Last week we drove up to Tahoe for our yearly trip to the snow. This is always a top request from William, he is my snow lover and could play outside in it all day. We had the best time sledding, having snowball fights, soaking in the hot tub, playing uno & scrabble, drinking hot chocolate and watching Toby experience snow for the first time too. We also stayed super close to the lake so we were able to catch a gorgeous sunset before a dinner in town. This kicks off our 2025 travel and this might be one of my favorite snow trips to date. Long before Chris and I had kids and even before we were married we went on a trip to Tahoe with a bunch of friends and going back up there in the winter with snow all around always makes me nostalgic for that first trip we went on allll the way back in 2012!
Somethings I cooked this week that absolutely loved:
Pineapple Chicken Tacos – these were 10/10 SO delicious. I have them on our meal plan again for this week!
Dole whip – I apparently was on the pineapple trend this week because I made this for dessert in our nutrabullet 3 nights this week! I can’t wait to make as the weather warms up! I restocked my freezer with frozen pineapple.
We also grilled burgers yesterday – nothing says spring / summer like grilling. Last year I realized how conveninent it is to pre season a bunch of ground beef and pre make patties. I know they sell the pre formed patties but those are often so meh. They are rarely seasoned and just don’t turn out as good. But last summer I found I can just make my own version!
Random Somethings:
Will got his baseball uniform this week and tried it on and I swear looked 4 years older. Next weekend is the start of the season and games.
Saturday it was actually 70 degrees and I swear I could feel the winter funk thawing out of me. It’s amazing what warm sunshine can do!
I started reading the Silent Patient and am halfway through. So far I’m loving it.
Speaking of reading I officially joined a book club and I’m pretty happy about it. I think it’s gonna be a great way to read books I wouldn’t necessarily pick up on my own and just a fun way to meet new people. The first book we’re reading is Women of the Sea!
We finished rewatching Schitt’s Creek and I’m sad it’s over. That show is just so good. Chris and I both already agreed to re watch again in a few years.
The warm weather has me so excited for spring that I stopped by the nursery this week and picked up a ton of seeds. Will has been asking to start planting things. Although my garden is in need of some serious TLC because I kind of just let it go wild this winter. So that’s one of my goals this week is to tackle cleaning out my garden beds and start some seedlings. Last year I fell in love with planting flowers to cut. Getting to go out into the garden and cut flowers and have mini bouquets brought so much joy all summer long, so I bought a TON of flowers and plan to plant them all over our yard and garden!
Last month we went on our first trip in exactly one year! We went on a road trip & visited Yosemite. A few months leading up to this trip Will started enquiring about seeing snow. We landed on visiting Yosemite, because as much as I wanted Will to see snow, the idea of three days with a toddler & infant with snow as the main / only attraction did not seem like my idea of fun. So we landed on going to Yosemite & it was the perfect getaway! I thought I would share what hikes, trails we went on that were kid friendly, info about snow play areas etc in case you find yourself in a snowy yosemite with a toddler & 6 month old!
Cooks Meadow – Located on the valley floor, this trail has incredible view of half dome & Yosemite Falls & you are surrounded by beautiful meadows. There are boardwalks that make pushing a stroller easy. We were able to pull off the trail and have our lunch in a meadow with Yosemite Falls in the background. So serene.
Lower Yosemite Falls – This is a 1 mile loop that is paved, easily manageable with a stroller or a toddler. (although when did this hike it was day 3 & will was exhausted so he opted to ride in the stroller, but on any given day he could easily have walked this trail!)
Badger Pass Ski / Snow Play Area – did you know Yosemite had a ski resort?? I did not, until researching for this trip. At the time the actual ski resort was closed & lifts were not running. however the snow play area was open to visitors. William had a great time sledding. We took our monkey mat and put it down in the snow & Johnathan got to watch. We also packed tons of food for this portion – I premade a batch of chili for our trip, heated it in the morning & stored in a XL Thermos. When we got done playing in the snow we had a picnic in the back of the car with warm chili! I would say be sure to pack lots of food because to & from badger pass there is very little / no food options & I did not want to risk and hungry toddler or husband after playing in the snow for two hours!
