Weekend Recap

Today started out with pouring rain and I had to run back inside three separate times before actually leaving the house.  So how is YOUR Monday going??

Our weekend was mostly uneventful.  I usually look forward to these weekends, but our weather wasn’t at all nice and being stuck inside with energetic boys can be challenging.  Saturday started with swim lessons and a Winter Storm Warning.  W moved up a level so he and S were going to be separated for the first time.  On the way to swim class, W told S that they’d be in different classes and that he’d have a different teacher.  To which S responded, “I’ll tell you you’re doing great, W!”.  It was so sweet.  S has always been W’s biggest fan.  I was curious how they’d do being separated, but they were totally fine.  And after class, we found out S is moving up to the next level so I think they’ll be back in the same class again.

We grabbed drinks at Starbucks and headed home for a bit.  Luckily none of the snow stuck and the storm warning was canceled.  We played games and just hung around the house.  We then headed out to attend Saturday evening mass for a change.  This is always a challenge.  It’s the hardest part of the day – the boys tend to be tired and wild at the same time.  That doesn’t bode well for church and it was definitely difficult.  But the bright side of attending Saturday mass is that we can sleep in on Sunday.  And by “sleep in”, I mean sleep until 6:45am, which is exactly what we did.  And it was wonderful.  I got to stay in my pjs and ease into the day.

The rest of the day was filled with a lunch outing, lots of painting, and a family walk.  I should also mention that the boys received dot paint and "Kwik Sticks" for Christmas and they are SO much easier/less messy than regular paint... highly recommend!!!  And it kept them busy for about an hour, which never happens.

Weekend Recap

We had such a full weekend and it left me feeling grateful and so blessed.

Saturday began with swim class.  W moved up to the next swim level.  I’ve been feeling like this class isn’t really teaching the boys very much and have just considered it something to do on Saturday mornings.  When I looked at the list of what W had accomplished, I realized he was learning more than I thought.

Afterwards, on a whim, we decided to head to the local theme park.  It was opening weekend and we finally had decent weather.  We have passes so we figured we had nothing to lose – if the boys weren’t into it, we’d just leave and return another time.  We had a blast!  The park wasn’t at all crowded and we were able to get on rides without any wait.  S was suddenly feeling brave and wanted to try lots of rides.  He even went on a roller coaster… and it scared him.  Aside from that, we had so much fun and went on more rides than ever before.

Sunday, after mass and Easter baskets, we headed to Nani and Papa’s house.  As always, the food was delicious and the boys had so much fun playing with their cousins.  It was the most beautiful day we’ve had since probably September.  The weather was just perfect and after what felt like the longest winter, I just had this sense of renewal.  We spent so much time outdoors.  Even after returning home from all the Easter festivities, we played outside.

Friday Thoughts

Lately, the boys have been crazy around dinner time.  I’m not sure if it’s just pent up energy, but they are loud, W falls out of his chair, they’re super wiggly and distracted.  As a way to get them to focus and calm down, I’ve been asking a question for them to consider each dinner.  My most recent question was, “If you could have dinner with any living person, who would it be?”  My answer was Michelle Obama.  I’m currently reading her book and find her to be an impressive role model and overall fascinating person.  I expected the boys to say our garbage man or the PAW Patrol.  Their responses:

S: “MOMMY!!”

W: “I would invite the people who don’t have any money and feed them dinner and then I would give them all a dollar before they left.”

Not at all what I expected.  Love my boys.

I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a great cook.  I enjoy making pasta dishes, soups, and enchiladas, but that’s basically just following a recipe.  Nani gifted us with an instant pot for Christmas and I just love it.  I recently made Italian sausage, potatoes, and onions and didn’t follow a recipe.  It wasn’t anything complicated, but the boys loved it.  Mom win!  I decided to try hard boiled eggs and was really skeptical.  I always mess up hard boiled eggs on the stove.  I’m not even sure how that’s possible because boiling eggs should be super simple, but I either don’t boil them long enough or boil the heck out of them.  Anyway, back to the IP.  I looked at what other people had done for hard boiled eggs and decided to try it.  I’m the only one who eats eggs so figured it wasn’t a big deal if I messed them up.  Let me tell you, I tried one on Wednesday and that was the best hard boiled egg – it was cooked perfectly and it peeled easily!  Woohoo for the IP!!

