I’m back from what felt like a long 3 days in Chicago. I had a jam-packed week. I did a lunch presentation on Tuesday and then 18 zoom client calls over the course of 2.5 days! It wasn’t the best use of my time in Chicago to do so many zoom calls as I was closed up in an office for most of my time there. Ideally I would be out talking to people. But it was the way it worked out. Hopefully next time I am in Chicago I will have more time to connect with people. I did manage to have lunch with my boss and tea with another colleague. I also had dinner both nights with women I work with. The Wednesday night dinner was at the home of a good friend I work with. It was awesome to meet her husband and boys. So all in all, it was a good, productive trip.
But oof - did Phil have it bad back here. Minneapolis got a big multi-day storm. Daycare was (needlessly, IMO) closed on Wednesday. They re-opened on Thursday morning (I think because they felt bad for closing on Wednesday) but there was no way Phil could get our car out of the garage with the 15+” of snow we had gotten the last 3 days. Plus Paul threw up on Thursday morning. So he handled work, 2 young kids, and snow removal… Paul only threw up that one time luckily. So as long as my days were, I think Phil had the bigger challenge at home! I was thrilled to make it back home as planned on Thursday so I could give him a break. Paul’s iPad is connected to my apple account so I can see all the pics he takes with his iPad. Seeing all these selfies of my sad, pale boy really tugged at my heart strings!
Enter the weekend. Paul threw up AGAIN on Saturday morning. This is the 3rd time this has happened in February. It always happens in the early morning hours. I think he has mucus draining in his stomach during the night that is giving him an upset stomach or something. I hope this stops soon! So we canceled all of our plans and stayed in on Saturday. It felt like a very very long day!
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| Will is ready for bike season. I am, too. |
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| ‘Coloring’ |
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| Paul has gotten very good at coloring! |
Sunday was better since no one puked! Woo hoo! The bar for a good day is very low around these parts. I went for my first run in over a week and then Paul and I worked on his birthday cupcakes. He turns 5 (!!!) on Wednesday so we will enjoy them over the course of the week. He LOVES to bake and is a great helper!
Phil took Paul out to his mom’s on Sunday after quiet time and I stayed home with Will. So we did our go-to activity to kill time - wandering Target!
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| I got a latte, he had a cookie. I talked him into only eating half. He played with what felt like all of the bowls in our kitchen when we got back, but it entertained him!  |
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I’m starting off the week by presenting on our weekly national sales call. I’m interviewing a portfolio manager so at least I’m not in the ‘hot seat.’ Then we have Paul’s bday on Wednesday and his family party on Saturday. I’m kind of ‘mailing it in’ on his party. We are ordering pizza! I’ll assemble a salad to go along with it (for the adults) and we will have a cookie cake for dessert. My parents are coming for the party and will spend the night so we are all excited to see them as we haven’t seen them since Christmas!
How was your weekend?
It seems funny/weird that you would have to go somewhere else to do Zoom calls when you could just do them from home! What was the reason for you being there physically? Also what a bummer for Phil that it was such a challenging week for him. I know he is pretty laid back so I am sure that he took it all in stride but that is a lot of punches to roll with...
ReplyDeleteLast weekend was interesting as it snowed pretty much everywhere and so all of the plans I had made kind of went out the window. However, I did go for a backpacking trip with a friend, but that mountains we went to even had snow on them which probably only happens every few years. It was special due to its irregularity, but was definitely not what we expected. It also rained on and off so we spent a lot of the time just trying to stay dry.
Wow, what a busy week you had, Lisa! And Phil had his hands full while you were gone too. I'm sure you'll be ready for some rest and relaxation...after the family party next weekend? Whew, girl. That's a lot of stuff! Nothing wrong with a pizza party, that sounds like a perfect birthday. Happy 5th birthday to him! I love age 5, the kindergarten year is so much fun.
ReplyDeleteThat photo with the bowls brings back so many memories of my kids doing something similar. Also, and this is random, I really like your area rug!
