*THIS* is a weekend

by Catherine | Jul 28, 2014 | Family

During residency, I asked the Dowager Countess’ question all the time:

Real weekends with Philip off from Friday evening until Monday morning were few and far between–and that was after a full week’s work at the hospital.  

Now, as we begin our new normal, we’re re-learning this concept called a weekend.  While the Dowager Countess didn’t know what they were because she didn’t work, we’re learning what they are because Philip is finally getting regular, dependable, time off from work.

This last week was Philip’s first week at the new practice, so it was also our first new normal weekend.  (Philip will average one weekend call a month in practice, so more often than not, we can count on some regular weekends together.) 

What did we do with our first normal weekend?  Well…

Friday afternoon, I took the kids in for well-checks with another pediatrician in Philip’s group.  

Philip was between patients, so he was able to entertain Harry while Jane and Walt had their doctor’s appointment.  Then, we picked up some dinner.  Hooray for a night off from cooking!  After dinner, we had some family movie time.  Gotta love Veggie Tales on Netflix!  Then, Philip and I watched a documentary on Netflix called Life 2.0.  It.  Was.  Crazy.  And extremely depressing.  But very entertaining.  The documentary follows different people and records how their real lives are impacted by their playing the online game Second Life.

We had a leisurely start to our Saturday at home.  At one point, all 5 of us plus Monty were cuddled up on the front living room couch with blankies.  During Harry’s morning snooze, Jane and Walt joined me for Level 2 of the 30-Day Shred while Philip laughed at us.  After some lunch, we headed to the nearby library to get some new books and cruising music for the car.  I’m glad to have something other than the Frozen soundtrack in the rotation!  Then, we headed to Hobby Town for Walt to pick out another engine as a reward for completing another potty training sticker map.  Yay!  He picked out a really creepy talking Diesel 10, and he adores him.  We made a quick little pit stop at the nearby produce stand before heading home for naps.  The stars aligned perfectly, and everyone took a glorious 2-hour nap.  While Jane and Walt played outside and Harry banged pots in the kitchen, Philip and I prepared a delicious summer dinner. 

Grilled salmon with a summery salsa, squash, watermelon, and a little rice.  Yum yum!

I cleaned up the dinner dishes while Philip took the kids out front to do some sidewalk chalk and play on their ride-on toys in the driveway.  In the middle of doing dishes, Philip popped in to tell me that the couple who lives two doors up had stopped over.  I came outside in my apron (covered in dishwater!  oh well!) to chat it up while the kids played.  The neighbors had brought candy for the kids and a bottle of chardonnay with cups for the adults.  Gotta love those kinds of neighbors!  Eventually, it was time to come inside to give the kids baths and begin the bedtime process.  After getting the kids down, Philip and I got out our new game, Forbidden Island.   

Neither of us are what would would call big gamers, but we had SO MUCH FUN playing a silly new board game together!  The object of the game is to work together as a team to collect the 4 treasures of the island and escape before it sinks.  I am pleased to share that although things were very dicey at a few points, Philip and I successfully escaped Forbidden Island!  Yay!

Then, we watched a silly episode of Flipping Out without falling asleep (it’s the little things) and called it a night.

We had another leisurely start to the day on Sunday before heading to 11:00 a.m. Mass.  I even got to spend half an hour reading Momnipotent with a cup of coffee.  Glorious!  

Can I tell you how awesome it is to live so close to the parish?!  We’ve been trying to sit in the front pew by the choir as much as possible.  I love sitting in the front because it keeps the kids more engaged, but it’s very, very humbling on their less than perfect behavior days.  Harry thinks wrestling away from Mom and Dad is a new Olympic sport, and he takes the challenge very seriously.  He created a new event called the Binkie Launch.  Jane and Walt think it’s great because they bolt out of the pew to retrieve the tossed binkie.  I’d use one of those binkie attachment clips, but Harry’s superbaby strength is no match for it.  He’d end up launching the clip and everything.  God bless every mom and dad who have ever knowingly told us, “You’re doing grea
t and have a beautiful family.  I remember those days!”    

After Mass, we had some leftover delicious salmon (drooling just thinking about it…) and played with the kiddos until naptime.  While the kids napped, Philip and I got ready for his family to come over to celebrate his dad’s birthday.  

Philip has become a grilling pro.  We had his now-famous BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, watermelon slices and rolls.  Mimi brought some chocolate cupcakes and ice cream.  “Papa” got a candle in his, and Jane and Walt gladly helped him blow it out.  

We had a great evening enjoying the beautiful weather while the kids ran around in the sprinklers and played with the water table.  

Mimi, Papa, and Maddy brought over their Scottie, Muffy.  Muffy had a ball playing with the kids.  Monty mostly just stayed under my feet.

After Mimi, Papa, Maddy, and Maffy headed home and we had the kids in bed, Philip and I spent some time reading together in the family room.  Have I mentioned how much I love not having a television on the main floor?  It’s been such a great decision for our family.  I’m glad I married a reader and a lifelong learner because Philip always has something new to chat about.  It’s adorable how excited he gets about whatever he’s reading.  

And that was it.  We didn’t do anything huge or earth-shattering, but it was perfect.  It was exactly what  a weekend should be.  It was a time of rest, relaxation, and refreshment all together as a family.  I love the new normal!