Summertime During a Pandemic

August 17, 2020August 16, 2020 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Another month has gone by and we’re another month in a pandemic. It’s strange, really, sometimes it feels like life is normal and we’re just having our own normal summer … albeit in masks. But then other days, my anxiety catches up with me and I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to keep things up.

Anyway, we’ve had a pretty good past few weeks. Besides all the running I’ve been doing in the mornings (I reached 100+ days of my running streak!), we’ve been keeping busy outside as much as possible while the weather is still nice. Here’s what we’ve been up to:

Using Grandma and Grandpa’s kiddie pool! It’s been great to go over there and spend time outside.

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November Is Here

November 4, 2019November 4, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Wow – can you believe it is already November? Here’s a look at what our weekend entailed:

Friday night sushi. Because I haven’t had some in a while and it hit the spot!

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Summer Weekends Outside

August 5, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

What a FUN weekend in Cleveland! We had such a good time hanging out and doing ALL of the things OUTSIDE. That’s right, we had pretty much perfect weather and hung out outside from Friday through Sunday.

First, I was able to take off early on Friday and surprised FW at daycare pickup early. We hung out for more than an hour at his favorite playground and it was glorious.

Then, on the way home from the playground we picked up pizza and ate it on the porch for dinner.

LM chewed on her crust for a while. She has been teething for … months now? We’re still waiting for one of her top teeth to pop. She has had 3 teeth forever it seems!

Saturday morning, FW helped me make some muffins.

Then, while B mowed the lawn, FW and I did some weeding.

That afternoon, we headed over to my friend Emily’s house for her son’s first birthday! LM loved the food.

And their dog!

FW loved the kiddie pool.

After the party, it was nap time. Which meant it was time for me to do some more baking!

And when the kids woke up, it was pretty much time for dinner. We ate it once again on the porch.

After dinner, B built a fire and we roasted marshmallows.

And since it was such a nice night, B and FW decided to camp out in the backyard.

Sunday ended up being super low-key. Nobody slept well Saturday night (in the tent or not), so we were all a little grumpy in the morning until nap time. The day included some meal prep, naps for all, and more meals on the porch.

And, a stroller run for the entire family! We hadn’t all run (the 4 of us) in AGES and it made me so happy to be out with everyone.

And per usual, we spent the night at B’s parents’ house, enjoying dinner with B’s family. They have a swing set, so FW got in some more swinging before we ate.

And here we are, back at our week. Weekends go by too fast, don’t they?

Questions for you:

If you had the chance to take a half day of vacation, what would you do with your time off?
Have you ever camped out in your backyard?

A Few Days in Ithaca

July 8, 2019July 7, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

And just like that, the vacation that I have been looking forward to for several months is over. Earlier in the year, we had planned a short getaway with my parents and brother. We had decided to check out the Finger Lakes, finding an AirBNB in Ithaca that would host us for the few days. My brother flew in from Berlin, my parents drove in from Albany and we all stayed together.

The trip was great. It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with my family, and LM and FW loved all the “Nonna, Grandpa, Sweetie and Uncle Greg” time. We also had a good time checking out the city and some nearby sites. Some of the highlights included:

Grabbing dinner and ice cream around Ithaca Commons.

Hiking to and splashing around Taughannock Falls.

Lunching and wine tasting at Thirsty Owl Winery.

Exploring the area – I went running along their waterfront path one day and my family and I took walks as well.

It’s always hard to finish vacation, but this one is especially hard because of the great family time we had. I don’t know when my parents, brother and I will be all together again!

Some questions for you:

Have you been to Ithaca?
Do you vacation with your family?

LM Turns One

May 27, 2019May 27, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

This weekend is brought to you by the letter F. F is for First birthday, Friends, Family and Food — all wonderful things and well, I’m still smiling over what an amazingly wonderful weekend it was.