Tunnel View – If you’ve been to Yosemite you’ve probably stopped at Tunnel View – there’s not much to do, it’s purely a vista, but I love stopping there & taking it all in! (I just popped out of the car to grab a few photos, no pulling toddlers out of carseats for this stop.
Things to consider
If you are planning a trip to Yosemite be sure to check which entrances are open, because many roads are closed during the winter months.
Be sure to check if reservations are required to enter the park as of Feb 2021 they were.
Depending on accommodations, at the time we booked our trip the Awahnee was still closed for overnight guests, however we booked an airbnb about 30 minutes from the gate. Something to consider is the driving factor – although we were only 30 minutes to the gate, often our actual destination was an hour or so away. So it made for LOTS of time in the car.
We loved our airbnb, it had stunning mountain views, a hot tub that you could enjoy the sunset from & was SUPER kid friendly, including a play structure, miniature horses & everything from highchairs to pack n plays! This is the airbnb link in case you are looking for a place to stay!
Have you ever visited Yosemite in the winter?? I would love to hear about your experience or your experience taking young kids to national parks! After this trip Chris & I are really making an effort to take the boys to more parks around us! Leave me your favorite parks in the comments below!
On Sunday we took William to the Academy of Sciences. He had been there once before a few months back, but slept the entire time. This time we went right after he woke up from his afternoon nap so he was able take it all in! Earlier this year we decided to get a membership since we live less than 10 blocks from the museum. Even though it was a rainy Sunday, because we went at the end of the day, most people had already left the museum or had already been to some of the bigger exhibits like the rain forest portion so it was surprisingly empty! As I anticipated William LOVED it! It was so cool watching him look at the butterflies in the rain forest, & try to touch all the fish at the aquarium! We only spent a little over an hour but honestly I think that’s the best part about getting a membership, since we live so close, it’s easy just to go for an hour or two & then leave & not feel bad or feel like you wasted paying for admission. After going on Sunday I can’t wait to keep taking him back there & watching him take in more and more each time! We are heading to my parents to spend the weekend & Christmas & I’m so excited for his first Christmas.
As a new mom this phrase, I said I’d never but, I already have, speaks to me. I’ve just barely dipped my toes in this motherhood journey & I’ve already quickly realized that you can have all these grandiose ideas about parenthood & how you plan to raise your babies & sometimes you have to throw things out the window.
“I said I’d never but I already have” pretty much encompasses how our first week of parenting went. We never planned to formula feed. We had mixed feelings on introducing pacifiers, we certainly never anticipated spending time in the NICU . In some ways I’m thankful that our journey forced us to toss our plans out the window & just move forward.
One of my biggest I said I never woulds – the Google machine. As an ER nurse I know googling random medical questions is a cardinal NO NO. In fact it’s one of the fastest ways to get an eyeroll in an emergency room. As a new mom I found myself struggling to fall back asleep after Will’s 5am feeding, knowing he’d be awake again in 90 minutes. So, I unhealthily spent most of that early morning time on Google: wondering if his baby acne was something more, if his head looked too flat, if I should worry that he favors looking to one side and on and on. Every nurse bone in my body would yell at me to stop! Usually by day break I would have talked myself down… Once William started sleeping through the night I found myself not doing it quite as much but every once and awhile I’ll find myself scrolling through a mom forum discussing things that I know I don’t need to worry about it typing something absurd into Google!
I think motherhood is all about walking this line of sticking to your guns but also making concessions on things when it’s what is needed. We weren’t super into the idea of pacifiers, but in the NICU they use them all the time for the babies, especially during procedures. I wasn’t about to sent him some of that comfort because of what I’d been told in a breastfeeding class. So our “no pacifiers” went straight out the window. And guess what? Life moved on. He continued to breastfeed without issue despite what lactation consultants would tell us and ironically at nearly 7 months William has little to no interest in pacifiers
What are some concessions you had made early on in motherhood? What are other things that you don’t budge on?
I know there will be more. Probably today. We’re leaving this morning for Miami & then tomorrow we’re heading to the Caribbean for a week. Wish us luck.
