Monday, February 13, 2023

Weekend recap + Texas bound

Another weekend is in the books! This was a pretty good one overall! 

On Friday, Phil got back from the airport around 3:30. I had the boys home with me all afternoon as their school had an early close at 12:30. I was able to work while Paul had iPad time and Will napped but Will took his usual super nap and was up at 2. I was happy to get out the door and enjoy some fresh air when Phil got home! 

The geese are ready for Valentine’s Day!

The boys were both IN A MOOD that evening. I don’t know what was going on but both were crying and upset. Phil and I joked that maybe we were on candid camera? It was kind of comically bad. After both boys went to bed we finished the Bernie Madoff documentary while I finished a puzzle I borrowed from a friend. It was an extra tricky puzzle as the picture on the box was purposely inaccurate! 

I slept in until around 7 on Saturday and Phil got up with the boys. Then it was tine for our usual library + gymnastics combo while Phil grocery shopped. Will’s gymnastic class was cancelled so to minimize the time we sat there waiting, we dropped Paul off and went to a GF bakery nearby to get treats for our afternoon playdate. This resulted in Will having a huge meltdown in his car seat. I don’t know if he was worried about leaving Paul or what. But you can’t reason with a toddler! Luckily he calmed down after we picked out some treats. 

I did a back and biceps workout during nap time and then we headed to my friend’s house for a playdate when Will woke up. The playdate was great! I sipped tea and caught up with my friend, Will enjoyed playing with new-to-him toys, and Paul had fun with his friends! On the ride home Paul commented on how he had SO much more fun than me since all I did was talk. Ha. 

I made some lentil soup for dinner that night. 

Enjoying his after dinner apple. Phil, Will and I share one almost every night. 

We tried watching ‘Break Point’ on Netflix that night after the boys were in bed but it wasn’t a good fit. We usually like sports documentaries but neither of us follows tennis and the first athlete they profiled was a total jerk from Australia. So we gave up and I went up to read. 

I was up with the boys on Sunday but they slept until 6:30 which is pretty great for them! I went for a run after Phil was up and fell towards the end! Ouch! I just skinned by knee through my running tights, so it wasn’t too bad of a fall luckily. I was wearing my yaktrax but must have slipped on some really thin ice. I’m really ready for winter to be done! 

Watching tv on Sunday morning. Will is telling me ‘no picture!’

The boys and I went to target that morning to get a few things while Phil made lunch. 

Pretending to have a picnic

That afternoon, Phil took BOTH boys with him to his mom’s after naptime. He usually just takes Paul but decided to take both this time so I would have the house to myself for a change. Outside of when I am working, I am NEVER alone in the house! While they were gone, I caught up with my older sister on the phone, watched A Million Little Things (I love this show!!), read and just basked in the quiet!! I don’t think he will take both boys for quite awhile as Will was quite a handful… but it was nice to have time to myself at home for a change! When Phil got home with the boys, we watched the super bowl but I went up to bed at 8:30 to read. I cared about the Super Bowl but not enough to miss my block of reading!

We have another busy week ahead of us as I go to Austin and Dallas for work Tuesday through Thursday. I travel again the following week so February is feeling crazy especially with Phil traveling last week (he was also in Austin!). I’m trying to only travel once/month but couldn’t say no to the Chicago trip as it’s a good way to see lots of sales people and I’m co-presenting to the sales group with a senior guy in my division. But February is not my favorite month (because I’m over winter by then) so it’s not the worst thing that it’s going by fast. 

How was your weekend? Did you watch the Super Bowl? 

15 comments:

Nicole said...

Wow, it sounds like you are in a STAGE with the tantrums! Ugh. The only way out is through, I guess, but ugh.
I'm glad you got to enjoy a quiet house! It's so lovely to have time on your own.

Elisabeth said...

Oh, Lisa!! The mood swings of toddlers (and beyond) are not for the faint of heart. I'm glad you had some nice moments in and around the chaos. It WILL get better, but it can feel like a hard slog.

I'm so sorry to hear about your fall. A few years ago I fell several times in one winter and it actually made me very wary of being out and about. Ice is no joke. Hope you don't have any lingering side effects of the fall and you're able to get back to regular running soon without any of the slippery stuff!!

Jenny said...

