So, since great weekends are few and far between, I can’t let one pass without at least a little bit of fanfare. (And a recognition of Momalom’s recent project, Intentional Happiness.)
Friday night
6:00 pm. Husband and I have discovered the Lose It! app on iPhone and iTouch (Apple really should give me money for all the free press I give them), so I jilt our neighborhood pizza place and instead pick up some gustatory delights at Whole Foods. I usually don’t shop there because the prices are above what I consider acceptable, but it is on my way and I want to try soy yogurt for Missy Mae. I walk around thinking, Hey, these prices aren’t that bad! only to spend 50 bucks on nothing. Still, I get some spinach orzo pasta salad, tomato bread, and fresh mozzarella and tomatoes for a healthy late-summer dinner. Paired with a crisp Riesling, our weekend is off to a good start.
8:30 p.m. We fit in an entire movie on Friday night, a rare occurrence.
It is a depressing movie, of course, because that’s the way we play. We both agree that the book version of The Road is better, and that the Coen brothers are more adept at translating Cormac McCarthy’s fiction into film. Then we go to sleep.
Saturday
7:00 a.m. With no stroller weighing me down, I enjoy the beautiful morning with a three-mile walk/jog. Halfway through, I realize it’s better if you eat something before you go on such a long jog. But I make it through, even if mildly achey.
11:30 a.m. My mom is gracious enough to watch the kids so Husband and I can go to lunch. We go to a low-key, quiet French restaurant and enjoy one of the best lunches I’ve had in a while.
Fresh baguette, handmade strawberry lemonade, ham and gruyere crepe with bechamel and a side salad. To finish it off, warm berry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oo la la!
2:00 p.m. Later that afternoon, while Husband takes Missy Mae for a walk, Mr. B is merciful enough to take a long nap so I can finish my book. It is as delightful as my French lunch, only more so.
4:00 p.m. I convince Husband that we need powders that turn to liquid (formula, coffee) ASAP so I can sneak to Target by myself, only to happen upon SALES! Or if they’re not sales, the prices are so damn good you can’t pass them up, and there were no distractions (children) to keep me from perusing. Target is no Whole Foods. I buy three shirts and a dress, a pair of clearance flip flops (I’m building quite the collection) for me and a pair for Mr. B, and check in at only $70 over budget. (If you’re a mom who doesn’t buy most of your wardrobe from Target, I don’t know you.) Clearly, I should always go out for “groceries” to huge, cheap department stores on Saturday afternoons.
7:30 p.m. Get all dolled up for a party at the neighbors where I consume massive quantities of red pepper dip. And sangria.
Sunday
6:30 a.m. I sleepily beg to be allowed to stay in bed longer, since I didn’t come in until 1:00 (I know, crazy) and because I was up at 4:30, albeit briefly, with a crying baby. Cutting her teeth seems to be about as difficult for her as it was for me to push her giant head out of my vagina, complete with loud, raspy moans. Fortunately, my request is granted.
9:20 Finally roll out of bed. Eat two egg omelet prepared by nice husband. Go for a jog.
12:00 Decide to forego children’s naps (eek!) and visit the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Upon entry, we see that a family program is going on where we can do a craft. We end up seeing very little real art. Instead, we do this:
In case you can’t tell which one is the real Picasso, it’s the small placard in the upper right hand corner. In the top left, you will see something complicated that Husband created. The big construction paper one is Momcasso, a new artist making the rounds. I start hanging my work in coffee shops this fall.
Inevitably, we become members, because we seem to become members of every Philadelphia area museum we walk in to. (I am always looking for cheap, non-fat ways to occupy two kids.)
5:00 p.m. We close out the day at our favorite Mexican restaurant for even more gustatory delights: shrimp fajitas for the Hubs, cheese quesadillas for Mr. B, and spinach and chicken enchiladas for me. I admire my ability to neglect the last of three warm, cheesy blankets on my plate. I just guess I must be really, really strong.
6:00 p.m. I fall asleep on the couch.
7:00 p.m. Husband wakes me up and makes me coffee (see how nice he is?) so we can enjoy a second viewing of Vicky Cristina Barcelona. (Really, I just want a second viewing of Javier Bardem.)
8:30 p.m. We decide we are too old to finish the movie and must go to bed.
