Highlights from our “staycation” Spring Break this year…

The start of Spring Break was AMAZING. This was my view when Spring Break started on Friday at 4:00…

Andy took the kids to his parents for the weekend without me! I was alone for 48-hours. And I made use of every single minute. I purposely did not schedule any specific girlfriend time. No coffees, no happy hours, no dinners, etc. I cleaned out closets, I rediscovered my dining room table under PILES of stuff, I empty drawers, etc. It felt so good. In the end, I got rid of TWELVE garbage bags of clothes/toys/shoes and a large box of books.

I will confess I attended a CAbi clothing party my friend throws annually. I have not been in town for it since right after Henry was born and I was not in the right mind to buy new clothes at that point. I was not planning to make any major purchases this time either. But the sales lady had me at the brand’s newest addition – pants for people with hips/thighs, but no waist. Ding, ding, ding…that’s me! All of my pants gap in the back and it is no fun. CAbi now carries select “Curvy” options and they fit amazingly well. So, of course, once I was sold on those I had to add some matching tops.

Then the kids came home and my dad arrived in town. We did some fun things with him like hike at Sharon Woods and have lunch at the Rootbeer Stand.

And some not-so-fun things with him like clean out our PTA shed. Half of its contents were also trashed. Necessarily. Spring cleaning was going well everywhere!

Since I cleaned out the girls’ closets, we needed to do some spring shopping. Stella has been begging for a bikini. She was surprisingly over-the-moon when I brought home the swimsuit on the left. It looks extremely similar to her swimsuit on the right so I’m fine with it. She won’t stop talking about her new “bikini”. Win-win in my book because I thought it would be immediately rejected.

We had some great weather and took advantage of impromptu backyard play dates and patio picnics with neighbors and friends. Bike riding and getting lost in the backyard woods are definitely favorites right now. I’ve done way too much muddy laundry. Spring is definitely all around.

Because it rained and rained and rained. So I took the girls to see Cinderella. And I cried like a baby. At least 3-4 times…maybe more (no spoiler…ALL the parents die…but you meet them first this time around…and you love them). “Have courage and be kind” – sounds so simple, but a great reminder. I’m a sucker for Disney films and this one was no different. I enjoyed every minute.

We finished up Spring Break by hosting Easter for about 30 people. The weather was gorgeous and the egg hunt was exciting. Nothing like watching kids hunt for plastic eggs with their names on them while being pummeled with chocolate eggs thrown by their great uncles. They made it rain chocolate.

And today we played school-skippers. Opening Day in Cincinnati is HUGE. The Reds Opening Day Parade is a tradition. We caravanned with four neighborhood families and met another four families downtown. We set up camp and cheered and clapped all afternoon while dressed head to toe in red. It was a fantastic way to end our break.

I will admit, I’m not sure who is sadder about returning to school tomorrow…the kids…or me. I’m more than ready for summer…bring it!

How was your Spring Break?