Monday, March 13, 2023

Weekend recap

Happy Monday - or is it? I fear this week will be brutal given that a bank failed on Friday. One of the products I support is concentrated in banks and insurance companies so things like a bank failure (which is incredibly rare) really impact us. I was supposed to have Friday off as the boys’ school was closed for conferences. But I ended up working most of the day. The boys got a lot of screen time to make this possible. My day ended with me taking a client call around 4 with the kids yelling/playing in the background. They were on our main level and I was upstairs but you could hear them in the background. Luckily the advisor I was talking to was understanding. I think one positive of the pandemic is that there is more of an understanding that people have a life outside of work. 

So the fallout from that bank failing was the backdrop of my weekend. I usually unplug from work for the most part on the weekend but that was not the case this weekend as I needed to stay on top of the developing situation. I imagine I will have a lot of calls this week. 

But back to our weekend. The boys got good reports at their conferences! We are happy to hear that they are such a delight for their teachers. I’d rather they save the challenging behavior for us. 

I wasn’t woken until 6:30 on Saturday which is ‘sleeping in’ for us. The boys played with their kitchen toys and we FaceTimed my parents. 


After Phil was up, I went for a snowy run. Then we headed to gymnastics and then to a park bday party for one of Paul’s classmates. 

Jumping on the trampoline at gymnastics 

This is what a park party in March looks like in MN. This is why we will wait and have Paul’s party in May!

The birthday party was a real low point of the weekend. It was snowing and cold. The birthday treat was donuts but you have to take your mittens off to eat a donut so it didn’t take long for Will to get cold. He started screaming and I couldn’t get him to stop, so we abruptly left which Paul was not happy about. So both kids were screaming and crying - one because he was cold, the other because he didn’t want to leave. It was a comically bad drive home. I almost wanted to record the audio of the drive home to show Phil! 

Since I was the early morning parent, Phil was on Will duty when he woke up. I napped for over 2 hours which is not like me. I was so very tired. I think I might be getting another flare so my RA must be acting up. I have learned to listen to my body and nap when it’s telling me that’s what it needs. 

Sunday was ‘spring ahead’ but that is easier for parents of young kids, IMO, than falling back which means an extra hour of parenting, not sleep. I got up with the boys but Phil was up shortly thereafter as our neighbors needed help getting their van unstuck in their alley. He had helped them the night before. This cycle of snow, rain, snow has been so bad for roads and especially alleys which is how most city-dwellers access their garage. After Phil did his mitzvah for the day, he took over watching the kids so I could have a break before taking them to haircuts. 

Getting his hair cut. He looks so much older after a haircut!

I napped again during naptime. I wanted to workout but felt so dang tired! After quiet time, Phil and Paul headed to his mom’s and I was on Will duty for the rest of the day. It was still lightly snowing so we watched the beginning of Zootopia. I don’t love leaning so heavily on screens but it’s essential for us during our long winters! Will has recently shown more interest in screens which is so helpful. But I look forward to a time when we can go for long stroller walks and to the park!

Cozy on the couch with a blanket, popcorn and water. 

We spent most of the rest of the day in the basement, reading books and playing with toys. I used to fear Will wasn’t going to like books, but he loves them now and had me read about 10 in a row!

Playing with big brother’s rover!

And that was our weekend… lots of indoor time, lots of shoveling for both Phil and me, and lots of screen time. 

How was your weekend? Hopefully it contained less snow. We are getting closer to hitting a record snowfall! 

14 comments:

Nicole said...

I've got to say, a park party in March in Minneapolis seems pretty bold. Like, what did they think would happen? Of course, I live in Calgary so any outdoor party is a game of roulette, but March?

The comment about your kids in the background of the call: my friend reminded me that it was in 2018 at this time where that news commentator went viral (I'm blanking - BNN? BBC?) Remember that fellow, giving business news in his home office when his kids burst in, followed by their mother shooing them out. Anyway, it was a THING but now, meh, this has happened to every parent during the pandemic! No one blinks, it seems.

Sorry your weekend - and probably week ahead - was so hectic and with the stress of the bank. Glad you could get a nap in!

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Oh yes, I think today is going to be fun, aka not fun, although the backstop measures seem to be keeping things buoyed a little. I hope that your day is not too hectic and that your portfolios are well diversified!

This weekend was rainy here and snowy in the Sierra again and I think we are in for this for at least another week! I read that Mammoth has received over 700 inches of snow already and I can only imagine what they will get this week. My dad is hopeful that he will be able to ski on July 4th and he may not be that crazy actually.

Jeanie said...

The party is definitely the low point! I think we are getting some of your snow today -- it's pretty, falling gently and straight down, not sideways -- I hate sideways snow -- but I'm so ready for it to be done and know I'm living the easy life with it compared to you.

