Ch-ch-change

TL;DR I'm fine but my kids are both going through challenging changes. 

I knew we had changes ahead of us in June as Paul started the public school summer kids program on Monday. But last Monday, Will moved from the toddler room to the young preschool room where they also started working on potty training. In isolation, either move would come with its challenges but I underestimated the double whammy of both of those changes. 

Overall, Paul has done really well with this change - actually surprisingly well. He was nervous/anxious as he approached this transition and bedtimes certainly suffered as that is when his anxiety surfaces (as is the case for me). Drop offs have been a cinch - he doesn't even hug me good bye. He just waves and he's off! I think back to how hard drop offs were at various times of his toddler/early preschool stage (especially when he returned to daycare after we pulled him from daycare for 7 weeks at the start of the pandemic) so it's encouraging to see that things CAN get better/easier. We are so impressed by the program, too. Every week they study a different country (this week it's Madagascar), every Wednesday is "water Wednesday" and they go to a local splash pad or wading pool, and every Friday there is a field trip. We've seen some challenging behavior in the evening at times, but I know he's very tired as he's adjusting to no nap (one of the reasons we moved him from daycare to this program was because they still napped in his room at daycare which wreaked havoc on bedtime) and they keep them very busy at this program. Plus everything is new - new friends, new teachers, new locations, new schedule. My head would be spinning, too. 

With Will, it's been a WHOLE LOT HARDER. He's a sensitive little guy to start and very much a mama's boy, and I am sure not having his brother with him at drop off is confusing. He transitioned to the new room with his best buddy which helped, but most days he tells us he wants to stay home or come to work with me. And the tantrums. Oh my gosh, the tantrums. Again, I know they are prompted by his little body being overwhelmed by the change but I'm being challenged in a way I never have before. It doesn't help that he hasn't been able to be outdoors the last 2 days because of poor air quality from the smoke of Canadian wildfires. 

I'm usually good at bobbing and weaving and taking what comes at me. But this week has been so very hard that I broke down and cried at book club last night. And I am NOT a crier (thanks to my lexapro rx which helps me manage my anxiety and keeps me on a more even keel). Most of my book club ladies are moms, and they are further down the path of parenthood than I am so they can say - we understand/what you feel is normal. And whether or not you are a mom, we've all had bad days/weeks/months, and my book club gals are so kind and compassionate. 

I don't wish struggles upon my friends, but it's comforting to hear that others have struggles, too. To be clear, I adore my children, but it can feel very isolating to feel like you are so very challenged while everyone else appears to be handling things well. That's one of the reasons I've developed an extra special bond with Elisabeth. I like how open she is about the challenges of parenting. I don't WANT her to struggle, but I feel so seen when she talks about how hard parenting is at times. 

So that's where I'm at today... I'm sitting with these feelings and acknowledging them rather than shoving them under the rug as I am sometimes prone to do. And I'm sharing in the hopes that someone else will feel seen. 

This has been good stuff - like this sweet chalk drawing by Paul.

Weekend Highlights

This is the last week of June! How? (I recognize this is the most cliche thing to say but it’s true) July is going to fly by even faster. The boys and I are going to my parents for the 4th, I go to San Francisco the 2nd to last week for work, and then we have our annual week at my parents lake home the last week of the month! I have to remind myself that summer vibes can carry into the month of September. Since I went back to school in mid-August as a child, the 4th always felt like the ‘mid-point’ of the summer. But it’s really not! Anyways here are some weekend highlight! 

- Paul graduated from PK on Friday! They had a little ceremony for them. He’s made so many great friends at daycare but we are excited for his next steps! Today he starts a public school summer program at the school he’ll attend in the fall. We celebrated his graduation with DQ treats. 

- The forecast called for rain on Saturday afternoon so instead of our usual visit to the library, we went to a new-to-us park close to gymnastics on Saturday morning since I thought we’d be indoors all afternoon.

- But then, as usual, the rain missed us. So we met up with friends for park time + more ice cream after quiet time while Phil stayed back to clean house. I guess ice cream was the theme of the weekend! 

- We finally got some rain on Sunday so the day was a bit of a washout. Will took a really great 2 hour nap, though! And it cleared up in the afternoon so we went for a family walk to the creek so the boys could throw leaves and sticks into the creek. On our way home, our friends in the neighborhood were outside with their cat. The boys thought it was hilarious when he jumped into the bottom of our stroller. 

