Some Day I'll Have the Energy Again...

I've had a sinus infection for days now that followed a pretty horrendous cold last week, so my energy level has totally been in the toilet lately. I just started antibiotics yesterday, so I should be good as new very soon. It's like no amount of cafffeine that I ingest will make the teeniest bit of difference. I really need to get back into the swing of things here in blogland--I'm definitely missing out!

This weekend we got a wonderful and fun visit from my father and step-mother, who traveled down from New Jersey for the day, and we got a glimpse into all the fun activities that lie in store for us through the summer now that we live in Ashburn. On Saturday, after my parents arrived (and got the grand tour of our new house!), we decided to go into Leesburg, a historic colonial town about 10 minutes away, for lunch. We had no idea that there was a huge street festival going on that had many of the downtown streets closed off. It was an annual plant and garden event, with stalls all set up to sell some of the most amazing crafts, plants and other implements for gardens. We walked around for a while on what had to be the most gorgeous day of the year (sunny & about 72 dry degrees) and had sandwiches out on the lawn of the town hall, where a live band performed on a stage. Samantha had a blast, dancing (in her unique Samantha way) and eating PB&J and an ice cream cone. This was the first time we’ve ever given her a cone to hold on her own, and she did great, as you can see from the photo! My father questioned the mess she was making of her clothes (he was just looking out for me, since he knows what I’m like…), but heck, all her clothes are washable, and ice cream is supposed to make a mess.  I tend to be a little overly-neat with her sometimes, but mainly when we’re inside and I don’t want mess to go all over the place. I’m trying to relax a bit more about it, though, since I don’t want her to feel that she can’t try or touch new things. She’s so funny when she has something on her face—she’ll take a napkin and very gently, very carefully, hold it in both hands and pat her mouth. I can’t help thinking, “uh oh, what have I done?” Aren’t kids supposed to get dirty?

On Sunday we bought a car. My mom and step-father have been sooooooo gracious to have lent us one of their cars for the last year so I could commute back and forth to work. But it is definitely time to return it and get something slightly bigger that we can put a baby seat in (having a baby seat in only one car has proven to be logistically challenging). So we narrowed down our choices to a PT Cruiser and a Suzuki Aerio, and the Aerio won. It was an ex-loaner from a dealership that had only 6,100 miles on it, so it still has that new car smell. Love it! It’s nothing fancy, but has loads of head and leg room and is a very comfortable ride with just the right amount of bells and whistles to keep us entertained and happy. I’m very, very happy with it, and look forward to my horrid commute to work every morning!