Simple Joys of the Week, April 28th Edition

Woweee...these weeks they are a flyin'! It's the last Friday in April and I'm trying to contain my disbelief...

You didn't hear much about it online because I was too busy celebrating/trying to do all the things at once, but it was Ben's birthday this week. He turned 34 on Wednesday and we had a very adult, very parental birthday: he worked, I taught yoga in the evening, and then I picked up a pizza on my way home and we ate together around 8:15 once I got Charlie Mae to sleep. That being said, we're having a small family party to celebrate this weekend, so that will make up for it ;) 

How was your week? I hope it was full of simple, sensory pleasures. I know mine was! Here are a few things that brought me joy (besides watching Ben try on his new "birthday polo" and grin at himself approvingly in the mirror, haha!)...

​HEAR: Llama Llama Red Pajama Rap by Ludacris
I posted this video to Facebook this week (and I know that many of you had probably already seen it), but in case you haven't seen it, you MUST watch this video. I didn't think it was possible for me to love Ludacris any more than I already did, but then he decided to rap this children's book (he's a dad of 4) and I fell even harder. Ben and I have watched this video approximately 20 times over the past few days and have been singing it all week long. The best.

SEE: Peacocks, baby goats, chickens, + more {aka animal-watching with Charlie Mae}
We went to a little mini-farm (well, it's actually a Feed Store that has a mini farm attached) last weekend and it was SO much fun! I loved watching Charlie Mae watch the animals (she was mesmerized) and I really loved watching the animals, too (as did Ben, who was also mesmerized!). We were all huge fans of the baby goats, who were the cutest things EVER and kind of reminded me of Sayde (I can't help it, every cute little animal does). So fun! 

TASTE: Flower Pot Tea
Oh my, if you're a tea-lover like me, you HAVE to try this new tea. Not only is it delicious, but it's also TOTALLY gorgeous. Each serving of tea is a flower blossom--like an actual blossom--and it makes the tea-drinking/making process really beautiful. They have "Floral Tisanes" which are big blossoms that you put in a teapot to brew a couple of cups (see pic above) and "Blooming Tea" which blossoms in your cup. Such an amazing idea and delicious, too! I love the Enlightening Lotus Floral Tisane (for obvious reasons) and the Brilliant Berry. Thank you to the wonderful people at Flower Pot Tea for sending me such a sweet gift package to try out. Lots of small biz love!

[Oh, and if you're looking for a good gift idea for a tea lover, look no further! A piece of their glassware (so you can see the blooming process) + a package of their gorgeous tea is the PERFECT gift.]

SMELL: Pizza Night
We had pizza for dinner twice in the past 7 days. Whoops. But to be fair, once was at a family get-together last Saturday night and once was on Ben's birthday when neither of us had time to make dinner and we needed something quick, easy, + somewhat celebratory/fun to eat while we watched the Celtics game. So, we had pizza twice. And say what you want about pizza, but it sure is delicious and nothing quite smells like a box of steaming hot 'za. But also, I think I could go a few weeks without ordering pizza again ;) 

TOUCH: Playing at the playground
We also went to the playground with Charlie Mae for the first time last weekend! While everything she did there was "assisted" (ha!) we loved watching her face when we went down the slide, swung on the swingset, etc. I think Ben and I might have enjoyed the playtime even more than she did--neither of us had been on a swing or slide in ages and our faces were as joyous as hers! 

So there you go. I'm off to my first "Baby Carrier Hip Hop" Fitness Class today (eek!) and am super excited/nervous about my lack of hip hop dancing skillzzzzz but can't wait to try it. Wish us luck!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and can find the time to reflect on your SJOTW today. See you back here on Monday!