Monday, June 12, 2023

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?

16 comments:

  1. That sounds like such a great weekend, Lisa! Our kids used to go to bed around 7 as well - too bad Paul had a bit of a rough bedtime but I guess that's how it goes. The zoo sounds very fun. One year there was a Dinos Alive exhibition at our zoo and the boys loved it/ were scared of the giant T-rex that roared. Good times!
    Peloton! I used to do Becs Gentry Strength for Runners quite often. Now I do Callie strength classes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I couldn't click through to this post fast enough! Yay for "nearly" perfect Sundays.

    Bedtime and transitions are two constant sticking points with young kids they almost can't count against a good day because...they're perpetual landmines!

    This post is the sign of so many fun summer days to come. It gets easier as the kids get older and have longer attention spans and sleep in the morning!!

    I'm so glad you had such a lovely day (next time I vote you buy yourself a scoop of ice cream!).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hooray for such a great weekend and so much time outdoors! I love the expressions of delight/terror on the boys faces as they viewed the dinos. My daughter is STILL obsessed with dinosaurs -- this is a multi-year passion -- and I have to say I kind of love it.

    Also on the early bedtime: even though my kid is nearly ten, I still aim for 7:30 most nights. She just does SO MUCH BETTER if she gets enough sleep that she wakes up herself, and if she goes to bed at 8:30 or later she is still asleep when I have to wake her up for school or camp. Early bedtimes are the best!

    ReplyDelete
  4. If your kids didn't whine and complain when it was time to leave the zoo or park, I would be worried about them! My son would have absolutely loved that dinosaur exhibit. The whole day sounds really nice, and I don't see anything wrong with the "divide and conquer" approach. Everyone is happy, and you're able to get more done.
    I don't do Peloton anymore, but the way I understand it is the highest price is for everything, but if you just want the strength/yoga classes (not the bike or runs) it's cheaper? I did like it, and sometimes I miss it. I like the things I'm finding for free on youtube, but Peloton has lots of fun challenges. I'll be interested to hear what you decide!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your weekend sounds wonderful and glad Paul was better enough to fully enjoy it all!

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a lovely day and lovely memories!

    It was cold and spitting rain here and I spent a good chunk of Sunday afternoon sitting around moping. LOL.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi! Love seeing the boys enjoying the zoo. Did you know PBS also has “Zoboomafoo with the Kratt Brothers”? It’s an older series based at “Animal Junction.” Mostly live with a few animated segments. We watch it with our PBS subscription through Amazon. Your blog is a delight!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds like such a great weekend!!! I took C to the library Friday afternoon. Saturday I had a vendor event. Then I came home and cleaned bathrooms. Sunday I had nursery and then a graduation party. I watched the Jennifer Lopez documentary on Netflix, while it was an overall biography it covered quite a bit of the behind the scenes of her Super Bowl performance. I enjoyed it but M left the room. He doesn’t appreciate my tastes sometimes;)
    Lori

    ReplyDelete
  9. so glad to hear that the weather is good enough for you to get back to Sunday outdoor activities. Kids have so much more fun that way.
    my weekend was fantastic, almost like an adult escape trip, hahaha....

    ReplyDelete
  10. Adorable pictures-- isn't it THE BEST when midwest summer finally arrives?

    ReplyDelete
  11. "Nearly good" is my jam this year! I have to remind myself that my kids already have such great lives, T and I have great lives so nearly really equals good.

    A highlight of my weekend was... going to Panera with my 3 year old guy. He really is so low ket. "What do you wanna do, Rainn? " 'I wanna go to panera and Home Depot mommy." Little things in life lol

    Adore all the pictures from the zoo :))

    ReplyDelete
  12. That sounds like a great day and I am glad it was not too hot so you could hang out outside comfortably! That is a win in my book. Also, dinosaurs are so cool; I love that Pablo loves them (and can pronounce the names better than I can!) so much.

    My weekend was good; I rode my bike to my brother's house and helped him clean out his garage and then we had a nice dinner and we all fell asleep early because we tired ourselves out so much! It was perfect weather; sometimes where he lives it gets really hot but it was probably in the 70s with a slight breeze, so just up my alley! He and I went for a walk and then I went home on Sunday and got some things done around the house. However, the ride took me a long time, so I feel like I have some weekday catching up to do on some things (laundry!)

    ReplyDelete
  13. What a wonderful weekend! And while, sure, it would have been nice to experience it all together, it makes sense to go the divide-and-conquer route at this stage of life.

    I love Peloton but I am so annoyed by the pricing changes. $15 a month is doable, but I don't know how I feel about the additional cost. Thankfully, I don't think it takes effect until the end of the year so I have some time to decide what I want to do.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That sounds like such a nice weekend. While reading, I was reminiscing about when my daughter was that young, and we went to the zoo and the park, and sometimes I loved it and sometimes I was bored, often at the same time. I'm wistful for it now.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love Becs'running content. How have you been liking the platform so far? I know they just changed their pricing structure. It's a little "confusing" but comes down to how much access you'd like to have to classes. If you're not accessing equipment-based classes, you can stay on the $12.99 plan (you get three equipment-based classes per month).

    What a fun trip to the zoo. My sister just went to the Cologne Zoo with her 3rd graders and the zoo just had a baby elephant born a few days ago. So exciting!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh, Sunday sounds like the post-winter, post-challenging-kid-days almost-perfect day you needed. Sunshine, tired and happy kids (well, for the most part...), adequate distractions and activities, and.. ice cream! Time to get your own scoop. :)

    ReplyDelete