Parenting Weekend

An Essentially Perfect Saturday

October 18, 2020

Yesterday was an essentially perfect day, pandemic or not. I feel I must capture the events so that if I ever catch myself whining about how hard life is, I can remember that some days everything just works out. I also feel like Josh and I nailed our ‘division of labor’ which is something to be celebrated.

5:00 – I got up, read (current non-fiction book that I am reading a chunk of each AM = White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo), wrote post, checked email

6:00 – Run – 40 minutes / 3.6 miles. (I am still really slow compared to where I was pre-pandemic! I’m trying to decide if I care.)

6:45 – Do my Headspace app, drink water, etc

7:00 – G is up (hear singing). A follows close behind. I get them breakfast, eat my own breakfast (oatmeal). C eventually joins. Kids eat, play, generally entertain themselves.

8:30 – Josh is up. I announce that I am passing the parenting baton (well, I didn’t use those words, but basically) and headed up to shower. And also read for a little bit and possibly accidentally fell asleep on the bed for 15 minutes or so.

9:45 – I am back downstairs. We clean up a bit and then head to the . . . wait for it . . .

PLAYGROUND!!!!

10:30 – G is in heaven.

There were only 2 additional toddlers there. They were not masked but the place was big enough that I felt fine. (Our kids wore masks – even G kept hers on until the other group left!). There is a basketball court right next to the playground so A&C intermittently headed there with Josh. C also practiced kicking around a soccer ball (he starts actual soccer next Saturday).

Capturing G’s shoes for posterity

12:00 Lunch @ home – leftovers. Followed by cleanup etc.

1:00 I take G upstairs for a nap. We read 2 books and then she goes to bed for ~2 hrs. The big kids intermittently enjoy iPad time. I finished Brunch and Other Obligations (novel in the women’s fiction genre — pleasant but not earth shattering, which was rather nice for a Saturday), did my nails in a very bright shade of yellow-orange, and watched 2 episodes of Schitt’s Creek.

3:30 G is up! I bring her downstairs for a snack. A&C finish with their iPad allotment.

4:00 Josh gets home (he had headed to take his car in for maintenance, and maybe he was working on notes too, not sure). Everyone hangs out for a bit while G watches 2 episodes of Pinkalicious. I do my daily Duolingo.

5:00 Josh takes A&C to the skateboarding park (they are still into this and we are now a 4-skateboard family, omg) and I take G on an epic walk to look for Halloween decorations around the neighborhood. The weather is starting to suck less (lower humidity, better breezes — don’t get too excited though, our high/low yesterday was something like 86/79). She is very into this and walks over a mile which is pretty impressive for a not-even-3-year old!

6:00 I ordered Indian takeout to pick up (by Josh on his way back). G and I FaceTime with my sister + baby M. CUTENESS. Then I clean up a bit while she plays with stickers.

7:00 Big kids + Josh are back with takeout! C initially throws a tantrum about the food and then ends up loving it. Indian feast ensues.

8:00 I clean up the kitchen while baths happen (managed by Josh). AND THEN a very exciting planner I have been dying to see in person arrives in the mail!! I spend an hour ogling it and then playing with it: pen test, sample layout, etc. (More on that to come, obviously!). During this, the big kids watched a movie and G watched 3 minutes and then went back to her stickers.

9:00 Bring kids up to bed, etc. They are all super tired.

10:00ish zzz

Cannot ask for more in this current moment. Or ever, really.

12 Comments

  • Reply Gillian October 18, 2020 at 6:55 am

    Sounds amazing!

  • Reply KGC October 18, 2020 at 7:28 am

    Woohoo for playgrounds! But v. important question. Did you say you were going to try the Olive and June nail polish and was that what you used? Would love to hear what you think, if so. I sort of think that most nail polishes are created equal ever since I found an amazing quick dry topcoat but will admit that the Olive and June Instagram ads are very tempting – such good fall colors! But what’s the big hype about the brand?!?

  • Reply Alexis October 18, 2020 at 8:15 am

    I love days like this! Thanks for posting.

  • Reply Omdg October 18, 2020 at 9:25 am

    Yay!! The playground saved us too many times back when Dylan was a toddler. So glad your weekend was good!

  • Reply Jen October 18, 2020 at 2:47 pm

    Yes for playground time! Ours opened in the summer and my parents were helping with childcare and they very helpfully conditioned our kids (3 and 7) to wear theirs at the park and they have not ever mentioned being upset by it or being worried that they are the only kids doing so (which has happened multiple times).

    So great that you had an awesome day! 😀

  • Reply Coco October 18, 2020 at 4:28 pm

    great post! I love ordinary family days, need to capture it too. will do one too! 🙂

  • Reply Megan October 19, 2020 at 12:02 am

    Dying to know what the new planner is!

  • Reply Sam October 19, 2020 at 8:35 am

    Sounds like an awesome day! I’m so happy the playground opened by you all. It’s such a game changer with little kids!

  • Reply Lisa of Lisa's Yarns October 19, 2020 at 9:30 am

    Yay for playgrounds finally being open! No one wears masks at ours but I just make sure my son keeps his distance. We have not been able to get our stubborn 2.5yo to wear a mask… he rips it off and there is no convincing him to wear it… but since they aren’t required outdoors in MN or for kids his age, I feel ok taking him to the park. There are very few kids wearing masks at the park. This is something we are going to continue to try to work on but it’s tough to rationalize with a toddler…

  • Reply Irene October 19, 2020 at 9:34 am

    So happy for you. It’s wonderful to capture the calm pleasure of a regular good day.

    My 2.5 year old old wears his mask better than lots of adults. I’m SO proud of my kids in this regard. We mostly struggle when other 5/6 year olds without masks play with my older one – I occasionally try to have my kids back up a little but she’s so starved for social peer interaction it’s very difficult.

  • Reply Young October 21, 2020 at 9:29 am

    Wow, this was so relaxing to even just read! What a truly lovely day.

  • Reply Erica S October 22, 2020 at 9:55 am

    It does sound perfect! I love G’s shoes – wish they came in my size 🙂 We’ve been making our kids keep masks on unless there is no one else at the park. Otherwise I loudly tell my kids “You can’t play with those kids because they don’t have masks on!!”

  • Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.