So excited about the sticks he found!

Not so high moments 

- I don’t know if it’s the transition to a new room at school or what but Taco has had some epically bad tantrums. We are in uncharted territory as Paul did not have these STRONG emotions. There have been a lot of ‘what is happening’ looks exchanged between Phil and me. I know it’s hard for Taco, too, so hopefully this stage is short-lived. 

How was your weekend? 

Will at 2.5!

Will hit the 2.5 year old mark in early June, so I figured I'd do a little Will-centric post. First things first, you should all know that no one calls him Will... That's how I refer to him on my blog, but everyone calls him Taco. Why Taco? Well that is what Paul named him when I was pregnant and the name stuck. Earlier this spring, I met the mom of his favorite friend at school during pick up and said how much Taco talks about her son, Mack. She asked what my son's name was and I said Will and she was like, 'oh, ok.' (it was evident her son had not talked about his friend Will). Then I said - well, he goes by Taco and her face lit up and she said, 'Oh Taco! Yes, we hear about Taco all of the time!' I will admit I am a little bit insecure about calling him Taco in public - I wonder if people think I'm a monster that named her child Taco! I mean, there are some unique names out there (like Apple??). So I usually say Taco followed by Will or William so it's clear I did not name my child after a food. He's most likely to listen when I say Taco because that is what he will tell you his name is! 

Growth: He seems big to us compared to Paul (they are only about 4 pounds apart) but he's smaller-to-average in terms of weight at 28 pounds but is kind of tallish with a long torso. He wear 18m shirts and all other clothes are 2T. 

Words and phrases: He had a bit of speech delay around 1-1.5 years due to all his ear infections but that has certainly reversed itself! He talks A LOT now. He is my little shadow baby so is always saying, "I come wif?" He used to say "Amo" (Spanish for I love) when I said good night but now he says "I love you." He understands Spanish and speaks some words in Spanish, but if I try to say words in Spanish to him, like the Spanish word for different animals he yells "NO!!!" at me. I don't know what that is all about! While his language has come a long way, he still struggles to communicate, especially when he is frustrated. He can go from perfectly happy to being splayed out face down on the ground screaming over who knows what. It's kind of impressive. 

Likes:

- He is the hugest fan of being outside. He basically wants to be outside from when we wake up to when we go to bed. I love his enthusiasm for the outdoors but sometimes it's a source of conflict/big emotions, like when he needs to eat a meal. Yes, we could eat outdoors, but it's kind of a production to haul everything out to our patio so it's easiest to just eat in our kitchen. Luckily he still loves stroller walks and asks to go for walks in the stroller. 

- He loves the children's museum and in particular, the car wash station. He also went through a phase where he was very into the broom and dust pan. So he seems to kind of like cleaning but it's not like he's gung ho to clean up toys exactly... 

- He is a big fan of Taylor Swift - I have obviously influenced that love. He gets obsessed with songs and asks for the same one over and over. His last favorite was "The Great War" and now he's in love with "Paris." He really liked "Anti-Hero" when it first came out. It was cute to hear him say the "hi" part of the lyric: "It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me." When he is upset in the car, we listen to "You Need to Calm Down" and it magically seems to help. 

- He loves trucks/cars/things that go and has to sleep with 3 small matchbox-sized trucks - a bus, a pick-up truck, and a steamroller. In general, he has to sleep with a lot - he has a stuffed cat and snowy owl that have to sit-up/stand in the corner of his crib, and then he has a bunch of other lovies (cat, bunny, a pound patrol puppy that belong to daddy when he was a child). 

Dislikes:

- Oof this kid has STRONG opinions about things. He generally will NOT let me sing to him, with the exception of "You are my sunshine" at bedtime. But if I try to sing along to Taylor Swift in the car, he will voice his disapproval! That is one example of things he has strong opinions about. 

- He does not like to have his picture taken, generally speaking. He will say - no picture!! So I have to sneakily take his picture. 

Usual expression when I try to take a photo. 

Eating: He's a better eater than Paul but that isn't saying much... His favorite food is yogurt. He likes lots of different fruits, peanut butter toast with banana, pizza, crackers, chips, etc. So basically give him all the carbs and he is happy. Every night, Phil, Taco and I share an apple while watching Wheel of Fortune. He is very into routines/schedules so he will start asking for wheel and apple after dinner. But in all seasons of the year, even when it is very warm in the house, he insists on sitting on the couch with a blanket over his lap while eating his slices of apples. 

