Happy Monday after Mother’s Day!  I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend celebrating the moms in their life, and being celebrated too, if you are a mom.  My little family made me feel special all weekend.  Saturday was a bit gloomy – we’ve been having lots of grey and misty, and even some rainy, weather here lately and Saturday was no exception.  I’d planned to run some errands on Saturday morning – nothing too exciting – but plans changed on Friday when I discovered that my friend Lauren was in town from Buffalo with her family.  Lauren was a friend from Stroller Strides (my favorite exercise class ever) and it had been way too long since I’d seen her.  She’s had a baby since we moved away, and I hadn’t even met the new little one.  So I fired off a text and we decided to meet up at the Natural History Museum on Saturday morning.  We had a fun morning hanging out with Lauren, her husband and their two kiddos and checking out the exhibits.  Peanut, predictably, loved the gems the most, and Nugget was into the ocean life exhibit.  I didn’t see much of the museum – between keeping an eye on wandering kids and catching up with my friend, my attention was occupied.  But it was a great morning!  Sunday dawned clear, sunny, and H-O-T.  Finally!  The kids gifted me with a couple of books and an art print of Old Town row houses (sweetest!) and then we set off for my morning request – a Mother’s Day hike, of course.  We hit up Mason Neck State Park, which Steve and I hiked once six years ago.  They’ve done a lot of work on the trails and boardwalks since the last time we were there, and it was beautiful.  I think we’ll definitely be adding it to the regular hiking rotation.  (Recap coming on Wednesday!)  I spent naptime on Sunday reading, and after Nugget finished playing in his crib and not sleeping, we took a walk to the library (returned books only! no checkouts!) and the playground, FaceTimed Nana, and stopped in the fudge shop for a small treat.  I ended Mother’s Day in the best way I know – curled up in Nugget’s rocking chair, with a cuddly baby passed out on my shoulder.  Thanks, guys, for giving me such a great weekend!

Reading.  It was a busy week at work, and a bit crazy overall, but pretty productive on the reading front.  I finished The Hate U Give last Monday and can absolutely see where all the raves are coming from.  However, I needed something lighter after that, so I picked up Mother Daughter Book Camp, the seventh and final installment in the Mother Daughter Book Club series (which I have liked more and more with each book, so I’m extremely sorry to see it end!).  The last installment was as cute and fun as expected.  Next I read Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, after seeing it recommended by a few book bloggers.  It was fine, but didn’t blow me away.  Finally, last night I picked up the Folio Society edition of Anne of Green Gables, both because it’s on my spring list to read anyway, and because I really needed it after watching the first episode of “Anne With An E” – read on.

Watching.  So, on Friday, Netflix dropped the first season of Anne With an E, the new – darker, grittier – adaptation of Anne of Green Gables.  I’d heard raves coming from my Canadian friends, who have already seen it, and was cautiously excited.  I was expecting the flashback scenes of Anne’s traumatic past, so was prepared for that.  But what I wasn’t expecting was the liberties that were taken with the plot in general – especially one major change at the end of the first episode, which had me so shocked and disappointed that I threw up my hands and declared I was done.  It’s too bad, because it’s gorgeously shot and acted.  I wouldn’t have minded if it was just “showing the darker side of Anne’s past instead of just insinuating it” but what is the purpose of changing plot points that Montgomery actually wrote?  That bugged me.  (I also didn’t like the sixth Harry Potter movie, for the same reasons.)  Anyway, I think I’m done with Anne With An E, unless my Canadian friends convince me to give it another go.  After that, Steve and I both needed a palate cleanser, so it was back to The Great British Baking Show we went.  We finished the first series that is available on U.S. television (although it was clear there were previous series) last night.  What a fun show!  We both get more into it with each episode.  It’s magic.

Listening.  Not too much to report here.  I did more listening last week than I have been doing recently, and made my way through a few queued episodes of The Book Riot Podcast, then back to The Great Courses: Classics of British Literature.  I’ve just wrapped up the second lecture on Shakespeare.  It’s a lot of fun, and so interesting.

Moving.  Same as usual around here.  Hikes, chasing Nugget, and wishing I had more time for my running shoes.  Sunday was a pretty active day, with a hike in the morning and then a walk to the playground.  (I don’t just get to the playground and then sit down on a bench, you see.  I run up and down stairs, lift Nugget on and off the swings and teeter-totter, catch him as he comes down the slide (and he also insists that I “do way up high!” – a.k.a. toss him in the air – when he comes off the slide) and chase him away from the landscaping around the edges of the playground.  It’s actually quite a workout.

Blogging.  All trails this week!  I have a recap of our Mother’s Day hike (for the 12 Months Hiking Project) coming on Wednesday, and musings about growing up on the trails on Friday.  Check back!

Loving.  I’ve got two things I’m loving this week.  One, of course, is my sweet little family, who made me feel so loved and celebrated on Mother’s Day.  I’m a few years into this journey now, but still grateful every day that I get to be a mom (even if it is exhausting sometimes).  On a lighter note, this week I was also loving a new Twitter account that just started up – @ObamaPlusKids.  The account is dedicated to posting a picture every hour of President Obama interacting with kids of all ages, and the cuteness is almost too much to bear.  Some of my favorites – tummy time in the Oval Office, and the pint-size Pope in a plastic Popemobile trick-or-treating at the White House – have already been posted, and there are so many more that I’ve seen for the first time, every one absolutely adorable.  (So many babies grabbing President Obama’s nose!)  If you’re on Twitter, go follow them ASAP.  It’s a much-needed lift right now.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?