TGIF!

Happy Friday! This was another 4-day work week for me as I took Thursday off to get a haircut/enjoy some 'me time.' Here is how our week shaped up! 

The book I'm reading is The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan. It's about a single mom who moves from London to Scottland to care for 3 kids in a massive castle and also worked part time in a mobile bookstore. This is the 2nd book in the series. I read the first book on our honeymoon in Maui (take me back there!!) and in my goodreads review I said I would read more by this author when I was craving something light. And I've been craving just that lately! My memory of the first book is very foggy but that's ok as it just references characters from the first book and reminds you of their story. This is the 3rd 'light' book I've read in a row this month. I do want to return to some deeper reads but I needed a little reprieve. My next "heavy" book will be "The Warmth of Other Suns" which is about the great migration of over 6 million black people out of the south to the north and west in search of a better life/opportunities/equality. It's a massive 500+ page doorstop of a book. I bought a copy last winter at Half Priced Books but have put off reading it because I know it's going to be a heavy read, but I've heard nothing but great things about it. 

The high of my week was getting my hair cut yesterday! My hair person moved to a different salon post-COVID. She now has her own private room so it felt very safe to get a haircut since we both wore masks the entire time and she sanitizing everything between clients. I've been seeing my hair girl for over 12 years so it's like hanging out with a really good friend.

The low of my week was getting another flare on Thursday. I guess my RA is done behaving during this pregnancy. I had only dropped my steroid dose 2.5mg from the max dose I can take during pregnancy so I wasn't even on a low dose yet. Le sigh. It's feeling better today since I was able to ice it for many hours yesterday. It wasn't the day off I envisioned as I was hoping to take a long walk after dropping Paul at daycare. But when my body is flaring, I need to take it easy. And it was nice to not have to work while having a flare. It was in my thumb so typing would have been painful. 

At least I was able to read my book while icing my joint.

A recipe I made was pasta with sausage and peppers. Again. This was the recipe I mentioned in my last TGIF post. I will admit that I do not have much motivation when it comes to cooking right now. I tend to have more motivation in the fall and winter. Right now I'm all about making meals that I think Paul will eat and that won't heat up the house too much (so I'm using my oven as little as possible). 

A show we are watching is the 2018 season Call the Midwife on Netflix. By we I mean me. I will usually start an episode when Phil goes upstairs to do bedtime with Paul and I'll get through about 20 minutes and then shut it off when Phil comes downstairs because it is not his thing. I will say this is an odd show to watch when you are pregnant. Phil watched the end of a couple of episodes and asked if there were any happy stories and if it was a good idea to watch while pregnant... There are happy'ish stories but obviously they need some drama to make the show interesting. But I really love it and it doesn't make me anxious about my pregnancy. 

The best money spent was on this Instant Pot cookbook. When our friends had us over for dinner last month, she made a soup recipe from the book and it was SO GOOD. So I decided I should buy it because the instant pot is the perfect gadget for the summer since it doesn't heat up your house. Granted, the foods that come out of it are piping hot - not cool, summer meals. But we like eating soups, stews, curries, etc year-round. I'm planning to make a recipe from it each week. Christopher Kimball used to work for America's Test Kitchen so he is a great recipe writer. My friend said every recipe she has made has turned out great! The first recipe we will try next week is Picadillo which is a Cuban dish. I think Paul will eat this as it has ground beef (he will eat ground meats - he isn't a big fan of more firm or stringy meats like chicken, sausage, etc) and olives (he LOVES both green and black olives). It's also one of Phil's favorite dishes. 

My plans this weekend include quite a bit for a change! Tonight I am going to a park with 2 girlfriends and we will get take-out from an on-site restaurant called Sea Salt. I can't wait to have some fish tacos! Tomorrow morning I am meeting up with 3 college girlfriends to go for a walk. And then on Sunday I am getting together with 3 other girlfriends - all sig others of Phil's college friends - for an outdoor catch up session. Research shows it is safe to gather in small groups outdoors so I am glad I have these option as I felt pretty lonely/isolated this spring. I am an introvert but I was used to leaving the house for work 5 days a week and these days I rarely go anywhere! So it's nice to introduce more safe social gatherings!

