with Travis and Marley, a trip to Faribault to visit the fam, and possibly a zoo outing…….getting our money’s worth for that membership, that is for sure!  Best $80 I’ve ever spent!

We’re also really looking forward to a few other plans in the not-so-distant future:

1.  Photo Session with Casey at her new studio location in Hopkins!

2.  Another weekend at the cabin in late April!

3.  Cinco de Mayo…………why?  Because in exactly one year, my sister-in-law will be tying the knot in beautiful Naples, Florida!  Can’t wait!!