My Life

A Weekend In Chicago with the Girls

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

I’m just getting back from a girls weekend. I was able to spend several days with some of my best friends. We have been friends for 20+ years and we try to go on trips together about once every year or other year. This year, we planned a trip to Chicago – just us. No kids, husbands, pets, etc.

What does a girls weekend entail when you’re 30-something and have 2 kids? Well, it was pretty perfect. It included:

Some drinks.

Some delicious dining. Including deep dish pizza (of course!), breakfast sandwiches, homemade bagels and lox and birthday treats.

Some relaxing by the hotel rooftop pool.

Some exercise. We did one run along the lake, and one gym day with circuit training. We also took a rainy walk along the 606.

Some site seeing.

I even was able to sneak in a short visit with my friend Cuoghi who moved from CLE to Chicago last year. I was so happy to get in a quick visit with her! We enjoyed some cupcakes in the park.

I’m feeling so lucky and grateful to have such amazing friends. Despite many miles keeping us apart and many life changes over the past 20+ years of our friendship, we are still able to pick up right where we left off every time.

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have friends that you’ve kept in touch with for many years?
  • Where should we go on our next trip?

A Race, Shower and Birthday Brunch

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

What a busy, fun weekend! It felt nonstop with tons of activities packed into the 2 days. Which means that it was of course another weekend that went too fast.

The weekend started with a 5k race on Friday evening. The Sunset Sprint 5k is  a fundraiser for a board that B is on, and I decided semi-last minute to run it.

It takes place right next to the beach, so we had a little picnic and spent some time on the beach after the race.

And caught the gorgeous sunset.

Saturday morning I did an easy run and then it was time for my future-sister-in-law’s shower!

There were so many treats, including these amazing miniature wedding cakes that my mother-in-law made.

It was fun showering the bride-to-be and I can’t believe the wedding is just 2 months away!

I didn’t get home from the shower until late afternoon, so we really only had time for a little excursion with the kids. We walked to the nearby playground and had some fun while they ran around.

Saturday night, after the kids went to bed, B and I watched a movie. I stayed up for a WHOLE movie and really enjoyed it! We watched About Time – have you seen it?

Sunday morning started with a run – this time with the whole family. B pushed LM and I pushed FW in the stroller.

After the run, it was time to spend the later morning/afternoon with B’s family. This week is two of my brother-in-laws’ birthdays, so we spent some time celebrating with the family and enjoying an amazing brunch.

look how gorgeous this salad is!

FW and LM had a great time playing with their cousins and chowing down.

The rest of the evening was spent low-key – we did some meal prep, yard work, shopping and NAPTIME. Any day both of the kids nap at the same time is amazing.

Some questions for you:

  • What’s your favorite brunch food?
  • Have you ever done a nighttime race?

Summer Weekends Outside

/ 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?

When You Have a Good Weekend You Start Monday Tired

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

Happy Monday! Can you believe the weekend is over? I’m SO tired after celebrating a bachelorette. I can NOT hang like I used to. I was out until 1:30 a.m. Saturday/Sunday … but I digress. Here’s a look at how the overall weekend looked:

Friday night I ended up missing out on some of the bachelorette activities and stayed in with the fam. We ordered sushi and had dinner on the porch, which was an excellent decision for a beautiful night.  Full disclosure – the kids had grilled cheese and tofu nuggets. BUT LM ended up also eating some of the rice and seaweed salad!

 

Saturday morning, B was out golfing, so we did some playing inside on our own.

But when B got home, we rode our bikes (I ran) to the playground, and then to the farmers market!

Later that afternoon, I realized both LM and I were in dresses  – so naturally we had to grab a pic.

But then it was time to head out for the bachelorette! 

We celebrated by having drinks, dinner, more drinks, dancing and more. Is there any better way to celebrate your future sister-in-law?

We stayed out LATE. I was out until 1:30 a.m., which was earlier than most of the crew. #feelingOld

But, I have 2 kids who wake up when the sun’s up most days, and staying out so late meant not as much sleep as usual. Thankfully, B let me sleep in and I got up just before the family went out for breakfast. B had planned to take the kids to pancakes  while I slept, but I have serious FOMO and had to join them. So, I ran to meet them there.

And then did a little run on the way home, putting me at 4ish for the day. Not bad considering I was out partying late!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and hanging out. I even got in a nap when both kids were napping = win! But still — I need more sleep than that. Here’s to hoping for a restful week!

 

Questions for you:

  • How late is late for you if you’re going out? 11pm is past my bedtime…1:30 a.m. was LATE!
  • What’s your go-to sushi order?