Fingers crossed NO MORE BARFING!!
Yes, I hope you have a barf-free week! It sounds like a challenging week (for Phil) and a challenging weekend for both of you. I love how Paul likes to bake! When my daughter was a little younger than Paul, she was "helping" me bake and while I wasn't looking, dumped all the flour out onto the floor so she could pretend it was snow. i looked back to find her and the floor all covered in flour. We didn't do too much baking together after that.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure Paul's party will be fun! Everyone likes pizza. Happy Birthday in advance to Paul- 5 is a fun one!
Oh my goodness! I feel so bad for your husband! But he got through it, so that's the important thing. And so glad you made it home on time!
ReplyDeleteI am so curious about the zoom meeting frenzy while you were in Chicago. I know you said it worked out that way, but it does seem like it would be a better use of your time to be interacting with people in person. But it sounds like you really made the most of your time!
Glad Paul is feeling better. Poor kiddo.
I am ALSO confused about why you had to fly to Chicago for multiple days just to Zoom. Was it a situation where there was ONE mandatory f2f presentation/meeting on each day and just Zoom otherwise? I feel like you've really left us on a cliffhanger here!
ReplyDeleteWe had ice/snow/ice/snow over the last five or six days, but we drove to Iowa on Saturday and noticed that the snow just disappeared right over the Illinois border, so I am wondering if you had okay weather in Chicago? I always just assume our weather is the same as Chicago (it's only two hours away by car), but that's obviously not the case!
the snow seems pretty bad this year. many bloggers' kids school got cancelled due to snow. How inconvenient. Sorry to hear about sick kid.. not fun at all, glad he was feeling better by Sunday.
ReplyDeleteHope you have a relaxing week so you can also recover from the illness and travel. I agree with you that extra rest helps to speed up recovery. It was hard for me to not run when I was half way recovered, but now I feel like i have full tank to do more. Rest is necessarily although it is hard.
happy 5th birthday!!! Hope the party goes well... pizza is kids favorite anyway. :)
What a week, Lisa.
ReplyDeleteThe snow has been crazy for you this year.
I'm hoping everyone is feeling 100% this week and you and Phil get a chance to catch your breath.
I'm with Nicole: that photo of all the bowls in a row on the floor brings back a lot of memories!!
It's always a good day when no one pukes. And when that is the highlight of your day... wow. Well, hats off to you both (and kudos to Phil) -- that sounds grim.
ReplyDeleteAren't you getting a little edgy for a big melt?
We also have a low bar for good days when we're stuck inside. And oh those sweet little sick selfies! You definitely had the better deal, I think, despite all the Zoom, and yay to birthday celebration on the horizon!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so many Zoom calls, Lisa! Why do they set up so many Zoom calls when you're in Chicago, since it's something you could do from home?!
ReplyDeletePoor Phil. That is quite the brutal undertaking. He was probably very, very relieved to have you home!
Paul's picture that he colored is AMAZING. He colored all of that himself? An artist in the making?!
Give the kids salad too! I always just tell them they dont have to eat it but exposure is so good and honestly, at the center I used to work at, kids ate the salad because it was presented so often!
ReplyDeleteUgh Isla would have that happen all the time when she was younger. I absolutely hated it when it was a work day and I'd walk in and there would be puke in the crib. Of course after awhile I'd figure it was a one off but you can't send your kid to daycare with that knowledge and then I'd have to take the day off (unpaid) and have my boss yell at me and it was oh so much fun. Because of course my husband would have already left for the day at that point and he worked 45 minutes away, the one with actual sick leave. She has always been bad with drainage and now gets bloody noses in the winter.
ReplyDeleteUff, 18 zoom calls... that is A LOT... but I can still see how you think Phil had it harder. Dang, a snow storm, two kids and work. That is also A LOT.
ReplyDeleteI am glad the rest of the weekend was a bit better for you guys.