I was on vacation from last Tuesday to tomorrow… So, it feels like a gigantic weekend! Let me say though… vacation when you are a freelance writer and mom is not the same as when you take a vacation from a non-work-from-home job or school. I felt like I was ON the entire week and BEHIND the entire week. I’m so thankful for wonderful family who let me get some time on my computer and helped so much with my toddler. The week would have been impossible otherwise. And, it was so nice seeing family!

For some of my family this week was the first time they got to meet my son. And, for others, it was the first time they’ve seen him as a toddler. That part of the trip was amazing. I loved seeing how he responded to my (and my husband’s) family. I loved seeing how our families responded to him.

I hardly took any photos of the trip because I was entirely too busy catching up with friends and family  or wrangling a rambunctious toddler. But, below is a quick overview of my week via iPhone photos!

Row 1: 1. X and myself had the opportunity to meet a friend’s kiddo that we’ve only seen so far on Instagram. I had a good time catching up with his mom (a friend from high school/college years) while X his new pal played. X was cranky though….so, it was a quick visit. 2. My youngest brother got to meet his nephew for the first time… they look so much alike! 3. My sister and her husband watched the kiddo so I could have an evening out with my two BFFs from H.S. It was wonderful catching up!
Row 2: 1. One of my best friends from HS has an adorable 10-month-old boy…X loved hanging out with him! He pushed him around in the stroller. It might have made my baby rabies come back a tad. 2. My sister showed X how to play trombone. He loves music and had a blast in his aunt & uncle’s music room. 3. My sister (doesn’t look a thing like me) took me out to pedicures. SO NICE. It has been ages since I had a pedicure and my feet NEEDED it!
Row 3: 1. One of the restaurants we visited had a pool table and the little guy was enthralled with how my brother hit the balls. 2. It is hard sharing the bed with a toddler. 3. X got to meet some of my husband’s side of the family while we were in TX. Made me miss my honey!

After eating way too much delicious pie on Thursday I needed a low key weekend. And, though we got a LOT done, we didn’t DO much at all. I’m actually really looking forward to see all the fun {Weekend in Review} posts, Instagram pics, and tweets that are linked up this week. Someone out there had to have done something for St. Patty’s Day weekend!

Friday I went with some friends and my little guy to the Portland Aquarium in Milwaukie, Or. I didn’t go in with any expectations at all because I hadn’t really heard much about it. And, in all honesty, I have mixed feelings about the experience.

The good:

• Hanging out with my friends and the kids while they were oohing and ahhing over the fish and sea-life was pretty awesome. My son was entranced. He loved every moment.
• The staff was awesome. One guy in particular was so good with my son and comfortable in his job. He was holding a giant snake and I didn’t feel like fleeing… so, that is a bonus. I’d like to teach my son to be interested (safely) in things that creep me out. I was thankful there was someone there explaining about the snake and introducing it in a safe way to my son.

• The price was fairly expensive in my opinion. My son was free (he is under the age that starts charging), but my ticket was $10 for a five room facility with two of its exhibits down. I also bought $5 dollars of fish feed… at the time I thought it was way too pricey for the amount given, but I had some left over still after visiting all the rooms, so I feel like that was probably pretty reasonable. And, the kids LOVED feeding the fish. 
• I was glad that they had hand washing sinks in several of the rooms. The floor was dirty. And, go figure, the place smelled like fish. I was in severe need of several hand washings.
• I didn’t find this out until after visiting…. but, the owner of the Portland Aquarium has been in some pretty nasty legal issues lately. They are not involving the Portland Aquarium, but rather a similar facility in Boise. While I love the idea of my son and other children learning about wild-life. I feel like it should be in a completely legal, safe, and good-for-the-animal kind of way. 

* This post was in no way sponsored by The Portland Aquarium. I did not receive anything from the Portland Aquarium. I paid for my own admittance into the venue.

And, whoa… this weekend was a blur of fun! It was go-go-go and I am still recovering. So sorry for getting out my {What a Weekend} post and this linky party so late in the day!

Friday— The hubs, kiddo, and I hung out with our friends Joan and Brandon. Hubs bought me tulips for International Women’s Day. He is also brought some for my friend Joan! (He is a winner.) We played Cards Against Humanity and had so much fun. I’ve been wanting to play that game for FOREVER. It did not disappoint. I wouldn’t want to play with just anyone… but, with close friends it was fun.

Saturday– The sun was shining in Portland! YAY! I went by Bettie Page Clothing and tried on some beautiful clothing with my friends Bee and Macey. We each got to pick out an outfit to wear to the Portland Bloggers’ meet-up. It was fun trying on such classic vintage styles. I had such a great experience at the shop that I know for sure I’ll be going back again. I’ll be posting more about my dress when I get the pictures back from the event!

Photo by a fellow Portland Blogger via Instagram @jennmccormick  Jenn’s blog is A Home in the Making

Sunday— The Portland Bloggers meet-up has been such a huge effort on so many people. I feel like the event was a complete success. I can’t wait to read everyone’s updates on the event, what they learned, and see the images that our photographers captured! I’m still exhausted and have tons of after event work to finish off. Today though, I just watched as Facebook and Twitter went crazy with fun updates!

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What did you do this weekend?

Link up your posts/tweets/instagram pics of something you did this weekend.

 I’ll share some of my favorites on Sunday for my {What a Weekend} feature post!

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