TGIF!

For some reason, this felt like the longest week. Wednesday felt like Thursday, so it felt like we had a 6-day work week for some reason. Here's what's happening in my world!

The book I'm reading is Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin. This is a modern-day retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice set in a Muslim community in Toronto, Canada. This is from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide. I'm really enjoying it so far!

An article I read was this piece about late walkers by Emily Oster, author of Cribsheets and Expecting Better. She's an economist that analyzes data related to decisions parents make (what daycare to choose, whether to breast feed, whether to get an epidural, etc). I love her non-alarmist voice on things. The (short) article on late walkers was reassuring as she reminds readers that while the average baby walks at 12 months, the range of first steps is wide: 8 to 18 months! The fact that Paul was not walking was really bothering - and then he took his first steps last night! And not just a few - many! He was really holding out on us!

The high of my week so far was watching Paul take his first steps!!! See the video below! I was obviously VERY excited! I love how instead of just taking a couple of steps, he took almost 10. He was holding out on us! I also had some fun meals out with friends. On Tuesday I went out for lunch with 2 women that I used to work with in a previous job. I met these ladies in 2007 so our lives have changed so much since we met. We don't get together as often as I'd like so there's always so much to catch up on! On Wednesday night I had my book club at a local pizza place (the owner won a James Beard award this year!) that has awesome GF pizza. I love seeing these ladies once a month!

The low of my week was Paul getting sick. Again. This summer has been a bit brutal. It's been one thing after another. I thought this would be his healthiest time of year! We had to pick him up early from daycare on Monday as he was just not his usual happy self. He had a fever and has a bad cough/cold. He seems to have inherited my awful immune system. I was a sickly kid that caught things so easily and he seems to be following in my footsteps. 

A recipe I made was one-pan sausage and pepper pasta. We made this again, even though we just had it a couple of weeks ago. I love this dish as it comes together quickly, requires very little 'active' cooking time, so is perfect for our hectic week nights, and only dirties one pot. I chop the sausage and peppers up ahead of time so it comes together extra quickly. Score! 

The best money spent was on a new Kindle paper white on Amazon prime day. My 5 year old Kindle has been a bit slow lately and doesn't hold its charge for as long as it used to. Between the prime day sale, my trade in of my Kindle and extra savings from doing a trade in, I spent $50 on the new Kindle. Plus I had a $40 amazon gift card that I got through a wellness program at work so I only spent $10. Woo hoo! I also splurged and bought a 23andme DNA kit. I've mentioned wanting to take a DNA test for awhile so Phil pushed me to buy one when it was 1/2 off on Prime day. It'll be interesting to see what my results say!

My plans this weekend include staying in tonight, which is what we usually try to do on Fridays since we are both tired. Tomorrow afternoon we are going to a family reunion for Phil's dad's side of the family. Phil's dad passed away 5 years ago, but we are still very close to his extended family. I really enjoy spending time with this group. His cousins are all waaaay older than Phil and me, like they have kids in college or kids who have graduated from college! But the age difference doesn't matter and we like hanging out with their kids, too. Plus there are no new babies so Paul gets A LOT of attention! I'm bringing a taco salad for our contribution. My aunt brought that to our 4th of July celebration. I hadn't had it in many years (seems like a kind of retro salad!) and it was so yummy! On Sunday Paul and I might hit up a farmer's market in the morning with friends and then in the afternoon we might try to go to an outdoor "Pops Symphony Orchestra" performance at a lake nearby. I love pops orchestras as they usually play fun songs like Gershwin or songs from popular movies! Hopefully it won't be too hot/humid on Sunday so we can hit that up.

Bonus Paul Pic

My little reader!

Paul carried this hedgehog toy all the way up the stairs (which is quite a process for a toddler!) to bring it to me so I would open it up (the hedgehog spikes are stored in the body). He loves this toy so much!

What was the high of your week? Did you buy anything during Prime Days?