Remember that song? Can you believe that it was released in 1993? I used to be a Counting Crows fan.

There hasn’t been a ton going on around here. My mom arrived last Thursday and leaves this Thursday. I think this has been our most low-key visit to date due to Finn being sick the first half of her stay and her catching Finn’s cold for the second half.

Finn came down with a cold early last week and it’s been a doozy. Instead of getting better as the week progressed, it got worse. He was running a fever and had a very upset tummy by the end of the week so my mom and I took him into the pediatrician on Friday afternoon. Turns out it was a good call because he had his first ear infection so he’s on antibiotics for the first time.

I called the nurse again yesterday to check in on Finn’s tummy and she told me I was the fourth mom she’d talked to that day about cold + GI stuff. She said there’s some kind of combo virus going around. Fun times.

Like I said in my post last Friday, at least he’s been happy through it all. You guys…this picture. I feel like I’m going to blink and he’ll be behind the wheel of a real car.

I’ve been running a lot. Always my go-to when dealing with things that are hard. <3

I know Zoey misses Sullie a lot but the distraction of my mom being here and the extra love that comes with it has been helpful. She stays close.

Also helpful, having a baby brother who adores you. Finn loves Zoey and is constantly patting her. His latest trick is starting to throw her ball, which is adorable.

I had a very quiet birthday weekend (it was last Sunday), which was exactly what I wanted. Our big outing of the day on Saturday was to the Matthews Farmers Market and then to Brakeman’s for coffee. Other than that, we stayed close to home and went to the park that evening.

On my actual birthday, Dorie dropped by first thing that morning with a gift. I was still in my PJs and making breakfast. She had this painting of Sullie done by a local artist. How beautiful is this? We were all in tears.

I subbed a yoga class that morning and took a yoga class that afternoon. Other than that, I kept it very simple and quiet. It was just what I wanted this year. I expanded more on this here. <3

My mom and I talked about going out but since it was Sunday, most of the restaurants that I really wanted to try or go to were closed. I suggested cooking at home and perhaps going out another night. I did gorgonzola gnocchi (from Trader Joe’s) with spinach stirred in. I served it with sautéed mushrooms from the farmers market and crispy prosciutto. On the side I seared a few scallops.

This was the highlight of my whole entire birthday…

My dad thought my dinner came from a restaurant!!!!!!!!! For the record, it was restaurant-quality delicious. 😉

Sweet, sweet Cristina from The Batchmaker baked me a cake in honor of Sullie. I had a hard time celebrating this birthday because of Sullie and all that has transpired over the last year but something about this cake felt right.

It was a chocolate cake with peanut butter filling. It was iced with chocolate frosting and garnished with more peanut butter stuff. I’m telling the truth when I say that I think this was the best cake that I’ve EVER had before. It blows any bakery cake out of the water. It just tastes homemade and like the cakes of my childhood.

Okay, that’s a good start on a catch up of what’s been going on round here.

I’d love for this conversation to flow both ways and for y’all to share what’ been going on in your lives too! 

What’s your favorite cake flavor combo? 

Are you a quiet/small celebration birthday person or a “birthday month” kind of person? (no judgement either way!)