Bonus Paul photos!

Paul's latest obsession is... his nipples! I do not know what prompted this, but he is very interested in his nipples and likes to point them out to us and play with them when he wears a tank top. When we had our friend over last weekend, he lifted his shirt to show her his nipples and then kept saying "Pablo's nipples" while laughing hysterically. Kids get into the strangest things! And if you look closely, you'll notice his hair is a little bit blue thanks to a paint art project he worked on that day. Luckily it washed out easily! 

How sweet is the photo of Paul looking at a picture of my parents? Most nights, Paul will watch some videos on Phil's computer (mostly songs like the alphabet and Baby Shark). After Phil decides it's time to be done watching videos, Paul asks to look at the picture of "Papa Nana" from our wedding that is saved on Phil's desk top. We really miss my parents! We can't wait to see them in August.

How was your week? What are you reading and watching these days?

Pregnancy Update: 18 Weeks

Happy Tuesday! I'm back with another pregnancy update. I'm planning to share updates every 4 weeks. I know this is not of interest to many people but it's fun for me to document the pregnancy. I love looking back at posts from my pregnancy with Paul so am sure I'll read back on these some day, too. 

Baby size:  the baby is the length of a bell pepper. He's 5.5" long and weighs almost 7 oz. 

I am definitely showing way more this pregnancy. I'll be honest and say I don't love it. I know it's healthy and part of being pregnant but I just feel bulky. The photo on the left was around 18 weeks with my last pregnancy and the photo on the right is this pregnancy (the photo quality is pretty crappy but it's the best I can do in our bedroom). And my hair is very frizzy because of the humidity! As you can see, I was barely showing at this point with Paul. I know my belly size is probably more typical than my previous pregnancy. And it's normal to show earlier. It's just taking some getting use to on my part... But that said, I know I am very lucky to be pregnant and I don't ever take it for granted!

Sex of the baby: boy! It's been fun to experience the pregnancy knowing what the gender is after not knowing last time. I loved not knowing last time but it is nice to be able to picture a growing boy in my tummy. 

Symptoms/RA management:  Ugh. My RA has not been good. I was on prednisone for my last 2 flares and as soon as I tapered down to a lower dose of prednisone, I got 2 horrible flares in my right wrist and right ankle. Both made sleep difficult and work was difficult as typing is painful when your wrist hurts like heck. It is looking like I will need to stay on prednisone for this pregnancy. I was really hoping my RA would behave this time but it just isn't. :( Being on prednisone means I'll likely end up with gestational diabetes again as prednisone raises your blood sugar. So I'm dreading the extra doctor appointments/monitoring and adding 4 finger pricks/day to the 8 injections/week I've been giving myself since week 6 of the pregnancy. I am very grateful to be pregnant and to be adding to our family but I really wish that pregnancy wasn't so hard for me... 

Recent/upcoming appointments: I had my 15 week appointment 3 weeks ago. Those appointments are always so reassuring since I get to hear the heartbeat. At that appointment I did another round of prenatal screening (the alpha fetal protein test) and the results came back normal so that was another relief! I have my next appointment at 20 weeks. I'll go to a perinatal clinic for my ultrasound instead of my usual OB practice since I'm high risk between my blood clot history, RA and prednisone usage. And then I have an appointment the next day with my OB. I'm very excited for the 20 week ultrasound as you see so much at that appointment. I'll have to go alone as they are still only seeing patients due to COVID, but I understand that requirement and can FaceTime Phil in for the scan. 

Sleep:  It's hit or miss depending on my RA and stress levels. Weekend naps are LIFE. Sometimes I nap for over 2 hours which is so not like me. But clearly my body needs the rest. 

