I felt like I was in a mood this weekend. Not sure what to attribute it to except maybe gloomy weather, a heavy Saturday and just your average mom burnout, but I didn’t love it for myself or those around me. We ended the weekend with a good mom/son cuddle on the couch, lots of Lydi excitement (we officially have a crawler!) and a really good burger dinner, so I felt better by the end. Took myself on a run this morning already because endorphins really are the best medicine and I’m hoping to take this brighter attitude into the week 🤍

It was cool, cloudy and rainy on Friday and I was happy to have the raincoat my sis and Wayne got me for my birthday while I was out getting a fresh mani. Before all that, I dropped the kids off at Grandma’s and went for a run. My longest yet since rejoining the running world post-Lydia being born! 👏 Once the workday was done and the kids were home, I made us our favorite walnut pesto spaghetti.

Saturday started with zucchini walnut pancakes (and a nut-free, zucchini-free version for Little Lyds) and then my sis and Wayne came over to take Demps to his swimming lesson and hang with him for the rest of the day. Joey’s cousin’s husband passed away at just 27 and we had his funeral to attend in Colorado Springs. Just truly truly awful. He was a police officer so there were a ton of other officers in attendance, in addition to so many friends and family members. A handful of people gave speeches and it was nothing short of incredible to hear them speak about Fred, who was a genuinely happy, smart and caring person. I was so moved by how many people stood up there and called him their best friend. I believe it!!! A beautiful tribute to him but just such a devastating thing to happen. Lyds got a little restless toward the end of the service but did good otherwise and I hope her little smile and cuddles helped everyone a bit. We were told Demps had a good lesson and even pulled himself up out of the pool on his own! Afterward, we all had dinner at Tocabe and I’m so grateful to Aunt Bean and Uncle Wayne for taking such good care of our boy 🤍

I’ve been so antsy to get Lyds on a two-nap schedule and she finally had a two-nap day on Sunday aaaaand, I realized having your kids on alternating sleep times means no break for you 😂😬 Especially if your husband is at a fantasy football draft all day! After breakfast and a piggy back ride that Lydia was LOVING, I took the kids to the farmers’ market and we had a good time. Mom got coffee, Demps got a frozen banana and we got peaches, tomatoes and corn because that’s what this time of year is all about! Got those littles home and Sissy to sleep and then she conked out for two hours so Demps and I got to have some real true one-on-one time 🙌

Demps and I ate lunch and then I fed Lyds and she helped me put Dempsey down for his nap, aka the most chaotic half hour of trying to get them to listen to me read books and sing songs and leave the room. He is a maniac when Sis is there for all of that but he didn’t protest when we left. This is usually my time to clean up and reset mentally but instead that little girl got into everything and didn’t want to be still for a second 😂 Standing, crawling and getting her hands on everything. It’s exhausting but the best! Demps didn’t crawl until 10 months and then gave it up pretty quick in lieu of walking so this feels like new territory to me. How does one go to the bathroom with a baby on the move?? 🤷‍♀️ When Joey got home, I told him to please pretend I wasn’t home but Demps woke up from his nap and wanted to lay on the couch and watch a movie with me and damn, if that wasn’t the sweetest moment of my day 🥺🤍 Made us all PLTs (aka prosciutto, lettuce, tomato) burgers for dinner and I guess Dempsey is a huge crispy prosciutto fan because he kept running into the kitchen for more! I love a homemade burger so much. Lydia loves a tomato and did pretty good with the beef but she’s not so sure about corn. Ended the night with some Olympic gymnastic trials on TV that had Dempsey doing “huge flips” (aka somersaults) and it was too funny! And after the kids were in bed, Joey and I watched Big Brother.

I hope you all have a nice week!

It’s mid-August, so that means it was party weekend! Henry’s on Saturday and Bailey’s on Sunday and I’m glad they seem to be on different days every year, so we can be at both. We had a good week of sleep with our little humans but then someone learned to pull herself up in her crib and someone else skipped a few naps this week and yeesh, it’s been a bit rough. I’m ready for a recovery week!

Lori is on vacation, so I took Friday off to hang with the kids 🤍 We sang a silly “Happy Birthday” to Henry, had band practice, took a trip to the library and after Lydia’s 8 month photo shoot (8 months! I can’t believe it!), Demps and I made cookies and watched Willy Wonka. He asked me “is there egg in here?” before eating the batter (like that’s ever stopped him before 😂), but lucky for him, they were vegan! And see his piece of pink salt? He really wanted to use that!

Woke up and had breakfast sandwiches à la Joey on Saturday morning and that’s how I found Lyds after her first nap. Don’t worry, we’ve since lowered her mattress. We headed into Erie shortly after for Henry’s 3rd birthday party. I cannot believe he’s 3 already! It was a skeleton theme and everything looked so cute, plus it got me excited for fall 😋 Little Miss was a happy girl the whole time and Dempsey had fun playing and also put a dried bean in his nose?! That was a first! HBD, Henry, we love you 🤍

Made us all shrimp scampi for dinner and my kids were way more into the asparagus than the shrimp?? 😂 But Lyds didn’t have any allergic reaction to the shrimp, thank goodness! And Joey and I thought it was pretty good. After the kids went to bed, Joey and I finished a movie we started the night before and though I loved Kelly Reichardt’s last move, First Cow, I thought Showing Up was finally painfully boring. Oh well.

We all slept poorly and had a late start to our Sunday. I tried to shake it off with a run and then I made us all waffles. Lydia made a mess but she seemed into it! Afterward, more crib standing 🤪😬 Dempsey wanted a snack and ate two full peaches! At 11:30, we headed to Bailey’s birthday party. That’s Dempsey’s usual lunch and nap time and he looked positively exhausted in the car but pizza, ice cream and playtime with other kids seemed to revive him long enough to enjoy the party. We left after he threw a handful of wood chips at another kid 😩 Lyds immediately crashed in the car and Demps ended up taking a late nap too. Made us corn and potato chowder for dinner and though Demps declared he didn’t like it, Lydia ate quite a bit! Took an evening stroll afterward then got the kids to bed and watched Big Brother.

Happy Monday!