A rare time that he was eating an apple without a blanket in his lap. But he's got a blanket in hand!

School: He moved into the Young Preschool room at school this week! He learned so much in his last room so I know his learning will continue to take off. He knows most of his ABCs but prefers to sing-scream "NOW I KNOW MY ABCS..." He can count to 10 in English and Spanish. We had school pictures recently and he was clearly not a fan. Lol. 

Potty training: Oof, we have not attempted this. They will really focus on potty training in the young preschool room so we'll wait until they have success to focus on this at home. Our biggest challenge with Will is constipation/frequent teeny tiny bowel movements, which then results in a nasty diaper rash, which then makes him try not to poop, and the cycle repeats itself. We've seen his pediatrician for this but we are kind of at a loss for what to do. Paul had trouble with constipation but miralax did the trick. We have his 2.5 year pediatrician appointment tomorrow so hopefully we can figure out a plan/solution. We've been using miralax but can't seem to find the right dose/frequency of dose.

Brother relationship: Paul and Taco are getting better and better at playing together. Taco really WANTS to play with Paul but sometimes Paul has a very defined idea of what he wants to do - like he wants Taco to be a character in the show Wild Kratts... But generally they play well together and get along. Taco insists on hugging everyone before the parent handling bedtime takes him upstairs - he walks around w/ his arms open saying, 'Hugs! Hugs!' I hope their bond continues to strengthen and develop!

Isn't this how you would watch Wheel of Fortune with your brother? 

All in all, he is a sweet, funny, affectionate little guy. I can't imagine our family without him! It appears as though he is going to be the class clown as he loves to make people laugh! 

Long weekend high/low lights

We had a long weekend since financial markets and daycare was closed for the Juneteenth holiday. Here are some high and low points.

Highs:

- Phil had some college friends over for beers on our patio on Friday night. I chatted with them for a bit before making myself scarce. I have far more social plans than Phil does since I am such a planner, but it was nice for him to have some plans for a change!

- It was so great to see so much family at my nephew’s grad party! I saw 3 of my 4 siblings and 7 of my 9 nieces and nephews. I also saw 2 sets of aunts and uncles. Paul had a blast with his cousins, especially my 2 nieces. On Friday he said, ‘do you know who some of my favorite people in the world are? My cousins! I love them so much!’ My kids are quite a bit younger than many of my nieces and nephews so I feared he wouldn’t have the cousin relationships I treasured when I was growing up. But that doesn’t seem to be the case, at least not yet. 

- My MIL came over on Sunday and we got take out for dinner. She enjoyed reading books to Will!

- Paul and I went to an eye store with pediatric frames to figure out what size of frames he needs. He was a pretty good sport. We still need to order frames. I’m debating between inexpensive ones I can order through Zenni, or investing in a more durable but more expensive pair, like Nano or Dillidalli. A family at daycare recommended Zenni so we might start with those and then upgrade after the new year once Paul is on my vision insurance. 

Looking sharp in spectacles!

- It was hot and humid on Sunday so we got the water table out. Amazingly both boys still like playing with it! Paul lost interest quickly but Will played with it for about 90 minutes!!

 

Lows:

- I had problems again with the website that I pull data from for my weekly data pull for work. This chore has become the bane of my existence. It should take 20 minutes if all goes well, but half of the time the website is down on Saturday morning, it seems. I’m working on identifying new source for the data. 

- The grad party was from 11-2 so Will had to miss his nap. We debated bringing his pack and play and having him nap there but it seemed like such a hassle and he is 2.5 so I thought it’d be fine. Reader, it was not fine. He hung in pretty well for the party but was a hot mess for the rest of the day and went to bed early. He took a short car nap on the way home but it didn’t help matters. 

So very hot and tired

- We desperately need rain but I wish it hadn’t rained on Sunday morning when we were at the park/farmer’s market. A friend of Phil’s planned a casual Father’s Day baseball game at a diamond by the farmer’s market. But it rained on and off the whole time we were there. I ended up leaving with the kids and Phil caught a ride home with a friend because Will was having a melt down and I’d had it with the light rain. So I was the mom carrying the flailing toddler to the car. I guess big toddler emotions were the theme of the weekend (or most days these days?). Or the theme was me carrying a melting down toddler to various places (out of the party, out of the park, up to bed). 

