How was everyone’s last long weekend of the summer?? I am feeling very OVER not being able to breathe from my nose after Dempsey decided to share his cold with Lydi and I last week but we, otherwise, had such a good and long and happy Labor Day Weekend. I look forward to this one every year and it did not disappoint 😎😀 Highlights included a hot pink mani, visiting a new park, Joey and I going to the Rockies game, making soup dumplings (!!!), a trip to the Farmers’ Market, a breakfast picnic at the Botanic Gardens and to top it all off, one last afternoon at the pool.

Dempsey had been so easy to drop off at school last week but he had a rough one on Friday. He told Joey, “I cried and cried and cried,” and he really did! He had finally calmed down by the time I left but I’m scared now 😬 I got one last (maybe) bright summer color on my nails and we just had an easy evening of leftovers and a “normal” bedtime. Meaning Lydia had a total meltdown at bath time and we were both traumatized afterward but I digress. Joey and I had started A Quiet Place: Day One on Thursday and finished it after the kids went to bed on Friday. It was okay. I thought it looked amazing but the rules about what noises you can and can’t make it how much sound does and doesn’t attract these aliens just doesn’t add up to me. There’s several scenes where they are right up close to a human and you’re telling me they can hear a shirt rip from miles away but not someone breathing when they’re RIGHT THERE?? Anyway 😋

I made us all some whole wheat pancakes with blueberry sauce on Saturday morning and then we made the spontaneous decision to go check out a new park while we waited for our Target pick up to be ready. It started getting hot by the time we left, but we had fun! Dempsey was showing us how he’s learning to swing himself and Lydia was literally flinging herself over a bar that was definitely too high up for her to be flinging herself over it. This child!

Back at home, lunch and a Lydi nap and then Dempsey helped me make the filling for soup dumplings. I guess he thinks a gelatinized soup broth is good? Also, why does he look so grown up laying there with his tea? 🥺 We had a little bit of time with the two of them once Lydia was up, and then Lori came over to watch them so Joey and I could go to dinner and the Rockies game all by ourselves! We hadn’t done that yet this year and it actually felt strange to sit in our own two season tickets seats for the first time all season. Walked to the Milk Market to grab dinner before and I would not like to disclose how much I spent on a lobster roll and fries but it tasted so good. The Rockies won! When we got home, Lori had a broken toe and both kids had cried at bedtime, but I think they still had a fun night 😅🤍

We had a pretty low-key Sunday. We took a walk to the Farmers’ Market and both kids needed 9 AM popsicles but worked for me because they didn’t make a peep the whole time they were eating them 😂 I snuck out to get my haircut after lunch and when I got back, we played outside then got to work on our soup dumplings. I am choosing to focus on the end product and how good Dempsey turned out to be at pleating dumpling dough and NOT the chaos of all four of us in the kitchen, one of whom just needed held and also threw an unopened jar of minced ginger onto the ground at the peak of all that chaos 🤪 The dumplings definitely weren’t perfect and none of them had any soup in them (where did that liquid go??) but we literally made all 28 of them and they were edible, so I call it a success! Dempsey said they were “very good” and we have some in the freezer for next time now. We got the kids to bed, watched Big Brother and started Kinds of Kindness, which is definitely feeling like old school Lanthimos, so I’m a fan so far!

Such a good Labor Day! We got early access tickets to the Botanic Gardens and decided to make it a picnic by picking up biscuit sandwiches at Rise & Shine beforehand. Parked it in a sunny spot on the grass and ate before the kids started running around. It was so nice! A standard garden visit afterward, meaning we started as patient parents letting our kids wander and play and then by the end, we were hot and ready to GO. I think Dempsey could hang out there all day 🤍 Back at home, I booked it to make salads for the week and got Lydi down for her nap before Joey took off for his fantasy football draft. While my girl slept, Dempsey and I ate lunch and relaxed on the couch and once she was up, we got our bathing suits and sunscreen on and headed to my parents’ to hit the pool. Shoutout to Joey for packing up their swim gear and putting it all in my car before he left, so that I just had to wrangle the two kids out there. The pool was busy but we had a great time. That was definitely the most comfortable I’ve seen Lydia be in the water! We had pulled pork sliders, corn and tots for dinner, courtesy of my mom, and both kids actually ate good dinners so hallelujah for that 👏 Had dessert then got those babies home for bath and bedtime. Joey was home by this point so he got to help put the kids to bed and then we caught up and watched a bit more of our movie.

I’m ready to get into the swing of September and maaaaaybe some fall-time stuff but I’m also feelings really grateful for such a happy and full summer 😎🥰🤍