I thought of you with the banking stuff, wondering if it affected you. Good luck.

NGS said...

The spring forward has been less stressful re: pets, too, but I find myself exhausted, too, and don't think that the time change helps.

Oof. I agree with Nicole - who thought a park party in March was a good idea? I wouldn't put any outdoor events on the calendar until May at the earliest!

Jenny said...

Oh boy- this all sounds very stressful. I'm guessing stress affects your RA? I'm glad you had a chance to get some extra rest this weekend.
That's a funny picture of the park birthday party. The rest of the story is not so funny. The worst thing in the world is driving with screaming kids in the car. I used to hate that so, so much. But, you survived! I hope this week goes well for all of you.

Elisabeth said...

I hate, hate, hate time changes. I really don't care what way it goes, it always is very disruptive and makes me tired and sometimes impacts my sleep for weeks. I honestly can't believe we're still doing this?! I am feeling very rage-y about it today...

I'm so sorry you're impacted by the SVB fall. We have a significant number of shares in a company that holds its accounts at SVB and got notices on Friday about what was going on. Regardless of what happens with bailouts etc, I'm sure this will dramatically impact start-ups' ability to get venture capital moving forward and some companies will have to fold. Crazy times and it just goes to show how precarious markets/banks can be!

An outdoor birthday party in March sounds so tough. Ugh!! We have a March birthday and the very first year we did it outside (it was relatively mild), but never again!

That haircut shot is TOO cute. What a darling little man! And I'm so glad that Will is enjoying both books and screens.

Sarah said...

UGH I have had the exact leave the party experience that you describe-- solidarity. I also agree about screens in the winter and the longing to go to parks-- yessssssss

Coco said...

Sorry to hear that you had a stressful weekend due to work situation. Screen time is a savior in those moments. Hope you get a more restful weekend next weekend, going back to your routines to be out with the boys. The economic and financial situation is so fragile these days. I think the policymakers are like doctors that like to prescribe heavy drugs at first sign of illness without knowing the severity of the disease, kind of over do it. Then we have consequences to deal with later.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I can't believe the outdoor party in March. Just no. And the food should have been to go if that ridiculousness was going to happen ha. I am not a fan of under the age of 5 inviting random kids to parties. Family sure, but other kids? Ugh..

Anonymous said...

Sounds like work is a little stressful for you right now! Yikes - hope this week goes smooth. That’s so hard to have to balance having the boys home and work calls. But you’re so right about people being more understanding since the pandemic. I had to give a presentation once with Maddy on the background over Teams and I was beyond mortified and everyone kept assuring me “this is our current world”!!

That bday party does not sound fun or wise lol. Maddy would have been the same as Will. She does NOT handle the cold well and almost becomes inconsolable. We have had a few of those moments at the cabin this winter when we tried doing snowy adventures. I’m sorry that happened though - hard when you have to pull Paul from the fun :(

Hope you were able to catch up on rest. I am sure the work stress and all the travel you’ve been on has you a little run down with your RA.

-Abby

Laura said...

That photo at the park is hilarious. We once hosted a park birthday in January but it was a last minute thing and I had been watching the weather to choose the day in the 40s. And we capped it at an hour - that is about all anyone could take!

Stephany said...

Oh man, I hope this week wasn't too stressful with the bank failure. What a wild time we live in. I didn't realize how many people it would impact until we had a company-wide meeting about it on Monday!

A park party in MN in MARCH?! Dang. I'm sorry it wound up being such a crummy event for the boys, too. :(

Lisa's Yarns said...

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Grateful Kae said...

Oh my, no offense to the fellow parent, but an outdoor party in March in MN is just a silly plan!!! I am leery of ANY outdoor parties, because even in the summer around here, it could easily be stormy... That did not sound very fun. I would have felt really uncomfortable if I were the host parents too, because I mean, they had to realize that it was just NOT GREAT!! lol! Too bad!!

Yay for Will liking books more now! I so miss the stages of sitting and reading with the boys. I feel like in this past year, they have been actually really cooled off on the constant reading they used to do, and I feel kind of panicky about it sometimes. I am sure having PHONES has something to do with it... but seriously, they both used to constantly have their nose in a book, and I've just noticed that slowly, slowly... it's not as constant anymore at all. Currently doing some brainstorming about it, actually! Although thinking back, I know that I read constantly from like age 8-13 or so, and then I definitely did back off too in high school as I just got more into friends and my sports and school, etc. (and having to read a lot of school books for AP English classes!). I still read a lot on vacations and stuff, but not as constant in day to day anymore at that age. So maybe it's not uncommon? Though I really, really want them to continue to be lifelong readers!