Weekend Update - Busy Bees

Last Friday, it was a quiet evening. We mostly just sat and watched the news like many others did that night. On Saturday, Little Miss had her first swimming lesson. It went well. Mostly the purpose was to get the kids in the water and having fun. I can't speak for all the kids, but ours had fun. After, we managed to survive lunch and a bath before Husband and Little Miss went to a birthday party. Little Miss had so much fun that she didn't want to leave. In the meantime, I went out with a friend to Sarah Pekkanen's booksigning. It was a lot of fun and Sarah Pekkanen was just as gracious and friendly as ever. Her new book, The Best of Us, looks and sounds great. After, we went to grab a quick bite and I ended up beating Husband and Little Miss home.

On Sunday, Little Miss lived up to her promise of waking up early and getting me up. Traditionally, Sundays are Husband's mornings with her. However, if she asks for the other, we accommodate her. So, we had brunch and then head to my parents' house. My sister came over to hang out with Little Miss. Then, Mom, Little Miss and I went and ran some errands before staying for dinner. Little Miss really loves the attention and spending time with them both and the cat. After dinner, we head home where Little Miss fell fast asleep. That concluded a super quick weekend.

Books Read in December 2011

1. Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis (NOTE: This is part of the Lucky Harbor series. The order in which to read can be found here.)
2. Cowboy Cassanova by Lorelei James (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)
3. 22 Brittania Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
4. Love, Accidentally by Sarah Pekkanen
5. Only Us by Susan Mallery (NOTE: This book is part of the Fool's Gold series. The order in which to read the series can be foundhere.)
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Decent book month. I read 2 book club books - December's and February's and a couple of short stories. They were all ebooks this month.

Skipping a Beat

I wanted to take this time and space to recommend you read Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen. I was lucky enough to win an ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy) in a contest. The book really takes off in the first chapter, and the author is super lovely. If you have a chance to read the book, do let me know your thoughts, and, if you have nice things to say, you can find the author on Facebook and Twitter. The book is not my usual genre of romance, but I branch out every so often (more often than not lately). I suppose, if I had to choose a genre, it's kind of in between Women's Literature and Chick Lit.

Weekend Update - Friends and Family Fun

I actually don't remember Friday night so I'll assume nothing happened. I believe we watched some sports while we ate dinner and then I went to bed because Saturday is my morning to wake up with Little Miss. That's how my usual exciting Friday nights go.

On Saturday, I woke up with Little Miss. She had a light breakfast and was pretty good. We played and watched a little tv. Then, I left to meet up with friends and go to the Gaithersburg Book Festival. My one friend just got engaged and was kind enough to ask both Little Miss and me to be in her wedding next year. I'm positive Little Miss will make the cutest Flower Girl ever. We all had fun, had ice cream (which is very important when having fun) and got to meet Sarah Pekkanen and Sarah Blake. Both authors signed books for us as well. I didn't get the opportunity to read either book before Saturday, but I can't wait. They both sound great and I loved hearing the authors read their own work. (Sidenote: Sarah Blake is also an adult film star so if you want to visit her website, I'd recommend clicking on the link provided and not just randomly type in a website you think is hers.) Then, my friend and I had dinner at Dogfish Head Ale House.

Little Miss had a great day with Husband. They went to buy new shoes which is her favorite thing in the world and went to the playground. Little Miss took a 4-hour nap and basically woke, had a light dinner and went right back to bed. So, good Saturday all around.

On Sunday, Husband got up with Little Miss. Then, I got up for breakfast. Husband took a nap because he wasn't feeling well and I put Little Miss in for a quick morning nap. Then, we all went to Sister's house for Nephew's birthday party. He's 5! Nephew had a construction party and here is a photo of Little Miss hammering little "nails" (they're really tees into styrofoam). Little Miss was really looking forward to going all week. It was really cute. She had so much fun with all the big kids. Then, she had fun playing with her cousin. At one point, Nephew got injured and Little Miss got in trouble for not eating a good dinner, but Nephew thought Little Miss was getting in trouble for hurting him and, amid his tears, he cried, "It's not Little Miss's fault!" It was very nice of him to think of her and protect her. He was also a good big boy and gave Little Miss some trains of his. This is huge because Nephew is a big train enthusiast and he values his trains more than any other possession.

Little Miss was equally as excited to go home because, without her afternoon nap, she was tired and borderline cranky. So, after dinner, we went home, gave Little Miss a bath and she asked to go to bed. We put her to bed even though she hadn't eaten much all day, and she slept straight through to this morning.

Good, exhausting weekend!