West Side Market

On Saturday, we went to the West Side Market which has been running since 1912. It's an indoor marketplace that sells meats, fresh vegetables and fruit, fresh seafood, baked goods, dairy and cheese products, and fresh flowers. It's home to over 100 vendors and is quite the bustling place (which caused some problems when navigating with our double stroller). We had a lot of fun seeing all the unique things for sale and ended up purchasing some fruit and veggies. We also had lunch at a place located in the market called Steve Gyro's which was featured on an episode of Man vs Food. We always look up Man vs Food stops whenever we visit somewhere new and we haven't been disappointed yet (except that one time Andrew got food poisoning while we were on our honeymoon, but I enjoyed what I ordered so I still count it as a win).

After we finished at the market, we explored the surrounding area and got Mitchell's Ice Cream for dessert. If you're ever in the Cleveland area, I cannot emphasize enough how necessary it is for you to get some Mitchell's Ice Cream. I can confidently say it was the best ice cream I've ever had.

We're definitely checking things off of our list of sites and activities we want to do while we're here, I'm just afraid we'll run out of time before we get everything done. Lucky for us, Andrew has a three day weekend so we have an extra day to adventure.

Great Lakes Science Center

Our latest weekend adventure took us to the Great Lakes Science Center. Andrew and I probably had just as much fun as Taylor. There were lots of hands on activities and a play area for small kids. 

When we purchased our tickets, we also bundled in a self-guided tour of the William G. Mather Steamship which is docked right outside the Science Center. It is a historic 618-foot Great Lake freighter that is completely restored. It was really cool to walk through the whole ship and Taylor was excited to be on a boat. As a warning, if you are ever considering this tour, it has a lot of steep stairs which is slightly difficult to navigate while baby wearing and toddler carrying. Not impossible, but something to consider.

After we finished at the Science Center, we walked a good distance through Cleveland to find some lunch. We ended up at the Cleveland Chop which had amazing burgers! Another successful weekend in the books.

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

Our first adventure in Cleveland was the Museum of Natural History... because dinosaurs. Taylor is a big fan of dinosaurs right now (which is why he had a "two-rannosaurs rex" birthday party). When we first walked into the museum, I thought we might have forty minutes of entertainment, but the museum just kept going and going. We ended up staying a good two hours. We probably would have stayed even longer, but we were in need of some lunch. Taylor had a blast seeing all the animal displays and dinosaur fossils and Olive had a good time sleeping in the Ergo. 

We found a great little place called Simply Greek for lunch then it was home for naps. We ended our day with a walk by Lake Erie and through the neighborhood. I'd say our first Saturday adventure was a success.

An Ohio Adventure

We have made it to Ohio! 

For those who aren't aware, Andrew got a summer internship at PolyOne located just outside of Cleveland, Ohio so we are here for a 12 week adventure. It's absolutely gorgeous here. I'm not used to everything being green and having huge trees line every street (just a tad different from our Arizona desert). We are staying in the cutest little 1948 Tudor style home that is approximately a 30 second walk from Lake Erie. 

We've been exploring our neighborhood by going on lots of walks. I can't stop taking pictures of every house we pass because they're all so adorable.

There is so much to see and do here in Cleveland which means our weekends will be spent trying to fit everything in before our summer is over. Here's to a family adventure.

Little Moments

Motherhood can seem a little monotonous at time. Each day seems like the same routine of doing nothing but acting on the whims of my children. Some days it seems like I'm just trying to survive until bedtime. If I take the time to look back though, I realize how much has changed and happened. We have come so far from the dreaded memories of little newborn Olive with pneumonia and the sickness that hung over our house for months. Olive is now a healthy 4.5 month old who loves to talk. She laughs at everything her brother does and lights up whenever he heads her direction. Taylor has successfully moved into a big boy bed and is starting to put more words together to form sentences. He loves to count and point out different colors.

With little humans, so much can happen in just a few days. Although the days seem long, the weeks and months go by so fast. And now, here we are with another event that seemed to take forever, but looking back, went by so quickly. Andrew had his last final for the school year today. We have survived the first half of business school. Now we are off on a 12 week adventure to Ohio for Andrew's internship. 

I have been more than a little stressed about this temporary move. There are a lot of factors that go into planning a 12 week stay over 2,000 miles away especially when your throw two kids into the mix. Caring for a toddler and a baby requires a lot of stuff. I wish I could say I have handled everything well and that things have magically fallen into place, but the truth is I have had quite a few meltdowns over the past couple of weeks. Luckily, the move is finally here and I'm just excited to get there so can be past the planning stage.

What I hope to take away from all this rambling is to remember each little moment and realize it's importance, even when it seems mundane or insignificant at the time. When things are stressful and it feels like I'm in survival mode, I need to remember how quickly this will go by and how soon I'll be looking back with fondness.