Monday, March 27, 2023

Weekend Highs and Lows

My trip to NY/NJ went well! It was a jam-packed week, though. On Tuesday I had meetings in Manhattan, then we went out to Long Island for a client dinner and then I took a car to the hotel in Iselin, New Jersey where I stayed for the next 2 nights. That was the longest day of the 3 days of meetings. I was home around dinner on Thursday night. 

My outfit for Tuesday and Thursday. I wore the same dress twice since I was with different sales reps and it simplified packing to rewear this dress.

While I was gone, Will ran a fever and was home for one day. Phil took him to the doctor to rule out strep - the test was negative so it was some other virus. Then on Friday morning Paul wasn’t feeling well so I stayed home with him as Phil had to go into the office. It was a rough day as I had client meetings from 8:30-3 with only a 15 minute break in that stretch. Paul yelled to be wiped during one of my client calls… luckily the financial advisor was an older guy who has kids/grandkids. I don’t think they could hear why Paul was yelling for me, though. I was able to drop off the call since we’d been talking for 20 minutes. 

Now for some weekend highs and lows:

Lows:

- Will came down with a fever shortly after I put him to bed on Friday night. We seem to be on a viral hamster wheel. That meant we couldn’t do our usual library + gymnastics Saturday morning routine for the 2nd weekend in a row. It made for a long day on Saturday and some not so great behavior from both kids. 

- Will woke from his nap in an awful, screaming mood on Saturday. I had gotten up with the boys that morning so had banked on resting a bit longer after Will woke around 2 but I had to help Phil calm Will down. Both of our boys have struggled with the transition of waking up and it is especially bad when they are sick or have been sick recently. 

- I was not the best version of myself when parenting on Saturday. My patience was pretty depleted by the afternoon. 

Highs:

- I did not have to watch my phone non-stop since there were no bank failures or brokered acquisition of a failing bank like there were the previous 2 weekends. Hurrah!! The bar is quite low for a ‘good’ weekend lately. 

- I got to run without YakTraks on Saturday morning as the sidewalks are pretty clear although I did fall towards the end of my run when I encountered some very thin, very slippery ice… but it wasn’t a bad fall.

- Everyone was healthy on Sunday morning so I took the boys to the zoo and gave Phil some time to himself. He had earned that after solo parenting while I was traveling last week. 



I’m home this week but have a lot of client meetings… I’ve done 103 client meetings so far this year; I did 99 total in 2022. Granted I was underutilized last year but 103 in less than 3 months is nuts. Next week I go to LA for work Mon-Thur and then Paul and I go to Tucson the following week. I’m crossing my fingers that things at work have calmed down by then so I can unplug a bit during my vacation. 

What were the highs and lows of your weekend?

13 comments:

Sarah said...

Look at those cute kiddos at the zoo!

Minnie is her very crabbiest when she wakes up from her nap, and when she's sick? TOTAL BEAR-- i soooo get this.

Hope you can get of the viral hamster wheel soon, and your dress is fab!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Pinguinos! I am sorry that everyone has been sick and things have not been stellar for you lately. Hopefully they are done for the season and things can only go up from here! I am sure having to deal with all of the financial stuff as well as sick kiddos is not fun! I know that on a rough day at work I just want to veg and having to come home and be on would be hard.

On the other hand, that dress looks great; I love a good one piece, non-wrinkled item that you can wear over and over while still looking fresh. My work travel hack is the same pants every day with a different top, but if I were not going to see the same people the next day, I would totally reuse the top also! I am sure that the (mostly) men I work with probably would not notice even if I did. I can't believe you are traveling again; what happened to once a month! At least the weather may be nicer, although it is supposed to rain here, so I hope that you get the sunny days!

Elisabeth said...

Your dress looks lovely and I think it's so smart to dress things up with statement necklaces. I wear almost no jewelry - aside from my wedding rings and earrings - but it can make a great impact!

Ugh, ugh, ugh! I am so sorry you're stuck on the hamster wheel of sickness. I have been there, but feel so fortunate that we've managed to escape it this winter. My best friend has 4 kids and someone has basically been sick since October. I am exhausted on her behalf. And thrown into such a hectic and difficult time in your working environment.

I am so hoping that your trip to Tucson is a simply wonderful reset and that your trip to LA goes smoothly!!!

I haven't run at all this winter - not since something like Dec 27? I decided I hate the treadmill too much, and I just don't find it fun in the winter when it's actually dangerous on many levels! It's still not nice enough here that I'm ready to start running outside, but I'm hoping in the next few weeks. For the foreseeable future, I think I'm going to be a spring-fall runner?!

Jenny said...

Ugh, I can't believe you're almost constantly dealing with sick kids on top of all the work craziness! Well, I guess I can believe it- I remember those days, but I didn't have a job like yours when my kids were little. If you can get through these years, you can get through anything.
So let's see... you only had to deal with a sick kid on ONE of the weekend days, you only fell ONCE on the ice, and no more banks failed. Um, great weekend??? I hope this week is a little more sane for you!

Suzanne said...

I love your work outfit! So polished and professional. Glad that the trip went well and that things are calming down a bit.

That viral hamster wheel is so awful. I hope you get a break soon.

NGS said...

I'm not at my best when I wake up from a nap OR in the morning, so I am hardly one to judge. Why do we have to sleep? It's just annoying.

So much sickness in your house! I'm so sorry and here's to making sure everyone is healthy and that your upcoming travels can go off without a hitch.

katielookingforward said...

I hope you have safe travels! The volume increase in meetings, is that because of all the things happening? Or a company push? Will the high volume now mean lower volume later in the year?

Jeanie said...

My weekend was just a weekend, more or less. A funeral that was rather fun. (The guy died in January, he was 98, a fabulous fellow with a fun family). They had a wonderful, enjoyable service followed by a terrific lunch at the country club and I think even the family had a wonderful time. That night we went to play at MSU that was -- less than fun. Very well done, I just didn't like the play.

Sorry about the viral epidemic in your home. That's exhausting. One of the good things about covid is that I think everyone got used to people working from home and the interruptions that come with it it, including kids, dogs barking and crying! But I feel for you -- you had to be exhausted!

Diane C. said...

I love that you wore the same dress twice! We're packing for vacation, and I've been a little obsessed with minimalist packing lists. I always feel like I overpack.
I'm sure you're awesome at it since you have to do it so much! Do you have a standard packing list for when you travel for work?
Sorry to hear about the perpetual sick cycle! I find it's just so mentally and physically exhausting to manage a sick child. Hope everyone is on the mend soon!

coco said...

sorry to hear that Will got sick.. dealing with sick kid when busy at work is so challenging.
that's a lot of meetings in 3 months. you must be exhausted with all the talking. I can't imagine doing that much talking everyday. I need to be alone, have time to reflect/read, and recharge.
I hope things calm down for you and you get to enjoy vacation soon.

Stephany said...

When it rains, it pours, doesn't it? I'm sorry things have been so rough for your family - sick kiddos, crazy work travel, lots of work meetings. It's a lot! I hope your trip to Tucson is a respite from all of this.

Anonymous said...

@ Diane - I do have a standard packing list for travel and then one for when we travel with the kids. I use a check list so I won’t forget anything! I can’t rely on my brain to remember everything so the checklists are key. Especially when we travel with the kids as they still need things like a sound machine! I should share my packing lists sometime in a post!

Anne said...

Good grief, that is an INSANE number of meetings. I really hope the number has gone down the last few weeks and that things are (a little?) more stable in your work AND home worlds. You all need a break!