We took William to the pumpkin patch last week! He loved it!! There was so much for him to take in & he loved touching all the different textures of the pumpkins. Will is turning 6 months old next week, it’s so crazy to think he’s half a year old! He’s just getting more and more fun each day!!
Last weekend we packed up, dropped Juno off at pet camp & headed north for Calistoga! We stayed at Indian Springs Resort & we loved it. Our room was awesome. It had a great little balcony so when Will went to sleep around 7:30 Chris & I would head to the balcony & play cards & drink wine! This was our first getaway as a little family of three. We’ve taken Will to my parents house but he’s never stayed in a hotel. We really wanted to go on a trip to get him more accustomed to new places but we didn’t quite want the stress of flying yet. He’s typically a great napper on the go, but I think the heat was to much for the little guy because he definitely struggled to nap when we were out & about. I can’t blame him though it was hot even for us! Luckily he slept wonderfully at night! William also got to go swimming for the first time this trip! We’d wake up in the morning I’d feed Will really quick & then we’d head to the pool before it got too hot. It was great because the pool was empty that early in the morning. The pools at Indian Springs are natural hot springs so the water is around 92-94 degrees this time of year. William loved it. He was so relaxed, he would start sucking his thumb & closing his eyes while he floated! It was wonderful to get away for a few days & enjoy the summer weather & just recharge. We’re in SF for the next few weeks as I wrap up my maternity leave & then in September we’ll be take Will to Austin for the first time! YAY!
I finished week 3 of BBG last week & I’m LOVING it! I’m so excited to start week 4 tomorrow. I’m doing the program with two friends & it’s so much easier when you have other people keeping you on track. We don’t do the actual workouts together, but we keep one another motivated with a group chat.
This pumping bra is awesome! I ordered it on amazon & highly recommend it. So if you’re a new momma & are looking for a great & cheap pumping bra check this one out.
This weekend we took William out to brunch & he did so well, he was just sitting on Chris’ lap just taking it all in & then decided he’d spend the second half of brunch snoozing.
Chris & I started watching The Crown on Netflix & it’s SO good. I wasn’t sure if I would like it but the show is really well done. We realized we knew very little about the Royal Family at the start of the series & each episode we end up googling something that comes up.
We got William a little activity seat (it’s what he’s sitting in on in the first photo) & he looks SO big to me! He’s still a little small for the seat & doesn’t love it right now, but when he’s in there holding his head up he already looks so grown up!
I’m starting to plan out my work schedule when I return & even though I’m not going back to work until mid September, I have to submit my requests for my schedule at the end of this month & it makes it feel closer than it is. It’s so bittersweet thinking about having to go back to work. It makes me so sad to think about leaving William for 11 hours at time but I’m admittedly getting a little stir crazy being at home with not much on the calendar
Chris & I went on a date this weekend, we went out to dinner & to a Bob Schneider concert. It felt so nice to get out for a few hours.
Below are some of the workout songs I’ve been loving. I usually listen to “Firestone” station on Pandora & then I get ideas for what to put on my Spotify playlist.
Happy Friday everyone. Yesterday was the summer solstice & a few friends & I took Will to the San Francisco conservatory of flowers. The conservatory is a ten minute walk from our apartment & a $6 entry so it made for a perfect afternoon adventure.
And last night was Chris & my first date!! We went to our favorite restaurant that does a delicious multi course food and wine pairing.
This weekend we have some friends coming to visit us and the weather is supposed to be AMAZING in San Francisco. Happy summer!
Last night we took Will to his very first Giants game, we went for a friend’s 30th birthday. It was so great to get out and do something social, plus it was a great test to see how Will would do staying out past his bedtime! He did great at the game & was able to sleep at night when we got home. So I’d say it was an overall great success!
I finished week 3 of BBG last week & I’m LOVING it! I’m so excited to start week 4 tomorrow. I’m doing the program with two friends & it’s so much easier when you have other people keeping you on track. We don’t do the actual workouts together, but we keep one another motivated with a group chat.
East Bay Mama 