cincinnatti

One of my close friends from high school lives down in the Cincinnati area, and she graciously invited Patrick and I to come stay with her family for a couple of days.  We had a really nice visit, despite my toddler's increasing amount of tantrums and protests.  Parenting is getting harder and harder!  Or should I just say it's becoming more frustrating?  I'm learning how truly patient I am capable of being (or how fast I can fly off the handle).

Probably the best part of this trip (besides seeing Megan) was the food.  Now you all know I love my food - I never miss a meal, and I seriously appreciate some good eats.  We got spoiled by Megan's husband multiple times.  Our first night there he made us an Asian stir-fry with all the fresh veggies I brought them, and instead of rice he used quinoa, which was amazing (and so nutritious!).  My heart was beaming as I watched Patrick inhale all that goodness.  Then we all busted out our smart phones to figure out the correct pronunciation of it.  I always thought it was QUIN - o - UH.  Nope, it's KEEN - wah.  Stupid.

The next morning he made us egg, cheese and canadian bacon sandwiches on English muffins.  And even chicken sausage to go with it!  Megan got hers made in a heart shape.  (I know, who the hell is this guy?)

The suburb that Megan lives in has some amazing parks so she took us to one that was situated on a lake where you could rent paddle boats, walk trails through the woods, run around a splash pad, cook out in the shelters - it was just a generally beautiful place.

More good food included Dewey's Gourmet Pizza for another dinner (Pat and I got half garlic, half killer veggie minus olives - oh yeah, and a salad with peppercorn ranch dressing which is only my favorite of all time), as well as Graeter's Ice Cream for an afternoon snack.  There I had a black raspberry chip and Patrick had strawberry.  I cannot even explain how delicious this ice cream was.  It was so smooth and creamy, and the chocolate chips weren't chips but chunks.  OMG.

I know this sounds crazy, but I really enjoyed the car ride with Patrick.  I was a little anxious about how he'd do, but ended up loving the time we spent together.  He was a gem for the majority of both trips.  It's a 3.5 hour drive so it's no piece of cake.  What got us through?  This bad boy.

dual screen portable dvd player

I know most of you are going "WELL DUH I've had one of those for years."  It was $89.99 at Target and worth every penny.  This kept Patrick occupied for hours.  I bought his first real movie - Toy Story - but he didn't want anything to do with it.  We watched over 10 episodes of Dora the Explorer.  What a joy.  By the end of the trip home I turned on the radio on up front and jammed out to some country. 

And obviously we had snacks.  A lot.  My Patrick's newest favorites are all from a recent trip to Trader Joe's - mini peanut butter crackers, real mozzarella cheese sticks, and clementines. 

Thanks for an awesome gettaway Megan!  We'll miss you and baby Miles!