The Super Bowl was so good! A lot of times the second half is kind of boring, but not this time. I can see how you were ready for some quiet reading time though.
You'll be right near my son this week- he's in Waco which is right in between Austin and Dallas. You should get some pretty nice weather- you won't be slipping on any ice there.
Oh, Will! I can tell you that my difficult toddler is now a very independent and strong-willed 14 year old. Sometimes that's still difficult, but at least there are no tantrums anymore.

Sarah said...

The tantrum phase is the worst and it really tests you. It doesn't last forever though! I'm impressed that you have the energy to work out during naps. I could never do this, partly because I didn't have the energy, and also my kids are 4 years apart, so I never had a time when they both were napping.

Sarah said...

Yay for simul-naps. I remember those from my Harry/Jack era and my Dorothy/Cooper era, and they were a godsend. Your boys are DARLING, and the toddler years with another small one at home are less fun than having just one toddler that everyone can dote on like she's a pet monkey. Hang in there!

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

@ both Sarah's - full disclosure: Paul the almost-5yo gets iPad time during Will's nap. We let him have his iPad in his room since the only aps are PBS kids games/shows and ABC Mouse. I know that is a controversial decision but it allowed us downtime while Will is napping! We'll see what we do when Will drops a nap. It's the only screen time Paul gets usually. I have a little guilt about it but then I see him learning how to count by 5s/10s to 100, etc and I think - maybe it's not so bad!

NGS said...

The geese are BACK! I just love how dedicated the person who takes care of the geese is.

We don't watch football and I was so confused by my newsfeed this morning because I sort of forgot about it. I do feel like I should at least tune in for random things like commercials and the half-time show.

coco said...

kudos to Paul to leave you alone at home. isn't that great? I love it when it happens, time seems to stretch much more.
that's a lot of travel for a month, hopefully you'll enjoy seeing your colleagues in Chicago.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

I am sure that after a few days alone with both boys it was very nice to have Phil back home again to ease some of that pressure. What a champ he is too to take them both to his Mom's house. I bet that was a bit of a challenge! I do think it is a great idea to take turns taking both boys though so you can each have a little alone time from time to time.

Have fun in Texas! I am sure the change of weather will be nice plus it will likely go by fast and maybe you will even get some time to read on the plane!

Grateful Kae said...

Aww, Valentine's geese! How cute. :) Bummer the kids were total crabs on Friday! But YES to some time alone at home! I totally am the same way- I love to be home alone. I mean, I am home a lot when I'm working, but as you said, it's not the same. One of my favorite things is if I take a vacation day on a day when the boys are at school and Ivan is at work and I can just be home and do whatever I want! Now that the boys are older, even when they're home sometimes I can get more of that "alone time", since they might be off at the gym or in their rooms on video games or whatever. But especially when they're little, that is a serious treat!

Anonymous said...

I love Paul’s comment about how he had way more fun playing than you did, since all you did was talk lol.

Hope your travel is all smooth this week and you maybe get to feel some warmer sunshine?! I know work trips are packed - so that may not be possible.

Sounds like a great weekend and yay for getting the house to yourself a bit! So rare.

(This is Abby by the way!)

Jeanie said...

Isn't it heaven to be in your own house alone? I love it!

Sounds like this week is massive -- and half through. I hope you have safe travels.

Between company last week, prepping for a Cork Poppers do, an ear and/or sinus infection, and then this week's mass shooting in our town, I'm so behind blog reading, I'll never catch up! I'll try to take a look at all but not comment and hopefully be back on schedule this week!

J said...

I remember when my daughter was little, realizing that I was NEVER HOME ALONE, and I missed it. I had time alone, in the car or whatever, and of course I went to work, so it's not like I was always caring for a child, but that NEVER HOME ALONE thing was rough. Now my daughter is an adult and I work from home and am home alone pretty much all day while she and my husband are at work. You know what? I still love it!

Stephany said...

Being alone in your house must have been amazing! My brother always comments on how nice it is when he can come home after a long day to an empty house, haha.

You are definitely in the tantrum stage with Will. That age can be so hard, but hopefully things will start to get better. Fingers crossed for that!

The Valentine's geese are so cute! I love whoever dresses them up for all the different holidays and seasons.

San said...

I did not watch the SuperBowl because I was gone for fieldwork, but I wasn't really interested anyway... I usually just watch for the halftime show and commercials LOL

It's nice that Phil took both boys and you had the house to yourself for a little while. It must have felt great :)