An Anniversary, a Park Playdate, and a Rowing Machine

Yesterday was my hubby's and my second wedding anniversary. The traditional gift for the second anniversary is cotton. I got him a new (mostly) cotton golf shirt, which he desperately needed. Then we went out for a nice dinner at a local wine bar. I miss wine. But I did greatly enjoy the "Around the World" cheese platter (all pasteurized, I checked!). And the tapenade appetizer. And my entree. And dessert of course. But I digress. In honor of our anniversary, here are some photos of the wonderful day my beloved and I got hitched.

Yesterday Miss and I also met a friend of mine and her son at the park for a playdate. It was a beautiful day and Miss had a great time playing with my friend's little boy, who is only five days older than she is. She got to practice lots of sharing. She loved playing in the sand. There was one toy in particular I enjoyed watching her play with. It was a bulldozer-type truck toy that she alternated between making truck noises and pushing it in the sand and putting the handle of the toy over her arm and carrying it like a purse. I couldn't catch the truck-purse carry in a photo, but it was quite cute. Speaking of photos, I forgot my camera again and only could get some not-so-great photos with my phone. However, my friend did remember to bring her camera and she generously sent me the great pics she took and said I could use them here, so thanks K!! The park we went to had a very cute play area especially for toddlers. Unfortunately Miss and K's little boy had very little interest in playing on the toddler equipment. They went straight for the big-kid stuff, complete with twisty slides, a hanging bridge, and a climbing wall. They didn't play on all those things of course, but they enjoyed climbing up and down the steps and crossing the bridge a lot. After lots of hard playing it was time for lunch. We got out a blanket and had a picnic, which was great fun except that Miss really did not want to sit still and eat. The only thing that kept her seated for a short time was the strawberries that K brought. Miss had very little interest in the sandwich, banana, and raisins I brought for her lunch. K was the woman of the hour with her strawberries, which she generously shared (as you can see from the photo in which Miss had her mouth full of them). Overall we had a great time with our friends.

I have recently come to discover that my very favorite pregnant exercise is the rowing machine. Love, love, love it. It is low impact, but really a great workout. It works core muscles as well as targeting some specific muscle groups (shoulders, back, arms). I can get on and row a while as a workout in itself, or I can row a bit and then do some other exercise(s), then row a bit more, etc. It helps me to focus on trying to relax all my muscles except the ones I need to use to do the exercise, and consciously relaxing my muscles is something I'm practicing to be prepared for labor. I love to do pilates too, and often pick a workout from the CrossFit Mom website, but when nothing else is interesting to me, I can jump on the rower, get in a great workout and feel good all day.

P.S. Several months ago I blogged about possibly getting a minivan. I couldn't do it. Well, I probably could have, but after much thought and shopping, my hubby and I decided that a minivan would not quite suit our needs (very large roadtrip vehicle capable of towing a boat). What you see in the background of the above pictures is our solution to the new vehicle dilemma, the Ford Expedition. I love it and have not had a moment's regret about getting it. Best vehicle I've ever owned. It's fabulous for roadtripping, and I don't have to drive a minivan. Enough said. Of course, you could call it a "Swagger Wagon" if you want to try to give it a funny name in an attempt to make it cool. This commercial is pretty funny (click the above link if you want a good laugh).