Hiding under some play equipment to avoid the rain. 

How was your weekend? 

5 Things Friday

Happy Friday! Here's 5 things on my mind today. 

1. I've been slowing trying to rebuild my wardrobe. This spring I got rid of a lot of pre-kid clothes that I know I won't fit into again unless I made a lot of sacrifices. I'm going to consign them next week and whatever the store doesn't take, I'll donate to goodwill. Now I have some gaps to fill so am gradually adding things. I lucked out and got a bunch of hand-me-downs from my neighbor but my newest addition is this dress I bought a couple of weeks ago. It's going to be perfect for work travel as the materials is the kind of material that doesn't wrinkle. As an aside, years ago I would have worn business suits on work trips. That ship has sailed!! I don’t feel strong or confident in a business suit. They are uncomfortable and unflattering. Now I nearly exclusively wear dresses. I wouldn’t present at a conference in this dress but I think it is appropriate for client meetings. 

2. My nephew has his HS graduation party on Saturday afternoon. I'm excited to see lots of family. It's kind of hard to wrap my mind around the fact that another nephew is graduating! In particular, I have spent a lot of time with this nephew as he lives in the Minneapolis metro area. I was the young, single auntie for much of his childhood so we went on lots of aunt dates. Here are some flashback photos from 2 of those aunt dates. Our usual date was to go to this awesome children's bookstore (Wild Rumpus) followed by ice cream. Now he's over 6' tall and heading off to the U of M to study engineering or computer science. 

Big brother Andrew and younger brother Matthew. Matthew just finished his freshman year!

Checking out a lizard at the book store

3. I'll be hugging my dad extra hard this weekend when I see him. I didn't mention this in my post on Monday, but my dad was in the hospital for several days due to a nasty infection. He was in the beginning stages of sepsis when he was admitted on Saturday night. But he got out on Tuesday and has a port for the IV meds he'll need to take for the next week or so, which my mom will be able to administer. We had FaceTimed with my parents on Saturday morning and my dad looked so terrible! The boys were so concerned and Will kept mentioning that Papa has an owie, so we did a mid-week FaceTime on Wednesday so they could see that papa is doing much much better. But oof, that was a bit of a scare. Thank goodness for modern medicine and I'm glad my mom is a nurse and knew to take him to the ER on Saturday (they had seen urgent care on Friday, too, but he was sent home with oral meds). 

4. At Paul's 5-year appointment in the spring, he failed the vision screen. He had failed the year before when Phil took him but Phil thought he maybe didn't understand what he was supposed to do. When he failed this year, it was clear he could not see so I took him to my optometrist and sure enough - he needs glasses. She said it's not so bad that we needed to rush to get him classes but he needs them sooner than later - certainly before he starts kindergarten. The practice I go to doesn't have pediatric frames so on Monday (we all have the day off for Juneteenth), Paul and I will go eye glass shopping at a place they recommended. I think he is going to look adorable with glasses! I am so glad that kids are screened better for glasses these days. I got glasses in 4th grade but should have had them FAR sooner. I remember having vision tests at school and I could not see the HUGE E at the top of the page of Es (do you all remember those tests?). I remember just sort of willy nilly moving my thumb around to say what direction the E was facing and somehow I passed? I don't know why I didn't admit I couldn't see a thing! I also wore out the carpet in front of our tv because I could only see if I laid in front of the tv - I could not see anything from the couch. Now if only I'd had the foresight to add Paul to my vision insurance! We'll be paying out pocket which is not a big deal for us but I imagine it IS a very expensive and big deal for other families! I think it's BS that health insurance wouldn't cover his vision exam at the optometrist even though that exam was deemed medically necessary by his doctor but I digress. Fingers crossed we find some frames that fit his sweet teeny tiny face (he’s very petite!). 

5. The hiring process kicked off for my new hire. I did 3 interviews yesterday and will do 2-3 more next week. Hiring is kind of stressful because it is a lot of work. But I have a great pool of candidates and am hopeful we'll hire someone great. But I will be glad when it's over because the process takes a lot of time/energy and is kind of stressful in that I want to get the right person and I feel bad for the people who won't get hired. 

How was your week? Do you wear corrective lenses? I nearly exclusively wear contacts but might wear glasses more as a show of support for Paul when he adjusts to wearing glasses. 

