TGIF!

Happy Friday, everyone! I'm back to feeling more excited about weekends now that we have more options to entertain Paul. For awhile there, weekends were really hard as it's tough to entertain an energetic toddler with limited options. But now that parks and the beach are an option, I'm more excited about our weekends. Here's how our week shaped up!

The book I'm reading is American Royals by Katharine McGee. In this book, the author re-imagines the history of our country. Instead of Washington becoming our first president, he became our first king and our country is ruled by a monarchy. I am not very far into this book but I think it will be a pretty delightful read. 

The high of my week was hearing the baby's heartbeat at my OB appointment on Tuesday and sharing our exciting news with all of you! Thanks for all the kind and excited comments and emails!

The low of my week was getting a really bad RA flare in my thumbs. This is the worst flare I've had during this pregnancy. I tried to go in for steroids injections but the soonest they could see me was Monday and I called on Tuesday afternoon... I understand as clinics are still not fully staffed. So I ended up having to go on oral prednisone. I was really really hoping to avoid prednisone during this pregnancy. It introduces risks to the baby and also will cause me to have gestational diabetes because steroids raise your blood sugar. I'm really hoping this is the only time I need to be on it this pregnancy!

A recipe I made was Chicken Tikka Masala with Cauliflower and Peas in our instant pot. This is SO good! The instant pot is a great gadget to use in the summer as it doesn't heat up the house like an oven does. I mean, it does get steamy in the kitchen when you did a quick release of the pressure but it's not as bad as having the oven on. 

The best money spent was on the book White Fragility, which I ordered through Frugal Bookstore, a black-owned bookstore in Massachusetts. I am working on educating myself through reading and I felt like I needed to own a copy of this book. My library is actually giving unlimited ebook access to White Fragility, Me and White Supremacy, How to Be an Antiracist, and The New Jim Crow through August 31. I think that is really awesome! I plan to read The New Jim Crow next, but I want to own copies of White Fragility and Me and White Supremacy (which is a workbook so something it seems like you need in print). 

My plans this weekend include working in my garden on Saturday morning. It is a HOT mess. I have so many weeds and it just does not look good at all but I've struggled to get over there as regularly as I would like. Phil is going golfing on Saturday afternoon if the weather cooperates as his Father's Day gift (I gave him the gift of time off to golf which is his favorite activity) so Paul and I will have to entertain ourselves. If it's nice out I am sure we will be outdoors most of the day. Sunday is Father's Day but we don't have much planned. I will make Phil's favorite meal (lentil enchiladas) on Saturday night. On Sunday morning, he will swim across the lake by our house and Paul and I will play at the beach. He needs to go out to his mom's to help her with some things around the house so Paul and I will be on our own again for part of the day... which is fine! I do wish I had a hobby or excuse to be gone for like 4 hours on a weekend... but I do take a nap when Paul naps so I get a nice break then. 

Bonus Paul photos!

When I am making dinner, Paul likes to spread out a bunch of bowls and uses this wooden spoon to either play them as drums or to pretend to make something. In this picture, he's "eating" some pasta he made. He is allowed to play with anything on the bottom shelf of this cupboard and will usually entertain himself pretty well. 

On Wednesday night, he ran down the sidewalk in front of our house and fell. He has a nasty abrasion on his forehead. It looks really, really bad but does not seem to bother him. That night he was trying to do somersaults and headstands on our couch and when Phil dropped him at daycare the next day, he proudly showed off his owies. But gosh he looks tough! Also note that he is still eating with his left hand. He does everything else with his right, like throwing balls/toys/etc. Phil also eats with his left hand and uses his left hand for a bunch of other things like brushing his teeth and using his computer mouse. His parents are/were both lefties so we figure he picked it up watching them but I don't know why Paul eats with his left as I right handed! Maybe he sits next to a leftie when he eats meals at school? Who knows!

How was your week? What was your high of the week?