Monday, November 8, 2021

Last Nice Weekend?

This past weekend was absolutely gorgeous here. Temps were in the 60s which is pretty much unheard of for early November in Minnesota! We made the most of it and spent as much time outdoors as possible. It seems likely that it was our last nice weekend - we have snow flurries in the forecast for later this week and highs in the 30-40s. 

On Friday I picked the kids up a little earlier than usual so Paul would have time to play outside. Phil had long days at work last week since it's his busiest week of the month so the kids basically got home and had to sit down to dinner with no time to play outside so it was nice to get home a little earlier on Friday. I was going to take Paul scooting but we ended up hanging out in a yard a couple of houses down from us. The kids were doing skits that involved jumping into leaves at the end of the skit. They asked Paul to join them but he is still getting to know the kids on our block and was too intimidated. So he would watch the skits with me and then jump in the leaves between skits. I am so very impressed by the older kids on our block. They are SO kind to the littles and will involve them in their games and play. I think some of these kids are probably tweens so could certainly avoid playing with the little ones, but they are so inclusive and sweet. Hopefully with time, Paul will open up a bit and be willing to participate more.


Saturday got off to a rough start as Paul was up at 5:20 and refused to go back to bed and then Will was up at 5:30. That is just entirely too early to start the day. Phil had slept in the basement since I was still fighting my cold so at least one of us got a good night of sleep I guess. 

We Facetimed with my parents in the morning which is our Saturday morning ritual. We are very excited to see them in a couple of weeks when we head up there for Thanksgiving weekend. 


We spent more time outside that day before naptime and then after naps, we headed out to Phil's high school friend's house. We got together with the families of 3 of Phil's HS friends. Everyone has kids now, including the couple that hosted us so the gatherings have really changed over the years! The kids had fun playing with different toys and the weather was so beautiful so we ate outside. The kids had a blast running around in the yard. 


Sunday morning started bright and early, too, thanks to the end of daylight savings. I used to love "falling back." Now I hate it because it doesn't mean an extra hour of sleep. It means an extra hour of parenting! Paul was up at 5:15 (which felt like 6:15 but still... too early of a start to the day). Phil got up with him since I had been up with him the day before. I had fed Will at 2:30 since he woke up SCREAMING so he actually slept until 6. I was very happy to get a little extra sleep after the long day on Saturday. 

We played in the basement in the morning. A lot of our toys are down there so that is where the kids are happiest. You can see how much Will adores Paul in this photo. Paul adores him, too, but is prone to taking toys away from him. Will handles it ok but I know that won't always be the case!!




Phil used the lawn mower to collect all the leaves in our yard during Will's morning nap. After Will's nap, we headed outside to play for a bit. 


After lunch we headed to the park. We've figured out that post-lunch is the best time to go to the park. The last 2 weekends we've had the whole park to ourselves, I think because we eat early (around 11) and families are probably putting kids down for naps after lunch. Paul is pretty much done napping now (sob!) but we have him do quiet time for 90 minutes during Will's nap. So it works well to go to the park after lunch since Will doesn't go down for his nap until 1-2ish. 

Loving the swing!
Paul actually ended up falling asleep during his nap on Sunday - I guess the early mornings caught up to him. 

We were supposed to have another family over for playtime and pizza, but they had a positive antigen covid test so had to cancel. Paul was bummed but we still got pizza for dinner so he was excited about that. Both boys LOVE pizza. After dinner it was brother bathtime which has gotten pretty loud and boisterous. Will can really move around the tub and loves to splash. He's always game for Paul's shenanigans. Last night that involved putting things on his head and seeing how long they'd stay on. 



But hearing the giggles and shrieks is really the best sound!

We put the boys down at their normal times and they slept better last night. Will was up at 5:30 but fell back to sleep and Paul got up at 6. So overall, not bad. I was glad I went to bed at 9pm! 

How was your weekend? Do you love or loathe the end of daylight savings? Or are you lucky to live in an area that doesn't do daylight savings? I'm dreading how early it's going to be dark tonight!

7 comments:

Stephany said...

What a gloriously fall weekend! I'm glad you got to enjoy some temperate days before it gets super cold up there. Florida has been blessing us with beautiful weather - cool enough that I don't have to run my A/C right now, wahoo!

I don't love DST. It makes me so tired in the spring, though I love the lighter evenings, and in the fall, I hate how dark it gets so early but I *do* feel more well-rested. I'm sure it's even worse with kids and their internal clocks! Argh.

Jeanie said...

What a GREAT weekend! And so nice that you have sweet kids on your block who are good with the littles.

I hate going back to standard time. For me, it's not an extra hour of sleep, but an extra without it, since I wake up super early and try to go to bed that night at normal time to straighten myself out (which seems to take several days). It throws Lizzie off and she bugs me for dinner starting at 3:30 o4 4 (she eats between 5:30 and 6) And I hate it being dark so early. So, I'm with you!

Grateful Kae said...

So much great outdoor time!! The weather was insanely nice, wasn't it? It was the same here. I didn't get too much outdoor time in, besides attending two soccer games. I was really happy the weather was decent for them. Initially when I saw November games on the schedule, back in August, I thought it could have been really terrible! You just never know what you'll get.

Daylight savings was fine for us. The boys actually ended up getting extra sleep, I believe. They went to bed around 10 on Saturday night, but then when I changed their clocks it was as if they had gone to bed at 9.... (EARLY for them.) I thought maybe they'd wake up extra early, but they didn't really. Ethan had to get up by 7:30 or so for soccer anyway, but no one was up extra early. And the last couple nights they have seemed tired earlier than usual- probably because their bodies still think it's an hour later? They were both asking to go to bed before 9 last night, which is rare and unheard of! lol.

Elisabeth said...

I hate DST - it really still seems to throw everyone off their sleeping game. I had one child awake at 4 am the other day (they're old enough they just played quietly, but then yesterday could barely make it through supper).
It's 7:15 and I'm in bed just hanging on until 8:30 to go to sleep because I am so exhausted. I LOVE the extra light in the mornings (I find the darker evenings are cozy, but hate getting the kids ready for school in the dark). And I remember trying to tweak kids wake times weeks in advance of DST when they were little. It never worked and it always threw them off their sleeping groove!

Onward and upward.

The pictures of the kids are so sweet. They just look so happy and healthy and jolly. I'm sure they have their moments - but just so sweet.

We have a great neighbourhood, too. When we moved in 4 year ago there were a lot of older couples (semi or fully retired), but in the last 12 months there has been a BOOM of families. Lots of them with babies. My kids love hanging out with friends of various ages and my daughter, almost 11, is always being summoned by two new-to-our-neighbourhood five-year old twins who insist on holding her hand walking to and from the bus stop.

Marlys said...

That is so awesome about the neighborhood kids! I’m sure Paul will warm up eventually and join in more of the fun! Children love playing in the leaves - always have, always will!

Now that you know Will had double ear infection, it may explain why he’s been waking up during the night screaming! I hope this goes away!

We’ve had some beautiful fall weather but it has abruptly come to an end! It is time, but I love fall so much.
Looking forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!

katielookingforward said...

I am not adjusting well to daylight savings. This morning I woke up at 5:50 and Jeff was already brewing coffee since he couldn't sleep either. I really hate spring ahead, and wish we would just get rid of daylight savings.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

We don't do daylight savings here, which is nice, but at FedEx they follow the rest of the world, and so Christopher's shift changes for daylight savings, which kind of throws everything off for him twice a year. I am so glad the days are going to start getting longer, as I get really sick of driving to work in the dark, and then eating supper when it's dark out.