Heat Wave

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

Hello from HOT Cleveland.

We had a super hot weekend, with temps in the 90s and “feels like” temps getting into the triple digits! That didn’t keep us from doing anything, however. We still had lots of fun!

Friday night the four of us went out to dinner at Aladdin’s, a local Lebanese restaurant. As always, the food was amazing. I love their spicy cauliflower!

It may have been hot, but we still had time outside.

Especially on Saturday. It was HOT so we spent most of the day like this. We had a birthday party to go to (Actually, it was a half birthday party) and luckily there was a pond to relax in and plenty of water toys.

AND chickens! My friend has chickens and goats, so FW loved chasing the animals around (or running from them … I’m not sure).

Sunday was another hot one. But I wanted to get in a run and had some errands that I could do while running. So, FW and I decided to get outside and get in some literal running of errands.

We first did a loop around a lake nearby that has been drained recently. We stopped for a water break (FW sprayed me with his spray bottle in the above pic) and then he took this pic of me!

Then we ran to CVS to pick up a Rx and then the bakery to pick up treats and bread. And then the coffee shop for coffee for B and then we ran home.

5 steamy miles later, FW and B were able to enjoy the treats on the front porch. AND B had made me breakfast!

The afternoon included some playing, baking and working.

B is building a fence for our garden to hopefully keep the animals out. We’ve already lost all our zucchini and tomatoes, but hopefully will get some more tomatoes if the fence goes up.

They made some great progress and hopefully the fence will be up this week!

We finished the day with dinner with B’s parents and some new cousin time.

Some questions for you:

  • Do you have a garden? What’s in it?
  • Are there deer near you?

Steamy Runs

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

What a HOT week! This week we had a heat wave and I cannot remember it ever being this hot. I mean, look at this:

For living in Northeast Ohio, this is HOT. So runs this week were sweaty and mostly done early. We are not used to this! Here is a look at how the week panned out:

Some highlights:

Sunday included a stroller run with FW. B and I had stayed out late Saturday and I was TIRED Sunday morning. It took me 2 miles to get in the groove, but once I did, it was fun to be out with FW.

Friday when I woke up, it was already 80 degrees at 5 a.m.! Let’s just say that it was SWEATY.

Here’s to hoping that it cools down a LITTLE bit this week. Heck, running in the 60s will feel chilly at this rate!

Dear weather gods – for the record, I still prefer running in 80 degrees to running in 8 degrees. And a clear sidewalk? So much better than ice. Yup, summer running still beats winter!

Questions for you:

  • Did you have a heat wave? How hot is it near you?
  • What’s the coldest you run in?

I’m linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Run Down.

Summertime is the Best Time

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 6 Comments

Can I just stress how much I LOVE SUMMER? Some people love fall, but my favorite is summer. It’s sunny, warm and there’s not a lack of fun things to do. Just being able to be outside nonstop makes me happy!

Here are some highlights from our beautiful, outdoor weekend:

I knew it was going to be a good weekend when my Friday started off with this puppy. I love it when my coworkers bring in their dogs to work! It’s so stress relieving seeing their furry faces and just being able to pet them.

Friday night, we had some friends over for pizza, beer and wine on the porch.

I neglected to get any pictures of anything but the tiny pizzas I bought accidentally. I didn’t realize a small pizza was so small!

Geraci's pepperoni and mushroom pizza in Cleveland

Saturday morning was a lazy one. LM didn’t seem to be feeling well, and there was a lot of this.

Luckily, by the afternoon she seemed as good as new. So we decided to take a walk for lunch. This is my favorite local salad 🙂

Stone Oven Jaina Salad

And FW walked the whole way there and back – a little over 1.5 miles!

Saturday night was a DATE NIGHT! B’s parents watched the kids and we went out for sushi.

Sushi 86 sushi

Followed by an Indians game. We’ve been to a lot of games this season with FW and sometimes LM, but it’s always nice to be able to go just the two of us.

Sunday morning came TOO early. After being out past my bedtime and having a few drinks, I was TIRED. I tried to shake the tiredness out of my system with a long overdue stroller run. FW and I often run to a local small lake, but they’ve drained it recently. This is what it looks like now.

The 4.5 miles FW and I did were harder than usual. But at least we had a nice .25 mi cool down around the block together!

After our run, it was time to get to work. Car wash time! FW was a great helper.

That night, it was dinner at B’s parents’ house.

We had a really great summery meal. And it was the first time that all the cousins were together! There are now 5 of them.

And then, the weekend was over. As always, too fast.

Some questions for you:

  • What is your ideal date night?
  • What is your favorite season?