A Nearly Perfect Sunday

Hey hey! Happy Monday! We had a pretty good weekend with mostly nice weather. We had a rain shower on Saturday afternoon but it didn’t interfere with our plans too much. Sunday was a nearly perfect day, though. Here’s how we spent it! 

I woke up on my own at 6:30.  Not being woken by a kid is a real treat! Paul was downstairs watching an episode of Wild Kratts and Will was up shortly after I ate breakfast. Once Phil was up, I did a peloton workout (an old Becs Gentry strength for runners) while he managed the kids. I’m doing a trial membership with peloton to change things up a bit. I’m confused by their new pricing structure, though, so need to figure that out before my trial is up. 

The boys and I headed out to the zoo after I showered and Phil stayed back to clean and do yard work. This was our first visit to the zoo since the fall where it was nice enough to go outside comfortably! Usually we go for about 90 minutes but we were there for 2.5 hours this time! There was an animatronic dinosaur exhibit (Paul loved it, Will was terrified) and a baby farm animals exhibit. It was in the low 60s that morning which was refreshing after a string of hot days!

Awed by one of the dinosaurs. Paul has been a huge fan since he was a young toddler!

One of the otters was swimming around with a rubber ducky. We spent quite awhile watching it swim! 

Paul had his first carousel ride. I tried to convince him to ride an animal but he opted for the bench - and then wanted to ride again but on an animal. But I stood my ground one one ride only. 

There was much negotiating to leave the zoo! That’s part of why I say it was ‘nearly’ perfect Sunday  ;) 

After lunch, Will napped and Paul had a little iPad quiet time before Phil and Paul headed to his mom’s. Will took a great nap so I was able to read and snooze for a bit! 

After nap, we walked to the bandshell of our local lake for ice cream and park time! It’s just shy of 2 miles away and luckily Will still rides in the stroller. I will be sad when that comes to an end! 

We ‘shared’ a scoop of chocolate. He wasn’t a great sharer…

All he wanted to do at the park was play in the sand. I set multiple timers before we were able to leave! 

Making me a sand cookie!

Then it was back home for dinner, bath, a little playtime and bedtime! Will was outside for nearly the whole day which is the ideal day. He actually asked to go to bed at 6:30 (by saying, ‘nap time mommy?’) but I kept him up until his usual 7pm bedtime. That probably sounds early but our kids’ days start early. Phil and Paul got back around 7:45. His bedtime was epically bad - he seems to be going through a sleep regression or something. I’m guessing he was overtired. 

Paul’s bedtime aside, what could have improved the day? Phil and I were ships passing in the night. But that has to happen at times - it’s easier to clean and do yard work with the boys out of the house. Phil goes to his mom’s to work on a list of things (she’s a widow so relies on him for help around the house) every 2nd or 3rd weekend. It works well for Paul to go with since he’s self sufficient when it comes to the bathroom, etc, and he loves the one-on-one time with Nana. Dividing and conquering feels necessary in this ‘high touch’ stage of parenting. 

Of course there can always be less whining and struggles to leave the zoo or park. But considering the kids ages and stages, it’s as good of a day as I could ask for! 

How was your weekend?

5 Things Friday

Happy Friday! Here are 5 things on my mind this week.

1. I had a really great trip to Chicago. I've been there every other month since last October but this was the first time I actually had time to walk the floor and talk to sales people. On past trips, my schedule has been so incredibly packed that I didn't have much time to talk to people - which is too bad as the idea is to see people in the Chicago office when I am there. I also fit in a lunch with a url turned irl friend that lives in Chicago. We met up at a cafe along the river when I landed on Monday. I hadn't seen her since my wedding in 2017. We've Facetimed and caught up on Zoom but there's nothing like seeing someone in person! Lastly, I got a 4 mile river/lakefront run in on Tuesday morning! 

The hazy morning sky. I was told by locals that it wasn't related to wildfire smoke but I feel like it has to be!

2. Now for the bad news about my trip - Paul got a stomach bug while I was away. He came down with it on Tuesday afternoon. I am definitely more suited for caring for sick kids, I think because I learned from the best. My mom was a nurse and is the ultimate caretaker. I had meetings that went until mid-afternoon on Wednesday so I couldn't fly home early. He was doing much better by the time I got home around 7:30 on Wednesday night but wow did I feel guilty that I was away. Here's hoping Phil and Will stay healthy. (Phil did great but it's hard enough to solo parent when everyone is healthy.)