Cravings/favorite foods and aversions: I don't really have any weird cravings but I didn't with Paul either. I eat a lot of chips and salsa and pickles but those are foods I'm drawn to when I'm not pregnant! I still have aversions to most sweets, hard-boiled eggs, and yogurt. Sometimes sweets sound good to me, but it's hit or miss. 

Exercise:  Eh, not great. I was doing good with frequent walks but work has been so busy and then the RA flares make it hard to get out for walks. So I am going on long walks when I can and I will do a lot of lake swimming with Paul this summer. That's not exactly a 'workout' but it can be strenuous to pull a toddler around or jump up and down with him in the lake (he loves that!). 

Recent baby prep/decisions:  nothing. Can you tell this is a 2nd child? Ha. To be honest, we didn't do much prep for Paul either because we were house hunting and were hoping to move before he was born... So I didn't actually 'decorate' his room until this winter when he was nearing 2. And by decorate, I mean I hung some reading-themed prints over his crib. We are just not 'decorate the nursery in an elaborate manner' type of people! This is such a YOU DO YOU thing! We are glad we didn't spend much money/time decorating because he is literally only in that room to sleep! But I totally understand that most parents love to decorate the nursery.

We will eventually turn our 3rd bedroom upstairs into the baby's room but it's currently used as an office for Phil when he WFH. One of the walls is pink so I do want to get that bedroom painted. Other than that, we really don't need to buy much since we already have everything! I know the baby won't sleep in his room until he's around 3-4 months so we are thinking Paul will be ready for a big boy bed by then. So our plan is to move his crib into the baby's room. We will see how that works out. That's a long time away but he loves his crib and has never tried to climb out of it (I highly doubt he could if he tried). If he's not ready for a big boy bed, we'll just get a 2nd crib at that point.

Mood: overall my mood has been pretty good. I have less anxiety than I did in the first trimester so that is good. I'm starting to feel more excitement and we talk more about the baby with Paul so now he knows there is a baby in my tummy and will point to it. I think Phil and I will feel much better after our 20 week ultrasound since that is a big milestone. 

Maternity clothes:  I finally pulled out my maternity clothes 2 weeks ago. I felt very nervous about bringing my maternity clothes out before that. I had brought them out in October the weekend before our ultrasound and then at that appointment we found out there was no heartbeat. So I just felt super anxious about unpacking them again. 

To be clear, I was not able to wear much of my pre-pregnancy clothes starting around week 12-13 I think. But I've been living in workout clothes since I started to WFM in mid-March so I just wore the same stuff over and over again. This past weekend I went to a pregnancy consignment store to buy some summer clothes as I have no summer pregnancy clothes. I bought 15 items for $160 which is a pretty good deal! Pregnancy clothes are so dang expensive so I couldn't stomach paying full price for things that I will only wear for the next couple of months. 

This before (left) and after (right) photo isn't very impressive, but I did pack away a ton of clothes. I don't think I will wear most of the stuff I wore with Paul since we won't be going out on dates or to holiday parties, etc and I don't have to dress up for work. But I wanted to at least see what my options are. I can't wait to sell all this stuff to the consignment store after the baby is born because we are 100% done having kids after this pregnancy. 

18 weeks down, 21 to go! 

Holiday Weekend Highlights

Happy Monday! I hope everyone enjoyed their long holiday weekend (well, those in the US!). It was a HOT one here. I can't remember it being so hot for so long so early in the summer. Again, I'm really trying not to complain but this heat/humidity is INTENSE.

I was definitely sad to miss out on family time at my parents' lake home but staying home was the responsible decision. Here are some highlights from our holiday weekend!

Water table time

Paul still loves to play with his water table, although his attention span for it has shortened recently. I'm so glad our backyard is shaded in the afternoon. It's been unbearable to be in the sunshine when it's as hot and humid as it's been.

Diaper-only play time

You can't tell from this picture, but Paul is only wearing a diaper. We let him play in a diaper or without shorts any time we were indoors. He seems to naturally run hot so we figure minimal clothing makes sense when it's just and we are indoors.