Today is Monday, and my daughter decided to poop in the tub. I cannot even begin to think about what Oprah would say about the germs that now exist in her bath, on her body. (If I catch another of her shows about how dirty everything in our houses is, I’m going to write a nasty, revolutionary email.) As it also happens, we all have colds. I have been listening to my children cough and groan all day while my own head spins.
Gone is the weekend…. Sigh.
What do you think makes a great weekend?
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Had to laugh, Jana. Miss D. was the master of Stealth Pooping in the Tub. She used to do it all the time. It was so gross, and I swear, I used more Clorox that year than a hospital ER.
Your weekend sounds terrific! Sleeping in and a lunch date with my hubby would definitely cause some !!! around here.
I had heard of the pooping-in-tub phenomenon, but didn’t witness it until today. I hope it doesn’t happen again! It was probably her way of punishing me for not giving her enough attention. Girls are tough….
We have no kids, so we don’t have the typical *Things to Do* on the weekend. I wake up about 8 and let the dogs out to the fenced in yard and go back to sleep. A great weekend is one with NO. PLANS. which happens once in a blue moon. We are champion sleepers on the weekend. So yeah. That. And a winning sports weekend. Like this past one. That’s happiness for me.
I remember fondly the days I was a champion sleeper. Still would be, if not for the little ones. I comfort myself with the recognition that they won’t always be this young.
Fresh mozzarella, a good book, sales at Target, the opportunity to stay up late and knock back a few drinks (sangria no less!), the opportunity to sleep off those drinks for a smidge longer than usual, arts and crafts, and no poop in the tub?? That’s an awesome weekend in my book, too.
Incidentally, we also all woke up with colds today. Here’s to hoping there’s no poopy tub in my immediate future …
I loved Three Junes… such a lovely book.
And that dessert? Looks heavenly :)
Hooray for perfect weekends. Mine would be a night with the kiddo at a grandparents house. Time alone with the hubby is too rare. Followed by a cool late summer afternoon with the while family. Maybe a pizza on the grill and a bottle of wine.
Awesomeness post.
I need reading time every weekend or I go a little bit batty. The best is reading on the porch. Sigh.
But we don’t have Target in Canada, so please know me even so?!
You can’t be faulted if there’s no Target in Canada, so yes, I know you. I would love to read on the porch, but I get devoured by mosquitoes. It’s a shame, because otherwise, I love summer nights.
This weekend sounds absolutely divine. Sales at Target, sleeping in, resisting the last of your yummy enchiladas, finishing a book, finishing an entire movie? You are an overachiever, to be sure, but I’m still jealous.
!!!
WOW! This post and comments make me realize I’m not the only one struggling for normalcy and balance on the weekends. My husband and I are realizing we need to make a point to have one-on-one time, or we end up feeling like we’re living with a stranger! We are still adjusting to being a family of 3 and we both work full time. The weekends can be crazy with other family in the area ALSO trying to get in some quality and family time. I like some of your ideas – let someone watch the kid(s) while you and hubby have a nice leasurely lunch (or movie date, or shopping trip – hey maybe I’m getting the hang of it!). Thanks for sharing!
The adjustment is really hard, and we’re still getting the hang of it, but getting some alone time really does help. Good luck! (If you don’t have family to help, look into a babysitter. It’s money well spent, I think.)
Your weekend really does sound perfect. And we are the same about letting one sleep in (we get jealous), but if I happen to have too many glasses of wine the night before, my hubby (like yours) is pretty good about letting me sleep a little bit longer in the a.m.
I love the mix of family time and adult time… it’s what we all need, I think. And what hubby and I have been lacking for a while. But I’m planning something special for his birthday weekend, which is only a month away!
These were really great !!! moments! Thanks for sharing! :-)
It’s funny, I always think people will be bored hearing minor details about my life, but it seems otherwise. I guess we all can appreciate happy moments, even when they’re others’.
Your Target trip inspired me and I went alone on Sat evening after the kids were in bed! Unfortunately when you go shopping for 2 specific somethings, you don’t end up finding what you were looking for and you leave empty handed. I’m sure this is a first in the Target book for me!
Ariele pooped in the tub a couple weeks ago. It was awful. Nate never did that. I’m praying it never happens again!
Glad you had a great weekend!
You walked out of Target without anything? That is a shocker. You are stronger than I, my friend. I went in for two specific things and didn’t even get them until I was ready to go to the register.
Powders that turn to liquid. Ha! When it comes to powders caffeinated, they might as well turn to gold. We gave Vicki Cristina Barcelona a second run, too.