Happy new week, friends!  Finally, I had a weekend in which I did NO work – although that doesn’t mean that we relaxed.  (Relax – what’s that?)  Saturday was Nugget’s second birthday, so the day was completely given over to celebrating – with playground fun in the morning, then party prep errands in the afternoon, and finally a pizza dinner in which the birthday boy had Mommy and Daddy all to himself on Saturday night.  Peanut was invited to a movie night and pajama party at a friend’s house, so we packed her off with her little backpack and took the little dude out for an evening of fun all by himself.  He definitely enjoyed having the undivided attention of two parents, but he did ask where Peanut was a few times.  (I don’t think Peanut missed us at all.)  Sunday was Nugget’s birthday party, which we held at a local recreation center’s soft playroom.  It was a blast and Nugget loved running around with his friends.  I think the little guy felt very loved and celebrated all weekend.  We sure are happy we have him!

Reading.  Last week was surprisingly productive on the reading front.  D.C. is in the midst of a looooooooong effort to refurbish the Metro tracks (and hopefully make the trains a lot safer) and this month, as a result, trains are single-tracking in the corridor where I happen to live.  The result has been infrequent and very crowded trains.  I only read if I can get a seat – holding those big library hardcovers in one hand while hanging on for dear life with the other is just not easy.  I can usually get a seat, but last week the trains were so crowded that I found myself standing most days.  Since so much of my reading time is crammed into commutes, I was pretty surprised to see that I actually finished three books and started another even despite the commuting woes.  Hidden Figures was the highlight of the week – now I can’t wait to see the movie.  I also finished The Hopefuls, which I liked pretty well (even if I wanted to smack 75% of the principal cast by the end of the book) and American Born Chinese, which was also good.  Now I’m about a third of the way through Princess Elizabeth’s Spy – such fun.  It’s all about staying on top of the library stack!

Listening.  I have a personal victory to report – I’m down to less than seven hours to go in Middlemarch on audio!  Since the audiobook was over 35 hours long, this is a BIG deal.  Thanks to crowded Metro trains for all the progress – thanks to seats being scarcer, I’ve been reading less and listening more.  I can report that both Rosamund and Mr. Casaubon are just as infuriating and insufferable on audio as they are in print.  I know you were wondering.

Watching.  Other than cartoons, we haven’t watched much of anything.  I’ve embarked on a campaign to convince Steve that we need to watch the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries.  We’ll see how that goes.  But in the meantime, for next week at least, I’m looking forward to more Rock the Park.

Making.  A birthday party for Nugget!  The theme, naturally, was fire trucks – so I made lots of fire-themed snacks and little placards to go with them.  We had “fruit flames” (pineapple and strawberry kebabs), “veggie flames” (little shots of red, orange and yellow peppers in ranch dressing), “fire hoses” (twizzlers), and “matchsticks” (marshmallow lollies with red sprinkles) – plus sandwich platters and a fire truck cake.  I loved putting together a fire truck party, and the guest of honor had a blast – which is what counts, of course.

Blogging.  It’s all about wrapping up winter (even though we’re supposed to get six inches of snow – what?!?!) so on Wednesday I’ll share the final tally of my winter list, and on Friday we’re moving on to the spring list.

Loving.  Good old Pinterest – I have to give them a shout this week.  I got so many comments and compliments on the fire truck snacks and the punny little chalkboards I made to explain what they were and how they tied into the theme – and while I wish I could take credit for all of that creativity, I’ve got to give credit where credit is due.  God bless Pinterest, and God bless all those moms who have thrown “fire truck birthday parties” before me and pinned their visions!

Asking.  What are you reading/watching/making/loving?