Lake time

We went swimming every morning Fri-Sun. We were in the local lake by 9 am on Friday and Saturday. Paul really loves swimming and it holds his attention for about 30-45 minutes. It's a short 20-25 minute walk to this lake. On Sunday we went to the lake (Nokomis) where Phil swims a course. It was not as clean as Harriet so I definitely find that we prefer Harriet. But the beach we go to at Nokomis is shaded so there are trade offs for each place! The picture below is of Lake Harriet. The lakes were like glass all weekend since there was zero wind.

Baked goods!

I so rarely bake but I had some blueberries that I wanted to use up, so I looked for recipes in my America's Test Kitchen Gluten Free cook book (highly recommend this cook book if you/someone in your life has a gluten intolerance). I decided to make some muffins. They turned out so good! GF baking is so hit or miss, but every recipe from this book has turned out great!

Toddler indoor activities

We pretty much were not outdoors after mid-day any day this weekend. So I had to find activities to entertain Paul. Luckily he is pretty into coloring these days. He only lasts for 10-15 minutes but I'll take what I can get!

Our 4th of July celebration

We did have one friend over for dinner on the 4th. We stayed outside except for when we ate dinner. The humidity wasn't too bad that night so it was fairly comfortable. Paul had fun flirting with this friend. It's clear that flirtation is second nature and not something that is taught. He had to sit next to her and kept grinning her in the most flirtatious way!

How was your holiday weekend? Is it super hot and humid where you live? We are supposed to get T-storms throughout the week so I am hoping we get a break in the humidity. I can handle the heat - it's the humidity that kills me! 

What We Read in June

I was surprised to see that I read 8 books in June! It didn't feel like I read that many books but I guess all the time I spent reading before bed adds up. That is pretty much when I do all of my readings - I go upstairs between 8-8:30 every night and read until 9-9:30. I do read when I lay down during Paul's weekend naps but the exhaustion takes over and my reading session turns into a nap. Hopefully that will change some day but I think I will probably use nap time to, well, nap during this pregnancy!

Once again I did not have any misses this month for the 2nd month in a row. It's tough to pick favorites but the books that stuck with me are:

- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram Kendi - This is clearly a heavy read. I took it slow and only read one chapter/day as there was a lot to soak in. It's very research based and while he uses some of his personal life experience in the book, it's not narrative non-fiction. But it really made me think about the unconscious biases I have and it made for a great book club discussion.

- In Five Years by Rebecca  Serle - This the biggest page turner for me. If I wasn't disciplined about my bedtime, I would have stayed up late at night to finish this book. It's about a woman who has dream the night she gets engaged. In her dream, it's five years later. But the man she is with in this dream is not her fiance. This dream haunts for her the five years to come and makes her question the decisions she makes.

- City Guide to Country Living by Louise Miller - This was another easy, breezy light read that felt like a spin-off of The Gilmore Girls. There is a lot of baking in the book, too, so it might make you want to bake a pie (I feel more motivated than ever to bake a pie from scratch but this will not happen when it's 90 degrees outside - maybe this fall I will bake my first pie from scatch)!

- If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais - This is the 2nd book I read by this author. She's from South Africa so her books are set there and they tend to deal with the Apartheid. This book was set during post-Apartheid South Africa. Nelson Mandela was recently elected but there is still so much racial tension. It's narrated by 3 people - 2 white sisters and a black women who lives in a resettlement camp close to the sisters. Their lives become intertwined and the story unfolds from there.

- Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center - This is kind of a mix between romance and women's fiction. It's a lighter page turner but it also covers from heavier topics so it wasn't 'fluff' (not that there is anything wrong with reading a fluffy book!). It was very difficult to put down and I found myself trying to find extra times during the day to read, like while Paul takes his bath (I give him his bath every night and sometimes I need a little entertainment while he sings to his toys, etc). 

Paul's reading:

Paul got 3 new books this month and really loves all of them!