3. In other news, I am in the process of hiring a direct report! This is my first time hiring someone. It is interesting to be on the other side of the selection/interview process. I'm working with an in-house recruiter which helps. We are so understaffed and I have so much on my plate right now so I am glad we are growing our team. I never aspired to be a "people manager" - I have always wanted to be an individual contributor - but I think having one direct report will be nice. 

4. After dinner last night, we went to a stretch of the creek that we used to go to a lot 2 summers ago. It was too depressingly dry and shallow to come here last summer. The boys love throwing rocks! Hopefully our creek doesn’t dry out this summer.

5. We have a fairly quiet weekend on deck. Paul has a park/wading pool birthday party on Saturday afternoon, I think we will go to the zoo on Sunday morning, and Phil and Paul will go to my MIL's on Sunday afternoon. The weather forecast looks great - mostly sunny with highs in the 70s! So I envision lots of time outdoors! We might get some rain on Saturday but we'd welcome that - we've barely had any rain in the last couple of months.

How was your week? Have you ever hired someone and/or had a direct report?

Hot takes: sense of humor or lack thereof

Happy Tuesday. I have a short post for you today about a very minor thing that happened at the airport that made me wonder - am I the outlier when it comes to having a sense of humor? Or typical? 

Scene: waiting at the gate 

Situation: after getting to my gate, I have to go to the bathroom (not atypical; I always go to the bathroom before boarding a flight, even a short one). Usually I schlepp all of my bags with me to the bathroom. But there was a kind-looking older woman that I had made eye contact with. So I asked if she would watch my bags while I went to the bathroom. (Side note: while I rarely do this, it’s not uncommon. I’ve watched many people’s bags for the same reason). 

What happened: when I got back, I sat down and a younger woman (around my age - the bag watcher was in her upper 70s) said that she had suggested to the bag watcher that they move my bags and then move to a different area as a joke. 

…

Um I couldn’t even muster up a laugh. I suppose it was supposed to be funny and I should have forced a ‘ha ha.’ Instead I said I would have completely panicked if that happened. (My heart races just thinking about this scenario.) I would never and could never see the humor of that. It didn’t happen so it’s neither here nor there but are there people who think this is funny? 

But here’s the thing - I hate pranks. I loathe April Fool’s day. My husband jokes that if I was a super hero, my super hero name would be ‘literal Lisa’. 

The senior citizen that watched my bags made it clear she would never do that and did not think it was funny. But the girl who joked about doing this prank seemed to think it was very funny. 

And now I will never ask someone to watch my bags again. 

Your turn - would you come up with a prank like this? Would you find this funny? Or, like me, would you be appalled that someone would even consider doing that?

Weekend Highlights + Chicago Bound

Well summer has arrived here in Minnesota! We’ve had lots of 90 degree days which is not typical for us in late May/early June! Here are some weekend highlights!

- I am aunt again!! My sister had her daughter - Amelia Grace - on Friday morning! Mom and baby are both doing great! My sister and her family are planning a visit to the lake in August so I will get to snuggle her in a couple of months! This is my 9th niece/nephew! 

- Paul has been focused on learning to ride his bike after having no interest last summer. His best friend learned to ride without training wheels so now he’s motivated to figure that out, too! Up until now, he’s been all about his scooter. We went for a longer walk/bike ride on Friday and he did pretty well!

- We went to a local park/wading pool to beat the heat on Saturday and ran into our best friends! I had a rookie mom moment and forgot to bring a towel - but Paul’s bestie was happy to share. Paul enjoyed the water but Will refused to get in! He was more into playing in the sand in the park. The boys enjoyed popsicles when we got home!

  

- The boys and I went for a walk/scoot on Sunday so Phil could mow. We stopped at the goose house for some play time. I avoid this house unless I want to spend 30-45 minutes here as the toys are irresistible for Will. 

- I met up with 2 college friends for lunch on Sunday! 

- We met up with the same friends we saw on Saturday at a different wading pool/splash pad. It was a zero entry pool so Will was more interested! 

Now I’m Chicago bound! I fly out this morning and come back Wednesday night. It’s my only June trip. Chicago is always an easy trip for me since it’s a short flight and I know the city so well. I’m hoping to do a lakefront run tomorrow morning before work! 

How was your weekend? Is it hot where you are?