Monday, October 11, 2021

A Fun Fall Weekend + Defining Fall Fun

Good morning and happy Monday! Our weekend did NOT get off to the best start but ended up being a good one. On Thursday morning, I commented to Phil (who was working from home) that we were all pretty healthy finally after a rough stretch of various viruses and cold bugs. An hour later he said - "I think I have a fever." Sure enough, he did and he continued to feel worse so he scheduled a covid test for 4 pm and I canceled the work happy hour at a coworker's house that I was very-much looking forward to!

So the kids were home with us on Friday while we waited for his covid test results. He wore a mask and tried to keep his distance from us/didn't pick up or touch either kid. I tried to work as much as I could but I was only able to monitor emails/do a few pressing tasks. We let Paul watch more TV than usual but I made sure to get out of the house with them in the morning for a walk.


Our double stroller days are very numbered. Paul does NOT like to be strapped in anymore. Womp womp. I convinced him to stay in the stroller for this 40 minute walk but it took a lot of negotiations.

Luckily I had picked up some cheap activities in the dollar aisle of Target last month. He LOVED working on these worksheet. He is so my child as I LOVED worksheets and workbooks when I was a kid.

After this quiet time/nap, I took him scooting so he could go see the dinosaur in our neighborhood. He had to get off the scooter and admire this for quite awhile. I thought inflatables were a little tacky before I had kids! We would never have one in our yard but Paul sure loves them! 


When we got back from scooting, Will joined us in the front yard for some leaf fun. Full disclosure - I did NOT dress him!! Phil put this yellow pj shirt and neon green short combo together!! Ha! William was not sure about the leaves at first but eventually came to enjoy them!
 


Luckily around dinner time, Phil's covid test came back negative. It was a HUGE relief. Had he been positive, he would have had to quarantine in the basement for 10 days and our kids would have been home during those 10 days. 

On Saturday morning, something magical happened - EVERYONE SLEPT UNTIL 7AM. I could not believe it when I looked at my watch when I woke up to Paul yelling for me! William slept until 7:15! It was so wonderful - and so needed!

When your parents both work in finance, a shirt like this is the perfect gift!

After lunch that day, we went to the park. Since Paul hates the stroller so much these days, we let him scoot to the park so we could just bring the single stroller. It's about 3/4 of a mile. He made it all the way there and about 1/2 of the way back before getting tired. I had anticipated that happening so had brought the ergo-style carrier so I popped Will in that and Paul got in the stroller. 

2nd time in the swing, first time he enjoyed it (he did not think much of it the first time we put him in a swing)

That afternoon we had more fun in the leaves. The weather was unseasonably warm here this weekend. Too warm in my opinion - upper 70s on Fri/Sat and pretty humid on Saturday. 


Sunday was more of the same - walks and time spent in the leaves. I also pulled out some puzzles Phil's mom had bought for Paul last year. He's old enough to do them on his own now. This was my favorite of the bunch! - it makes a twisty snake. 


So all in all, a fun family fall weekend. Which made me think about what "fall fun" means to us. Thanks to social media, I see a lot of pictures of trips to fall festivals, pumpkin patches, orchards, you name it. We have yet to do any of these things and I don't know when we will? Likely not until we are out of this 'little kid' stage of life. Sometimes I beat myself up a bit and think that I am not a 'fun mom.' But then I remind myself that I never did any of these things as a child either. Granted, we grew our own pumpkins and had 2 apple trees, so a visit to a pumpkin patch or orchard wasn't necessary for us. My fall memories include jumping in leaves, filling those pumpkin garbage bags with leaves (do they still make these??), carving pumpkins, roasting and eating pumpkin seeds and trick-or-treating. These are all things my kids will do - well besides the pumpkin leaf bags because we just put our leaves in yard bags. 