In an effort to diversify to diversify Paul's library, I ordered some books. 3 of them were too mature for Paul's age but he loves We're Different, We're the Same, and We'll All Wonderful (he's obsessed with Elmo) and Citizen Baby: My Vote. I'm honestly surprised he likes the voting book so much. He asks us to read it all the time. There are other Citizen Baby books so I think I will get more for him.

My parents also got him this Big Brother book and a new t-shirt, too. He loves this book! 

He continues to be our little book worm. On Sunday afternoon, he brought me some books, crawled into my lap and said, "I love books!" And then I brushed my hands together and said - well my job here is done! Ha. But seriously, raising a reader is super important to us. I mean, we had a book-themed wedding so you knew our child was going to have to love books! We've read to him from the early infancy days and books are just part of every day life for him. But it makes me very very happy to see how much he loves to read!

Have you read anything great lately? 

Hot Hot Hot!

Oof, summer is really bringing the heat this year. Earlier this month I heard we had 4 90+ degree days compared to 6 in all of 2019! And this week it's going to be in the 90s nearly every day. I do like summer, but this is a little bit intense! I'm not complaining, it's just... um... HOT. Like too hot to go to the playground after about 9am because the equipment is too hot to play on - try explaining that to a playground-obsessed 2 year old! People are often surprised to hear it gets hot and humid here in Minnesota, but trust me - it does! We are a unique area of the country as we get get down to like -20F in the winter and close to or sometimes over 100F in the summer!

We did manage to keep cool/entertained this past weekend. Even though it's pretty steamy outside, being outside with a toddler is better than being cooped up indoors!

On Friday night, I got his water table set up as soon as we got home from school. He loves this table so much and it take all of 3 minutes to fill it up. He gets drenched but I don't care since it's the end of the day. This is definitely one of the best purchases we've made for Paul!

On Saturday morning, after Facetiming with my mom, we headed out to water my garden and stopped by the park. He was a bit limited on what he could play on since all the slides are metal so any in the sun were too hot to go down. But he still entertained himself for 25 minutes. Swinging was his favorite activity that morning.

One positive aspect of the heat is that it's making things grow like crazy in my garden! Check out the radishes I harvested on Saturday morning. I should have taken a picture of them before trimming them. They were so huge that Phil thought they must be turnips. I was worried they wouldn't taste good since they were so huge (I thought they might get a 'woody' taste) but they taste excellent. Phil doesn't like radishes and Paul tried a bite and immediately spit it out. So I get them all to myself! They are the perfect vessel for guacamole!!

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Phil's HS friend's home on a lake. I failed to take any pictures! We hadn't seen this group since January so we had a lot of catching up to do and I was busy keep track of Paul. They have a beautiful home on a lake with a massive lot (over an acre) so there was plenty of room for us to all socially distance. They were excellent hosts - they even bought some bottles of bubbles to entertain the kids. So Paul was in heaven when Phil's friend blew bubbles for Paul for a good 20 minutes. We also went in the lake which was crazy warm - 88F!

On Sunday morning, we headed to the local lake where Phil swims. Last weekend didn't go so great as we went to the beach with some playground equipment that is too big for Paul and it was just too distracting for him. This time I coaxed him into the water and talked him into letting me take him out further so we could practice what we've learned in swimming lessons (which are on a very grand pause until COVID is under control). He had the best time and kept asking to go on his tummy so he could swim. We were in the water the whole time Phil was swimming the course which is probably 30-40 minutes. Now that I know he enjoys lake swimming we will go to the beach even more often on hot days. I had talked to Phil about how we needed to turn him into a lake kid so I am glad he took to the water well this weekend. I grew up going to the lake and if this was a normal summer, we'd be at my parents at least once a month. So I am glad he likes the water now, especially since we have decided to visit my parents lake home for a week in August. We will all get tested for COVID before going up to make sure we don't infect my parents!

