My Hangout?

We've lived in Nashville for almost 3 years now and it still doesn't feel completely like home. One thing that's definitely preventing it from feeling more like home is that I can't find my hangout. You know what I mean - that go-to neighborhood restaurant that always hits the spot and feels like an extension of your own personal clubhouse.

I had lots of hangouts in Cincinnati (Christy's and Arthur's for example), but I just haven't found that kind of place here in Nashville. Now granted, I go out significantly less than I used to (thanks to you know who *cough* Harper *cough*), but after 3 years of looking I still haven't found my hangout.

This place is starting to come close, though. The kiddo and I had dinner at McNamara's Irish Pub tonight. 

The fish and chips was pretty darn good. 

And you just can't go wrong with one of these...

Although we didn't stay long enough to hear the live music tonight, that's definitely a selling point in my book too. Now I don't want to jinx it, but McNamara's, you and I might be on the verge of something special here.

Winning

Kids Night at Chick-fil-a is awesome. Harper eats ALL of her dinner (which was free with the purchase of my meal), gets a balloon animal (she actually got a pink guitar), and thinks I'm the best mom ever (I know because she told me)!

Goldilocks

Harper went to a birthday party for one of her buddies on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day for a party and all of the kids had a ton of fun. The party was at the birthday boy's house (brave mom) and for the entertainment, the music teacher from his daycare came and sang songs. This was right up Harper's alley! 

Harper and Robert were captivated by the singing! Robert's mom has a great blog. You should check it out!

Robert's mom sent me an email yesterday and told me that Robert is in love! He can't remember Harper's name, but he keeps asking to play with "Goldilocks"! How sweet!

The kids were singing a song about firefighters and pretending to drive a fire truck!

All good parties end with a good piece of cake and this one was no exception!

Progress

I woke up to this beautiful bouquet yesterday. My first though was "How nice!" not "What did he do?".

Y'all, that's progress!

Binky Fairies, Jesus Jukes, and Perspective

I'll be honest. Harper has been driving me a little nuts this week. She's in this phase where she pretends to be a baby. This includes, but is not limited to, speaking in baby talk, crawling instead of walking, and sucking on binkies. The kid hasn't taken a binky since she was 6 months old... until last weekend when she found the box containing all of her old ones.

To solve the binky problem, I rounded up all of the stray binkies and hid them in the top of her closet. When she couldn't find them the next morning, I told her that the Binky Fairy came and got them so that she could give them to a little baby that actually needed them. There were tears. And, yep. I lied to my 3 year old. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.

While the binky cravings have subsided, the baby talk and crawling have not. As of this morning, we are now instituting a zero tolerance policy for these behaviors. Time outs will be doled out accordingly.

I was thinking about how annoyed I was at the whole situation as I walked into the Children's Hospital this morning to get a latte from the coffee shop (I told you, desperate times call for desperate measures).

That's when it happened. I got Jesus Juked. If you don't know what a Jesus Juke is, read this.

As I'm making my way to the coffee shop, I see a mom holding a little girl on her lap. The little girl is in pajamas, her head is shaved, and there are stitches in the shape of a halo around her entire head - as in she had some type of surgery that required removing the Top. Part. Of. Her. Head.

I Jesus Juked myself.

I immediately wanted to burst into tears. Here I am being annoyed that my kid is acting in a way that I find unpleasant. And here this mom is, probably just happy that she can hold her kid on her lap.

Talk about an instant attitude adjustment.

Wild Turkey

You never know what kind of wildlife you're going to encounter in the greater Nashville area. Harper and I saw this rafter of wild turkeys on the way to the gym on Saturday morning. I would have gotten closer, but they seemed a little territorial and I prefer to run on a treadmill as opposed to an open field. If you want the "up close" experience, click on the picture for a larger version.

Saturday Snapshot

Move over daffodils. There's a new sheriff in town. 

Just as my daffodils were starting to fade, these beauties popped up. Good timing if you ask me.