This is not to say that doing those things ISN'T fun - it's just not fun for us at this stage of life. I am mindful about doing things that are fun FOR US or MATTER TO US - not because everyone else is doing it and posting about it on social media. I try to keep this in mind with a lot of things. Kid bedrooms is another area where I do not really do much. Our kids rooms are so basic and not instagram-worthy! And that is FINE because neither kid really cares, nor do they spend time in their rooms right now. When they reach a stage of life where they hang out in their bedroom, I think I will put more effort into it. This weekend we ordered a bed frame for Paul's room and we purchased the frame we went with because it has built-in storage cubbies which will be useful in his bedroom, which is small and kind of oddly shaped. Is it the cutest bed ever? No. Is it functional? Absolutely and it's "cute enough."

It can be easy to fall into the trap of doing what others think is important but I try to make sure our time and effort is aligning with what we value and enjoy doing. But in the era of social media, this is something I need to repeatedly tell myself!

Just a little food for thought on your Monday morning!

6 comments:

Grateful Kae said...

I saw on IG that Phil's test was negative- what a relief! At this point, being vaccinated, I'm more afraid of the darn quarantine idea than I am of actually getting covid! lol!!

I totally agree it was TOO WARM this weekend! I said that multiple times on Saturday. It was over 80 degrees here!! No. That is not fall weather! I'm over the heat. Fortunately I think some cooler weather is moving in now. I get sad when it's too warm too long, because I feel like it short changes the beautiful fall season.

I totally remember those orange pumpkin bags, too. I am not sure if they still make them! Make sure to take some videos of your kids playing in the leaves. I have some really cute ones of the boys running and then jumping gleefully into the leaves. I agree with you and we talked about this recently- some of those "Fall lists" can make it feel like we aren't doing enough. Fall is one area that I think just getting outside, enjoying the leaves somehow, etc is enough! I like to decorate for Halloween with orange string lights both inside and outside, and we always make chili on Halloween night too. The little things are probably what the kids will remember anyway, more than going to a crowded, commercialized pumpkin patch. :-)

Abby said...

I’m so glad Phil’s test was negative and hopefully you’re all headed Into healthier days!!!

This looks like such a fun weekend! And the weather looks beautiful. Good for you for doing what you enjoy and brings you happiness!!

I will admit one of the things Ryan and I are excited about is going to this fruit orchard in a town outside of Tucson — but I think a lot of that is because we don’t really get “fall” here. It’s higher elevation - so cooler temps it is just fun to get to experience fall things for a day. We work really hard to experience different seasons here in AZ 😂 But like you said - everyone should do what is worth the effort and time for them and never feel pressured to do things bc everyone else is!

I’m sorry you had to miss your HH last week! When you have little kids - those rare social events to get out are so gold. I have yet to experience a social event that isn’t a 5am kid-free run! Lol!

Stephany said...

Whew, glad Phil's COVID test was negative. That would have been such a bummer, especially with keeping the kiddos home for 10 days. Ugh.

I'm glad you were able to fill your weekend with fall fun! I hope the weather cools off for you guys, too. This is the time of year where I'm relentlessly checking the weather to see if we have any good weather days coming up - a few highs in the low 80s, which is BEAUTIFUL for us this time of year haha.

And I love your final note about what feels like fall fun to you. I don't think kids really remember the big stuff anyway. They remember the little memories you made as a family and how it felt. If you're having your own fall fun at home, they are going to have a memory of feeling cozy and warm and happy in a home filled with love. <3

Jeanie said...

I never went to a pumpkin patch as a kid. Or a cider mill. Or a fun play park (they didn't have those much back then). But I had a great time. And in fact, I think that may be a better experience. It's hard to say, but if you all are having fun, then I think you are being a great mom.

The best news -- Phil's negative test. It sounds like a good weekend after the bumpy beginning and really, so well deserved!

San said...

Phew, so glad Phil's Covid Test came back negative. What a relief! And you definitely were able to make the best of this weekend by enjoying the fall weather. It's really hard to not get pulled into this comparison game on social media (we're all susceptible to it), but your kids seemed to have had a lot of fun and that's all that matters to them.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I think Instagram and Pinterest etc. put so much unnecessary pressure on parents when parenting is enough work as it is, and I totally agree with you that Instagram-worthy bedrooms are pointless at their age. I wouldn't waste time or money in that area either. I think time spent with children is what they remember most anyway :-)