On Sunday afternoon we spent more time outside after Paul's nap. Paul played with his water table and some other outdoor toys and sort of helped while Phil and I weeded/put down mulch (we are super behind on putting down mulch since the deck project took up much of May/June).

I'll close by sharing some pictures of Paul wearing MY hat. As you can see, it basically fits him! So yes, that means we pretty much have the same sized head. My head is smaller than normal - like I had to wear youth goggles when I did my triathlons and it's hard to find glasses that fit right because I have such a narrow face. Paul is super petite - like 4th percentile for weight at his last Dr appt - but his head is and has always been huge. Like 99th percentile. He is starting to grow into it but when he was a baby, he was a total bobble head. We do not know where he got his huge head from because Phil's head is also on the smaller size. Hopefully big head = big brain!

How is the weather in your neck of the woods? Is it crazy hot/humid? It's currently raining here and I am SO happy because I need a break from the heat for at least a day!

TGIF

Hello, Friday! Anyone else in shock that the year will be half over in a matter of days? Parts of 2020 crawled by, like when we were just starting to adjust to COVID life. But it's crazy to think the year is half over. 

The book I'm reading is If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais. This is the 2nd book I've read by this South African author. I discovered her thanks to Modern Mrs. Darcy. Her books are so good! This one is set around the time that Nelson Mandela is elected president so it deals with the racial tension between whites and blacks. There are 3 narrators to the story - 2 white sisters and a black woman who lives in an encampment close to the sisters. The lives of the 3 narrators become entwined. I've been cruising through this book as I have a hard time putting it down each night. 

The high of my week was the milder summer weather we've had this week. We've had quite a few super humid 90+ degree days but this week it's been sunny and around 75 which is just perfect. Granted I haven't enjoyed much of the nice weather since I've been mostly indoors thanks to the head cold I'm battling. 

The low of my week was not feeling well. I ended up getting tested for COVID on Monday because I felt so off on Sat/Sun. By Monday afternoon it was pretty clear I had a head cold but I still got tested since the appointment was set up. I went to a site that uses a 3rd party lab so it takes longer to get your results (2-3 days) and they only call you if you tested positive - otherwise they mail you a letter. I had my telehealth visit with my rheumatologist yesterday and she was able to pull up the results and confirm it was negative. So that was a relief! In the future if I need to get tested again, we'll go to Hennepin Healthcare as they have an onsite lab and you get your results in 24 hours. I started to feel better on Thursday but this head cold is a doosy! 

A recipe I made was pasta with sausage and peppers. We probably make this twice a month as it's something we know Paul will eat.There isn't much originality to our meal planning right now. I haven't felt motivated to try new recipes so we just keep making the same tried and true things over and over. 

A show we are watching is Space Force on Netflix. This is a new show with Steve Carrell in it (whom I love!). It's goofy and silly but that's kind of what we need right now. We were watching Brooklyn 9-9 but we got to a season (I think season 4?) we were both feeling kind of 'meh' about so we decided to take a break. 

The best money spent was on some N/A Prosecco that I ordered after hearing about it on a podcast. I love white wine and prosecco but am obviously not drinking any right now since I'm pregnant! So when I heard 2 podcast hosts rave about this N/A Prosecco I decided to treat myself to some. It's nice to have a fun drink to enjoy on a hot summer night - and it only has 50 calories! 

My plans this weekend include going out to Phil's HS friend's house after Paul's nap on Saturday. He lives on a lake and has a huge lot so it will be easy for us to social distance. I think there will be 3-4 families there? We haven't seen them since January when we hosted this group for a brunch to celebrate the wedding of one of the couples so it will be good to see each other. And it will be a good way to tell them we are expecting - Phil isn't a fan of texting people with our news. On Sunday morning we will go to the lake while Phil does his swim. He's part of a local swim club that has a 0.8 mile course set up at certain times during the week. Our plan is to join him on Sunday mornings when the weather is nice. 

Bonus Paul photos!