I had a 5 hour school board meeting Wednesday night and meetings from 8:30am through 5pm straight yesterday.  A colleague was kind enough to order me lunch.  I am so ready for the weekend!!  Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!

Parenting Done Right

I usually work from home on Mondays and Wednesdays.  On these days, at 3pm, S and our sitter head to the bus stop to collect W once he hops off the bus.  As soon as W gets home, he immediately runs upstairs to change clothes, then runs to the kitchen to grab a drink, sometimes a snack too.  If I don’t have a meeting, I’ll leave the door open and he’ll head into the extra bedroom that has become my makeshift office where he plops down on the bed to enjoy his drink/snack and tells me all about his day.  Sometimes he brings school projects to show me, other times we just chat.

It’s become one of my favorite parts of Mondays and Wednesdays and when I was offered the job that I eventually turned down, I immediately thought of our after school meetings and couldn’t fathom giving them up.

Yesterday, as W was explaining his day, he informed me that his teacher had gone home sick and then exclaimed, “I should make her a get well card!”.  He asked for help with spelling and proceeded to make the card for his teacher complete with a picture of them holding hands. 

I’m certain I’ve gotten a lot wrong with parenting.   There are times when I yell and immediately regret it because duh, C, it’s hard to tell your kids to quiet down or listen when you’re yelling at them.  I’m constantly reminding myself to lead by example and beating myself up when I should’ve handled situations better.  But one thing A and I continue to instill in our boys is kindness and compassion for others.  I was incredibly proud of W yesterday (and always).  We got something right.

And last night, some time after I tucked S in and said goodnight, he dropped a stuffed animal.  I sighed and picked it up, wondering if he was just stalling and trying to avoid sleep.  As soon as I handed it over, he exclaimed, “Oh, thank you!  You are the kindest mommy!” and he proceeded to hug me.

They argue, they misbehave, they occasionally throw toys, they need to be reminded to use kind words, but deep down, they get it.  They understand that their actions have an impact.  And they have the power to make a positive impact.  My sweet boys.

Weekend Recap

Freaking snow.  In April.  That will make you depressed really quickly.  We’re back in the 40s today and it’s all melting, BUT STILL.  It SNOWED in mid-April.  We were in shorts on Monday?!?

Before is snowed, our weekend consisted of lots of errands and haircuts for the boys and me.  We even made it to the park Saturday afternoon before the snow.

Sunday, we tried to watch Aladdin with the boys while the snow fell.  They made it through about half the movie – they just don’t seem to be interested in Disney movies, which kind of baffles me.  We also decided to color Easter eggs, which they loved.

I'm dreading this week.  I have a school board meeting on Wednesday, which will take at least 5 hours and work meetings all day Thursday from 8am-4pm straight.  I'm not even sure when I'll get lunch.  I also don't get any time off for Easter... boohoo.

A First!

I feel like we’ve gotten to the point where my boys don’t have a lot of “firsts” and it’s a little bittersweet that they’re growing up so fast.

About a week or so ago, A noticed that W had a permanent tooth coming in behind a baby tooth.  After a little Googling, it seemed that this was fairly common, but if the baby tooth didn’t come out soon, it may have to be pulled to make room for the permanent tooth.  On Monday, we realized that W’s baby tooth had gone from not at all wiggly to a little wiggly.  When he arrived home from school yesterday, it wiggled a bit more.  W is obsessed with time… he always wants to know how much time something will take or when it will happen.  Naturally, he asked when his tooth would come out.  I guessed it would happen this weekend.  Lo and behold, after dinner, W yelled, “Mommy!  Mommy!...”  “What?”  “My tooth came out!”  A and I were both shocked that it happened so quickly and he was so excited.

The tooth fairy visited last night and now S is anxiously awaiting his turn to lose a tooth.

Weekend Recap

We have FINALLY had a few nice weather days.  They don’t last long (I hear there is a chance we’ll see snow on Wednesday), but when they do briefly make an appearance, they are glorious!!  Saturday was one of those days.  After swim class, we grabbed drinks at Starbucks and headed to the park.  The boys played at the playground and rode scooters.  It was so great for all of us to get some fresh air.  We went out for lunch and then took a walk around the neighborhood and played outside a bit more.  I can’t wait for this weather to stick around!