Friday was LM’s first birthday. That’s right, LM turned one over the weekend and I can’t believe it! While I’m still emotionally recovering, we had a blast celebrating. Friday celebrations started off early – I took the afternoon off and we were able to get the kids early from daycare to spend some time at the playground. Both LM and FW loved the swings.

And then we took LM to get her first ice cream. No photos of her, but FW loved his 🙂

Friday night, B and I actually got in a date night. My parents came into town, so B and I snuck out to grab drinks.

And then we had tickets to see the Indians – they won!

We even made it out for an after dinner drink on East 4th.

Saturday came early (especially after staying out late Friday), but was filled with celebrations — it was LM’s party! She enjoyed her first cake.

B’s mom made the cake and cupcakes – isn’t she amazing?!

LM thought so. She got frosting in her nose 🙂

The weather was PERFECT and FW enjoyed playing with his friends, cousins and of course, me.

After Saturday’s perfect weather, Sunday turned out stormy. We managed to catch a break in the rain and made it to the Zoo with my parents.

LM is still a little too young to enjoy it, but FW had such a blast. His favorite animals are the giraffes and elephants, and he got in some quality time with both.

Monday morning my parents left, and we hit up the local Memorial Day parade. It starts about 2 miles from our house, so B rode with the kids on the bike and I ran over.

Post-parade included some hot dogs at Grandma and Grandpa’s house, followed by a run home.

Aftet naptime, it was time for bbq #2, this time at B’s uncle’s house.

FW had some more fun and food with his cousins and LM did some assisted walking.

And that was the end of our perfect three-day weekend. Cheers to the unofficial start of summer!

Some questions for you:

Did you watch a Memorial Day parade?
Did you get outside this weekend?

A Rainy Easter in CLE

April 22, 2019April 22, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

We had a rainy weekend in Cleveland – it rained pretty much nonstop from Thursday afternoon through Saturday evening. It made for a flooding backyard, some indoor runs and a REALLY early wakeup on Thursday to run before the monsoon started. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s a little snapshot of our Easter in CLE.

Friday, schools were closed for Good Friday, so I worked from home while watching the kids. (Meaning, I got up and worked, entertained them, worked while they were napping, did more entertaining, and then worked again at night) BUT because of the aforementioned rainy weather, we were stuck inside for pretty much the entire day. Thank goodness for play-doh and art projects!

Saturday brought MORE rain. So, we spent the morning inside doing some spring cleaning – FW even helped out!

I popped on the treadmill for a few miles, and then after naps, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to color eggs. FW had a blast dumping them in the dye.

We stayed there later than we intended to and all of a sudden it was dinnertime. Thank goodness for Aladdin’s takeout – it satisfied everyone in our house, even FW (the picky eater) and LM (who loved my hummus, beans, peas and rice!).

Sunday was Easter morning! We started with an Easter egg hunt for FW and LM.

Then, after Mass, it was time for Easter. We ended up spending all day with B’s family and FW and LM got to play with their cousins.

Look at that big table!

After Easter, we did finally get outside to enjoy the finally nice weather. It had stopped raining, leaving us with a gorgeous afternoon!

Some questions for you-

What was in your Easter basket growing up?
What’s your favorite holiday from a food standpoint?

Weekends with Family

April 15, 2019April 16, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

I love weekends with family! And this weekend was one of those weekends, as my parents were able to come into town to visit. The last time they were in Cleveland was October, so it had been some time!Friday afternoon coincidentally was a grandparents’ event at FW’s school, so they got to see him in his element as he performed a song and then they watched a puppet show.And then Friday night included pizza from our favorite local place – Marottas! They had been closed for renovations, but they reopened about a week ago. So yes, this was our second week of pizza pickup from them. I love roasted garlic on the pizza!Saturday morning, the whole family walk to breakfast at Luna. Their almons croissants are amazing.Followed by a little time on the playground. The weather was perfect!In the afternoon, we celebrated our friend June’s first birthday. She had a kindermusik class, and both LM and FW had a blast!