Paul loves playing in our backyard. As soon as he gets home from daycare each day he asks to go out there. This week we've been playing with chalk, blowing bubbles, and kicking/throwing a soccer ball around the yard. 

Daddy shared half of his chocolate chocolate chip cookie with Paul. We have quite the cookie monster on our hands. Paul doesn't get many sweets since I very rarely bake but when he does, boy is he happy. Cookies are definitely his favorite treat. He doesn't seem to be a fan of cake (I'm not either so can't really blame him).

How was your week? Have you made any new recipes or are you sticking with tried and true ones like us?

Weekend Recap

Here I am with our Father's Day weekend recap, a day later than I planned to post. But such is life! Here is how our weekend shaped up!

My company gave everyone Friday afternoon off in honor of the Juneteeth holiday and encouraged us to reflect on what we can do to "be the change" which is the name of our internal campaign to right against racial unjustice. So listened to a couple of podcasts related to antiracism while working in my garden which was a HOT mess. I'm almost embarrassed to share the before and after photos. I have a MAJOR weed problem! I tried putting grass clippings down thinking that would help but it didn't. I bought a new weeding tool at the ace hardware that is a block from our house (love having a hardware store so close!) and that really helped. Previously I was getting on my hands and knees to weed and my back did NOT like that. Plus with my SCH, I'm super careful about not exerting myself too much as the last time I did that while gardening, I had a bleeding incident. My goal is to get over to the garden once a week to weed. As you can see from the picture on the right, I did not plant much this year - green beans, lettuce, beets, radishes, peppers, and cucumbers (but my cucumber plant hasn't grown so I might need to go buy a plant this week). So my garden looks total barren compared to others. But between being pregnant and having a busy toddler, I wanted to be realistic about what I had time for this summer and decided to majorly scale back what I planted.

After all that work, I felt like I had earned a treat so I picked up DQ blizzards for Phil and me. Ice cream has been a total turn-off for most of this pregnancy but it sounded good on Friday! I enjoyed my blizzard on the deck while reading my book!

That night I made lentil enchiladas and Spanish rice - Phil's favorite meal - as an early Father's Day dinner but forgot to take a picture! This is a meal that Paul also loves which surprises us because there is jalapeno in the lentil filling.

On Saturday morning, we did some reading and FaceTimed with my parents. This is Paul's favorite book lately - it's one of several that I bought to diversify his library. Some of the books I bought had to be put away for when he's older, but this one is perfect for toddlers.

Paul and I then headed out for a long walk to the lake by our house and stopped at the park on the way home. He had the best time at the park. He tried the big slide for the first time and LOVED it!

Phil went golfing that afternoon as his Father's Day gift so he headed out after putting Paul down for his nap. Luckily Paul took a 2 hour nap and I went to lay down before Paul went down for his nap so I slept for over 2 hours, which is not normal for me! After Paul's nap we went for a walk to water my garden and briefly stopped at the park but didn't stay long as all the equipment was way too hot as it was very sunny that day.

On Sunday morning, we all headed to the beach so Phil could swim across the lake. He's a member of a local swim club so swims their 0.8 mile course twice a week. Paul did so-so playing in the sand. He wasn't interested in playing in the water and kept asking to go to the park... but hopefully he'll enjoy the beach more soon! We plan to keep going each Sunday. 

We grabbed take-and-bake pizzas and headed home for an easy Father's Day lunch. Phil headed out after lunch to go to his mom's to help out. We would typically go with to his mom's but he wanted to stop by his dad's grave on the way so I felt it was best to give him some privacy. When Paul is older and able to understand death/passing, we'll take him with to the grave but he's not at the right age for that yet... Paul napped for 2.5 hours which is abnormally long for him, and I slept that whole time, too. When I woke up, I could tell I was getting sick. I'd felt off/super tired the last 2 days and then the soar throat started that evening. 

Phil got home in time for bed time which I was very happy about as I was really not feeling well by that point. 

So all in all, it was a good weekend although I could have done without coming down with this cold bug! 

How was your weekend?