Sadly, Sunday was rainy.  We went to church in the morning.  The boys frequently attend ‘Children’s Mass’, which basically consists of a bible story and coloring.  It only lasts about 20 minutes and they seem to enjoy going.  The reason I mention this is because for the last 3ish weeks, S has been waving to us as he heads into and/or returns from Children’s Mass.  He looks like he’s in a parade and waving to his adoring fans and I crack up every single time.  I never want to forget his sweet little wave – that boy may be made for the spotlight.  W attended a classmate’s birthday party that afternoon.  While I love that he is invited and attends, I wish I had a mom friend to hang out with during these things.  All the moms seem to know each other and I'm feeling like an outsider. :\ 

I also wanted to highlight a couple other things that didn’t make it into previous posts.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned that I’ve had the opportunity to serve on the Executive Board at S’s preschool.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into and the time commitment has been much much more than I realized, but it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience.  This year we decided to plan and hold the school’s very first silent auction.  It was mostly organized by my amazing friend, Lauren, but I contributed by securing several prizes, helping with set up, and working at the registration table.  I think the event was incredible, mainly due to Lauren’s planning.  But I’m so proud of all the volunteers and what we achieved with this very first auction.

I also mentioned previously that I was trying to act like a grown up and met with a financial planner.  I was mainly concerned about how much I was contributing to my 401K and saving for college.  I was fairly certain that both accounts were lacking and that the financial planner was going to yell at me for my clothing expenses.  Ha.  I was shocked and so relieved to find out I’m doing exactly what I should be doing (minus the shopping expenses).  I don’t need to change anything in regards to what I’m saving for retirement and he gave me excellent advice on saving for college.  I’m so happy I met with him!!  Yay for adulting!!  Actually, no, adulting still kind of stinks...

Weekend Recap

Not enough hours in the day.  My ongoing state of being.  I had every intention of writing a quick post on Friday and ran out of time.

All the guys were on spring break last week.  It was a nice little break for me as well seeing as I didn’t have to rush the boys out the door and didn’t have to do any school drop offs.

Our new table finally arrived.  It still isn’t perfect – I noticed a flaw, but since the first delivery didn’t work out and this is already the second table, I’m just going with it.  Perfection is overrated.  

A and I also hung pictures.  I had previously had a clothesline on the wall and hung school projects from it.  It started off cute, but with more and more school projects, it just looked like a big/out of control mess of construction paper.  So instead, I selected a few pieces of art from each of the boys and framed them.  The picture in the middle is a recreation of Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night, which my brother created.  He was a very talented artist and I love that this piece of his hangs in the dining room.  I miss him so much.  It’s also worth noting that the hooks weren’t supposed to be visible.  We didn’t realize they would be and just went with it.  But I think they add a little character – especially since they are visible on all the kid artwork. J

I am also planning to add a little cart for our Keurig, but I’m not sure if it will be too crowded in this space.  I’ll have to see it and then decide.  But I  love that this little area is now a (more) functional dining room instead of a place where random toys and mail reside until they can be dealt with (which is always far too long).

Wednesday night, the boys spent the night at Nani and Papa’s house.  It was so so nice to have a little break.  Thank you, Nani and Papa!!  A and I went out for a date and had the BEST night.  We had dinner at an upscale steak restaurant.  So so yummy!  We killed time by grabbing a few house items at Pier One.  And then we headed to trivia night at a local bar/restaurant.  We shared spinach dip and drinks and had so much fun trying to guess answers.  We finished at the bottom, but we only had a team of 2, while there were other teams of 8.  All in all, it was one of my most favorite dates ever and we’re hoping to repeat this date over the summer.

Thursday, A and I did lots of spring cleaning around the house.  We cleaned out my poor car – seriously, kids and cars do not go well together.  A installed new big kid car seats and then picked up the boys.

Friday, my mom came over for pizza.  We ate at the new dining room table and played Uno Attack – the boys are obsessed with this game and play every day.  But this is exactly why I wanted a bigger table.  I grew up playing card games with my extended family and have such fond memories.  I envision the same for our family and hope to have more get togethers.

Saturday consisted of lots of errands and lunch at Choo Choo Charlie’s.  

Sunday was our usual routine.  A ended up taking the boys to the park even though it was freezing – like 30 degrees… if you find spring, please send it in our direction.  But the boys were practically bouncing off the walls and arguing with one another so some fresh air was needed.  We’d already played Uno, Memory, read books, and worked on Light Bright by that point.  A saved the day.