Father’s Day weekend

How precious are these moments.

We went to the Windsor hot air balloon festival this weekend and opted to stay at the vineyard on Saturday night so we’d be close for the 5 am start time.  Obviously we were nowhere near that early to arrive (thank goodness!!) but we definitely didn’t do proper research because by the time we got there, it was kinda done-zo.  Still we had a (chilly) breakfast picnic with our friends and that made it a special enough start to Father’s Day.

Let’s see, what we have here…banana bread, coconut flour pancakes, berries, grapes, yogurt, and bacon.

Ok, but let’s back up to Saturday because we basically celebrated Kyle all weekend (why not? he’s the best!).

I ran out of smoothie stuff so I was forced to branch out with this breakfast.  I bought this blueberry elli quark a long time ago out of curiosity and I’m not sure I would buy it again.  It’s not very sweet, which I guess it good, but it also didn’t have much flavor (to me?).  I had heard good things and was intrigued so that’s why I bought it, but I prefer 2% (or higher) plain Greek yogurt.  I added TJs GF granola on top (and then added extra walnuts after the granola was gone).  The good part of this breakfast was that it was fast, which was very necessary since we had gymnastics class at 9:30 am.

After watching P romp around at gym, we took a stroll through the farmer’s market – played at the park, watched musicians, scoped out the latest produce, and basically just tried to wear out Pattycakes since we were planning on having him nap in the car on the drive to Healdsburg.

But first, I planned a little father and son activity for my main squeeze.

The Davis ACE hardware had a father’s day event where kiddos (under 10) could come paint a pot and then plant a succulent for their pops.

Look how well it turned out!  Basically the cutest thing ever.  Not sure who was more in heaven, P or Kyle.

After that we swung into the ‘bux for some road fuel (venti iced decaf soy coffee).

After a little over an hour, P was awake and our stomachs were growling so we hit up the Petaluma Whole Foods for lunch.

I brought food for P, but treated myself to some salad bar yums.  Kale salad with PopCorners sea salt chips not he side.  And my new fave Kombucha.

Full and happy and off again!  To the vineyard we go…

I got a little sad at first because I have only been here once since my grandpa died but that was for the memorial so I was distracted by seeing so many family members.  This time I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic with all the memories flooding my head.  Anyway.  I have too many feelings to go into them here.

Our friends arrived shortly afterwards and we played around while unpacking and getting settled.

Group photo via the selfie stick…then they boys went for a drive through the vines on the club car.

Before dinner, we went to a park downtown (Giorgi park was really fun and mostly shaded for anyone interested in the Healdsburg area).

Next up, Bear Republic for beer (and food).  We all shared two tasting flights.  I really only liked one or two to be honest.  IPAs are so popular and they are really not my thing.  I am a pilsner girl.

Charcuterie for the table (I had some goat cheese and cranberry chutney but not much)…because…

OMG my dinner plate.  Holy moly.

ALL FOUR OF US GOT THIS!  Ha.  We were not messing around when we saw the special was ribs, we all just went for it.  I heart coleslaw and fries so hard.  I think I just like fat though because mayo is all I want these days.  Maybe it’s a nursing thing?

Btw I totally BF my valley girl at the table mid-meal.  I am so much more comfortable this time around and will basically nurse her anywhere and everywhere in public (provided my company is cool with it too – which is usually the case since I hang out with fellow mamas).  I’m a mix of modest but hippie, so it manifests in a desire to normalize nursing but still remain semi-private and not totally expose my body, ya know?

This is the least blurry of the pics we got.  Doh.

I brought food for P, naturally.  [Leftover hamburger, mixed frozen veggies, home-made bars, and fruit]  I always bring his food when we travel…it’s just easier that way.  No risk for reactions.

Back at the vineyard, we popped open some vino and let the the kiddos burn off a little more steam before putting them all down for bed.

Then it was time for games and drinking.  Not to be confused with drinking games.  We aren’t 20 anymore. 🙁

The girls dominated the boys in Taboo.  Twice.

We got to bed way too late and woke way too early, but man was it fun.  And the next morning we packed up the food and drove to Windsor for a crisp breakfast picnic with hot air balloons in the background.  Hilariously, we bought advance tickets that we didn’t even need.  Nor did we see any balloons take off or land.  But the sporadic fire blazing to lift the tethered balloons was a thrill enough for P.  And me, TBH.

For a bunch of reasons my girlfriend is the best.  She made coconut pancakes from the 21DSD (I lent her the book a while ago and she loved it so much she bought her own copy) PLUS mocha Califia (it’s her fault I got addicted to it in the first place).  I loooooove Califia.  More on that caffeine later though…

We played at a park afterwards (these two are such adorable buddies) and then finally we headed back to the vineyard to pack up and peace out.

On the way out of town we stopped at the adorable but insanely overpriced General Store (for some lunch to eat on the road while the babes napped) and then at a gas station where I made the completely ridiculous decision to grab a huge (caffeinated) coffee.  It was actually my second (through fifth) serving of java for the day because I was up pumping at 5 that morning and found Peet’s coffee in the freezer and decided to make some for our crew.  In the end, Kyle and I are the only coffee drinkers so I had a very very strong cup first thing in the morning.  And have I mentioned I haven’t really done caffeine since first pregnancy?  Yeah.  Beyond the occasional cup of chai tea, I am now a decaf girl through and through.  So what do you think happened to me after 5 servings of caffeine????  HELL.  ON.  EARTH.  So basically I now think I know what it feels like to be on drugs.  It was horrible.  The entire car ride home just kept getting more and more terrible.  I actually started out as the driver but had to pull over and swap places with Kyle because my head felt like it was gonna explode.  I was also nauseated and disconnected from my body and just completely miserable.  By 2 pm I was convinced I was never going to feel well again.  I tried eating but that didn’t help and in fact only made me feel more like I was going to throw up.  Once we got home I was able to buzz around the house like a true psycho, which was at least better than being trapped in the car with a caffeine high.  I cut P’s hair (risky move, but worked out fine) and then – for the FIRST TIME IN MY ENTIRE CAREER of nursing and pumping – I pumped and dumped.  🙁  I just couldn’t give her that milk.  It was so so sad.  I am not short on supply so it’s not a big deal in that I can’t make enough to give her otherwise, but to me it feels sad to waste such a valuable commodity.  I tried to thaw some milk and give her a bottle (for the first time) after that, but she would have none of it.  She doesn’t take a pacifier either despite repeated attempts, so it’s no surprise she refused another artificial nipple.  Blerg.  I had Kyle try too but to no avail.  I ended up blending the thawed milk into a smoothie for P instead so it wouldn’t go to waste.  Two pumping sessions down the drain in a single day would be way more than I could handle.  Eventually I came down from my high and nursed her and she seemed completely unaffected.  You live and learn.  No more java for me!!!

Since P never really ate lunch he had his punch that I packed for dinner that night.

We went on a family walk to the grocery store for some dinner stuff and essentials.  Even though we needed to do a weekly grocery haul, we were on foot and kept it to a minimum (almond milk, bananas, avo).

After so much meat from the previous 24 hours I wanted zero animal products for dinner.  Big salad it is!  We had nectarines already so I whipped up a honey dijon dressing and tossed it with greens, avocado, and pistachios.

Exactly what I needed to end the weekend.

And what a weekend it was!

<3

Flashback to Father’s Day two years ago with a baby P.