Sunday morning came too quickly. After some bagels, my parents were on the road again and it was time to say goodbye.

As they drove back, we had a relatively low key day. We did not get in any of our usual weekend chores – no grocery shopping, meal planning, cleaning, etc. Instead, I caught up on work and then got outside for a run.

That night, we celebrated B’s sister Mary’s birthday. That ends what seems like a month of birthday celebrations for B’s family! FW will be disappointed not to sing Happy Birthday at next week’s dinner.

Questions for you:

How do you handle grocery shopping? Do you go once a week or when you need to something?
What’s your go-to bagel?

A weekend of celebrations

March 18, 2019March 18, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

It was a busy, busy weekend for us- it reminded me of our weekends before we had kids when we just packed it all in. We had 2 birthday celebrations, brunch and more.

Friday started out with a work of Saint Patrick’s day party. We play the game with lucky charms and sadly I did not win.

Fridays during Lent mean no meat. B was originally going to make some veggie tacos, but we didn’t have any of the ingredients (whoops!) so we ordered takeout. Sushi is pretty much my favorite.

Saturday morning I had either a 5k on the schedule or 7 miles – I opted to do 7 miles and I’m glad I did. It was hard – I haven’t run that much since before LM was born and more than a year ago, but I was happy to have finished it.

Saturday afternoon, we celebrated B’s mom’s birthday. We started with some fun at an escape room.

And then, it was off to shuffleboard.

FW had fun hanging out with his cousins.

FW had fun until he took a spill. He split his lip in a few places and it was a little traumatic for all involved.

Sunday morning started with St. Patrick’s Day brunch! B invited over some friends for some traditional Irish food.

This meant eggs, soda bread, potatoes and lots of meats.

FW had fun playing with Celia.

That afternoon, FW had a birthday party to go to. He and LM were celebrating Clara’s 3rd birthday.

FW had a blast running and jumping around in the gym.

As did LM 🙂

Sunday night, we didn’t have dinner at B’s parents’ house since we had spent half the day with them Saturday. So, we did some meal prep and even made meatballs and sauce – FW was a great helper!

It was a fun but busy weekend – I’m glad we did so much but I’m also hopeful to relax a bit next weekend!

Some questions for you:

Are you a Lucky Charms fan?
Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?

Valentine’s Week Runs and Sick Again

February 17, 2019February 17, 2019 / Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Week! It was a nice week here, minus a few of us (me and LM) being sick. I just had a cold, but LM had a double ear infection. She’s on meds now and hopefully gets better soon.

The week included some fun, including a visit to FW’s classroom.

I helped him do a craft.

While this one stayed home sick. She was sent home from daycare with a fever and after taking her to the dr we found out about her ears.

We also had a very thematic dinner.

I preferred the dinner B made me, though. White wine, grilled veggies and tuna are a few of my favorite things.

We had some more good eats this week, including Aladdin’s takeout. FW loves their pita quesadillas and I love their hummus so it’s a win win.

I also got in my first outdoor run in what feels like forever! I did take a spill at mile 2 – I was running up a small hill and I saw what looked like a water mane break in the road and it had splashed on the sidewalk. Just as I had stopped to run on the grass and avoid the large puddle/ice, I of course landed on a sheet of black ice and went DOWN. My leg got wet – and by the end of my run, it had turned into ice crystals on my pants!

Speaking of running, here’s how the week looked. Monday is when I started feeling sick again and Tuesday and Wednesdays runs were pretty slow and involved some walking as well. Thursday I was up earlllly with a sick baby (see above) and didn’t get in a chance to run. Weeks like these make me glad that I’m not yet training for the Cleveland half marathon – I was able to just take it easy and run or walk or do whatever I wanted, without feeling guilty for messing up my training.

Despite the spill, I was so happy to be outside for Saturday’s 5 miler. I’m grateful for the treadmill but also getting tired of having to stay indoors!