Reporter Turned Mommy

Mad Dash to the Sunshine State!

What a whirlwind of a weekend! This weekend, we made a planned trip to see my husband’s mom in Florida. She spends winters there and has been gone sine Jan. It was a VERY quick trip, just Fri-Mon…which can be a challenge with a toddler!

We flew into the Tampa airport on Friday and the weather was gorgeous! Dean’s mom’s condo is about a half hour from the airport, near St. Pete Beach. We immediately got into our bathing suits!

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I prefer taking Blake to the beach over the pool. At this stage it is MUCH easier! He can run wherever he wants on the beach, splash in the water, and not really get into any trouble. The pool is a whole other story. I worry about him falling on concrete or into the pool. While I love pools too, I also prefer the beach, even when Blake isn’t with us!

We had a great time running and playing in the sand!

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Here’s Blake with Grandma!

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And Blake with me! It was very hard to get him to stop running for a picture!

My MIL’s condo isn’t far from the famed and historical Don Cesar Hotel. We always like to stop there for a quick walk through or drink.

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The weather was, of course, beautiful for our entire short stay. Dean and I managed to have a “date night” on Saturday, too. After we all went to dinner and put Blakey to sleep, we went to a nearby restaurant to listen to some live music…..

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by Dean’s favorite local guitar player, Tony D!

Here’s a picture of Dean and Tony D.

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We got back to Cleveland yesterday afternoon and it was 65 and sunny! Not bad at all!

It was a great, relaxing weekend, I just wish we could have stayed one more day!

As a side note,…I really enjoyed all your comments and views on my last blog post,“When to start school…to red shirt or not to red shirt?”. (If you missed it, you can read it here) There was a spirited debate on my personal facebook page as well. Both sides brought up great points. I invite you to “like” my Reporter Turned Mommy Facebook page by clicking here and we can keep the conversations going, not only on my blog, but facebook page as well!

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Destination Revealed!

Temperatures in the mid-80′s, blue skies, bright sunshine, sand beneath my toes…and live chickens and roosters around every corner…where were we you ask? KEY WEST BABY!

My husband and I,  his two brothers, Chris and Matt, and their wives, Laura and MJ, all spent a long weekend at the Casa Marina Resort in Key West!

Casa Marina is a Waldorf Astoria hotel and the only hotel in Key West with its own, private beach!

Here’s a look at our beach at sunset.

Here’s our happy clan! From left, Chris is in white, behind him Matt and MJ, Laura and of course Dean and I! This is a shot of us watching the sunset at Mallory Square!

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting about our trip. In the meantime, I have a lot to take care of around here. Once I get settled, I’ll take you through our trip and show you our favorite spots during our long weekend in Key West!

How did you spend your Presidents Day Weekend?

 

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Shorts in Feb!

Last week, my son and I flew down south to be with my family for five days. The weather was perfect! I packed jeans and long-sleeved shirts for us, but it was even warmer than expected! Blake LOVED running on the beach! He’s been to the beach a few times, but this was the first time he REALLY enjoyed it!

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It was hard to get good pics of him because he was constantly on the move! His hair also looks red in this pic…which it’s really not!

During our stay, my brother and I had a brother-sister day in Savannah.

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I hadn’t been to Savannah in probably ten or 11 years. It was great to do the “touristy” thing and take in all the sights. We stopped by Paula Deen’s restaurant, Lady and Son’s.

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We also stopped by a local wine store and did a tasting of some local Georgia/Carolina wines.

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The wines were…um…how do I say this nicely…not my taste? haha I did end up buying a bottle that I can use to make sangria this summer. I always feel guilty and end up buying something in a store like this one, even if I don’t like what they are selling!

My brother and I ended the day stopping by food network star Robert Irvine’s newest restaurant, NOSH , for dessert.

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Dessert was awesome! We ended the day grilling out at my parents house. Check out their backyard visitor!

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This alligator has been in the pond in their backyard since November! Scary stuff! He or she seems to to mind his or her own business and we do the same! As you can imagine though, we don’t let Blake anywhere near the pond!

Coming up this week….I’ll be blogging more about my trip, traveling solo with a toddler, and my new “clean living” diet!

How was your weekend? What did you do for the super bowl? Did you like Madonna’s halftime show? I LOVED it!

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