Good morning! Joey and I were home together for one day before it was his turn to leave for the weekend, so I’m ready for a nice normal week of co-parenting now. The kids and I had some up and downs but we made it through and I’m happy to share some of the fun stuff we did together this weekend, including an Easter egg hunt, a birthday party and a park play date 🤍

Dempsey fell out of his bed Thursday night and his screaming woke Lydia up. I didn’t get her back into her crib until 1:30ish, so she was a little off the next morning. I did snap a cute pic of them brushing their teeth though! We got Dempsey to school then had a fun but loooong day together. She’s going through a rough patch nap-wise and I never even got her to take one that day 😣 Instead, Thumbelina, granola and lots of time outside. We picked our boy up and hung out at home for a bit before returning to school for an Easter egg hunt. I think they had a fun time running around with the other kids and eating candy! Back at home, I made us dinner then got them to bed before crashing onto the couch. I started watching Love on the Spectrum per my sister’s strong recommendation and oh my gosh, it’s so wholesome 🥺🤍

Woof, Saturday morning was a rough one! I got up early and fit in a workout (my first one in a week and I am SORE) but then the children woke up and chose violence! Just so much crying, fighting and refusal to do anything I asked. Somehow we managed to make it downstairs and I hate doing this but I plopped them in front of the TV so I could make breakfast and recalibrate. We ate some French toast and then went outside and it helped so much! Dempsey made his own sandwich for lunch and when I asked him when he got so grown up, he said “while you were on vacation” 🥺🥺 Another nap protest and much frustration ensued but around 3:30, I loaded them in the car so we could head to Joey’s Uncle CJ’s birthday party. They had fun and it was nice to get out but social gatherings are complicated for me as a mom. I feel like I’m often worrying/following my kids around and not actually socializing. I want to find the balance but I’m not there right now. I do want to make note of a very sweet moment when I overheard Dempsey telling another kid to be careful with the bowl of nuts that was out because his sister is allergic 🥺🤍 I got them home and into bed then got to watch more of my show.

Happy to say Sunday was a much better day for us. I woke the kids up and asked if they wanted to walk to the coffee shop for steamers and breakfast burritos. They did! Burritos were sold out at Huck, so we went next door to Blackbelly Market for Chipotle-size breakfast burritos that cost $10 each and they ate four bites total of 😳 Then we played outside until 10ish before heading over to the park for a playdate organized by the parent committee at Dempsey’s school. They had a lot of fun and we didn’t head back home until noonish. Got them fed and took Lydia upstairs and she actually fell asleep! Only took 30 minutes of yelling first 😓 Joey got home shortly after and he and Dempsey went outside to work on turning the sprinklers on. Once our girl was up, we all hung out outside then went in to make dinner. Caprese gnocchi with salmon for Dempsey and I and steak for Joey and Lydia. Dempsey crushed this meal 🤩 We watched the Hey Arnold! movie after then took the kids up for bed and Lydia only threw a fit for 30 minutes after I said good night and left them with Joey. Welcome home to him 😬 He humored me and watched an episode of Love on the Spectrum but I don’t think he was hooked so I’ll probably have to finish it on my own 😒 Wishing you all a good week!

Every trip to New Orleans feels so profound and formative to me and this trip, with just my mom and my sister, missing my babies so much, but also feeling so grateful for some time on my own, was no exception. We had three days of wind, rain and cool weather, followed by two days sunshine and blue skies and just a desire to maybe stay three more days 😋 But that’s April in New Orleans for you. And honestly, I don’t mind because even when it’s rainy, there’s crawfish to be eaten, book shops to be visited, houses to be admired, cemeteries that feel even spookier than usual and just time to sit and chat with your family 🤍

Shrimp po boys from Domilise’s — I don’t think I can eat a po boy without hot sauce ever again! / A stroll around Audobon Park / Dinner at Pizza Domenica

Took a chance walking to District Donuts for breakfast then ran home in the rain / Found a book shop and convinced my sister to get The Secret History / Said hi to a cemetery cat / Crawfish and a beer at Port Orleans 🤤 / Maybe ate ice cream for dinner

My favorite breakfast at Surrey’s / Coffee at French Truck / A looooong walk from one end of Magazine to the other, including a stop for drinks and hummus at Shaya / Maybe left my purse at a different coffee shop and only realized once we were back home 😱 / My uncle’s red beans for dinner 🤩

Kolache for breakfast / Took the streetcar to the Quarter / Walked along the river / Ate a muffaletta at Central Grocery / Walked down Royal — all the charm of the architecture, none of the noise or smell of Bourbon Street / Ate a snowball on Plum Street / Had the best onion rings and just a laughably large open-face roast beef sandwich at Mandina’s / Looked at family photos / Had such a stomachache that night and I can’t imagine why 😅😅

Breakfast at Molly’s Rise & Shine / A walk through the Garden District with my own little tour guide 🤍 / A quick shopping trip / One last shrimp sandwich (our best one!) at Francesca’s and then some goodbye hugs with my uncle at the airport before heading home / Left a little piece of my heart there, as always, but I’ll be back soon to visit it 😚

In other news, I got the biggest hugs from my babies when I got home and I was only gone four days, but my son just gets himself ready in the morning on his own now 🥺🥺🥺