Hangin' Out With the Mini! (:

It's obviously not unusual for Sydni and I to have plenty of mama-mini time whenever Joe is out of town. Our solo weekends vary from the tame nothin'-at-all days to the more adventurous days. Today fell into the category of spur-of-the-moment outing, which might seem, at face value, ridiculous considering it's still 110+ degrees out. Wellllll.. when the AC in your house is just blowing air, not cold air, it almost seems like a better avenue to get outta there for a bit. Check.

We started off with some errands, some long-overdue [grocery shopping], some just plain overlooked. We knocked out all of the more monotonous pitstops on the list and geared ourselves into downtown Belleville. My original thought was to stop and see our new friend Bulent and get some gelato, but I'd forgotten he was closed Saturdays.. this one at least. *Sigh. We spotted another digs right down the block and decided to check it out - I'm so glad we did! YAY, for local businesses!!

Welcome to Peachy! It's a frozen yogurt bar, surely no stranger to the locals, but a new discovery for us, and a perfect reprieve from the heat.

peachy | goofin' around.. biodegradable spoons, duh  ;)

i. let's see what this is all about | ii. tryyyyy it....
iii. love it, mama | iv. approval!
= a+ from the foodie critic!

Good stuff. Of course, since we were down in the heart of the Belleville local adorably unique shop district [that's obviously not official, but that's how I feel whenever I'm there!], I took Sydni in with me to check out the latest happenings at Peace by Piece. She was the smash hit of the staff, especially the owner's dog, with whom she immediately bonded and even kissed on the head before we left. I ended up ceding to a mega TOMS sale [shocking, I know], and left with some ballet flats. < First time with these; I'll have to see how they fare compared to the classics. Of course, TOMS are TOMS, and I support the core mission there, too, so I have less reservation about spending less than msrp on them today. Bwah bwah bwah.....

Oh! Almost forgot. I met Heather today, who both works at Peace by Piece and is a local artisan. Her jewelry [kindred spirit!] sells at PxP, and in an effort to continue supporting local folk, I ordered a little something that she'll be crafting. I won't say or show what just yet; I'll share that whenever she's finished :).

park baby

Anyway, from the time we got up this morning, Syd had been asking: "pretty please, can i, caaaaaan iiiiii???" to go to the park. I ultimately obliged, but not without trying to redirect her desire in another - any - other direction. It was her afternoon, but I certainly was thinking, sure kid. The park. It's as cool out as the sun's surface, but let's go to the park. ;) 

Like I said, I caved, so for a full 45 minutes, we were the only people outside I'm sure, within a 10 mile radius. Haha.

I realized I must've been asleep or somehow otherwise not paying enough attention to her all the other times we'd been to the park recently, because it seemed so sudden when she turned on some avid climbing skills. Yeah, I'm sure it's probably a standard developmental landmark, but I was prepared to aide her somehow. Not the case.

She's a regular little monkey! I'm so proud :).

mini monkey mode - she's fearless!

To my surprise, I was met with absolutely zero protest when I finally decided it was time to head home. Every surface of the play equipment at the park was "too hot, mommy, it's too hot," so after about 12 times up and down the spiral climby thing, we brought our day out and about to an end. She was asleep by the time I had the car started. Hah.

oh hey, sweat..

Now, I'd heard on the radio a day or so back that it's been clinically proven that prolonged extreme heat affects mental functioning. I think I knew that before I heard it, but it certainly made sense and I'm certainly blaming my random afternoon decision on it, too. I for some odd reason thought it would be smart to go running. Any other day, absolutely, but I'm declaring it official that the heat warped my logic so much that I actually forgot.. about.. the heat. Sad, sick irony.

Anyhow, 3 miles later, I was back home, more thankful than ever that I'm headed to Heaven when my time here is through. This weather made me think of a preview of the other neighborhood, and my sentiment on it is that that rat Satan can take and keep this weather ;).

110+ degrees. Running. Outside. I need to suck it up, I know... I just wasn't quite prepared for it today. Haha. Ohhhh well. Three miles is three miles no matter which way you spin it, even if it meant sweating my weight before I was halfway done. Mehhhh...

We are done runnin' around for the day. We're about to head down to camp out in the basement and watch The Little Mermaid for the umpteenth time. Speaking of which, as a sidenote: I was emptying out our dishwasher earlier and Sydni exclaimed, quite articulately:

"Mommy! Look at aaaaall those dinglehoppers!"
[[ credit: Mo.... haha ]]

Whoa. Moments in the life of a toddler girl's mama. Unscripted!

Haha. It's gonna be an early day tomorrow. The VBS kickoff is less than 24 hours out at this point; say a prayer for us!!

'Nite, beloved blogbots.

xo | cmd