I don’t know why exactly but both Bryan and I have been completely wiped since being back from Michigan. Neither of us felt exhausted upon our return but since being back it seems like we have been running from thing to thing or just fully occupied with kids or work at all times. It’s hard to catch ones breath at times. A lot of it has been due to rare occurrences (a multitude of appointments), starting up the full time nanny share, and random summer happenings and outings. Also throw in a nearly four year old who went without naps for over a week back to naps while at school and not the least bit tired until nearly 10 pm every night.
It all kind of kicked off with our summer release wine party at Novelty Hill the first full day we were back. We had no problem getting the girls and making it to the party in time but Reese was not in the mood for the party on this particular night (which is a shame as they had sweet corn and a live band for dancing and tons of cookies) so essentially we filled up on delicious BBQ and a few swigs of wine, caught up with some FareStart friends we haven’t seen in forever, and then headed home, tired from trying to entertain an unenthused Reese.
Friday began the first of three days of appointments. First up was Reese’s first Covid shot after her early dismissal from school. Reese did great and they gave her a popsicle, which is one of Reese’s favorites, then headed to get Brooke, and then met Bryan at Montlake Playground to play at one of her favorite parks. I’m super proud of Reese with how well she handles shots. She never flinches, cries, or gives any trouble and that makes it so, so much easier on me. Next up was Brooke’s six month well child visit on Monday morning. We dealt with the aftermath of Brooke’s vaccines for about 48 hours after. She still hasn’t been sleeping superbly at night but is not sore or tender to the shot area anymore. And finally, I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday after work which was no big deal but another thing to do and another place to be.
We had really no plans for last weekend so a lot of it was just go with the flow. But first, we had to start off with Brooke’s 7-month waffles. We played at home for a bit on Saturday morning and then packed up the stroller and headed off on foot to downtown for the day. I had snagged free tickets to the Aquarium thanks to the Seattle Public Library over a month ago and it sounded like a good idea to all of us. We hadn’t been for quite some time with Reese. We walked through the Market, stopping at a candy store for Reese real quick, and then found some cool air relief at the Aquarium. Reese really seemed into the exhibits on this occasion and we enjoyed ourselves there for about 90 minutes. Well worth the free tickets. We continued on foot to Pioneer Square and picked up an early dinner from Halal Guys to take up the hill the short distance to one of Reese’s favorite parks; Yesler Terrace. It initially was too hot to play but there was a nice breeze and we enjoyed our dinner first. We then found sweet relief in their great splash park and Reese found a new friend Elliot to play with and was playing so well with her that I actually had to head home with Brooke around 7 pm and Reese and Bryan didn’t leave until nearly 8 pm. Reese was at the park for nearly 4 hours! It was a great day and one that left us with sore feet and some extra sun on our faces.
Sunday morning started with gymnastics and then from there we all headed to Jefferson Park. Reese played at the park and surprisingly met up with a classmate of hers and I headed to my soccer game. The crew came to cheer me on at the end of the game and we headed home for lunch and play at home. Bryan went for a solo bike ride Sunday afternoon around Mercer Island and Reese requested to go back out to a park and so I packed the car back up to head to Volunteer Park for about an hour. We ended the night and weekend with dinner and a movie at home.
And this week has still felt like a lot going on. I’m usually at work Mondays and Wednesdays but we had a CPR training on Tuesday morning that I wanted to attend and glad that I did. Then our nanny called out sick on Wednesday so I spent a rare solo day at home with Brooke. We dropped off Reese at school by foot. I got caught up with a bunch of laundry and made the mole sauce for Bryan’s birthday dinner at home for tomorrow. We played outside in the backyard and took a long bath together and then took the long, detoured way to Reese’s school to pick her up.
We spent Wednesday night at Volunteer Park for awhile until Bryan could meet us after his work day and then we all headed to Redhook Brewlab in Capitol Hill for a mystery shop dinner. To our surprise Top Chef Shota was working their pop-up menu and we had a fantastic meal of smash burgers, tempura fried broccoli, the most interesting cabbage salad, tator tots and a delicious blooming onion, all with a hint of Asian flavor. It was a nice night out at the restaurant and the girls did alright. And tonight we were back at Volunteer Park for Picnic in the Park and a piano concert at the new amphitheater. We went right after school and played at the park first for awhile before heading over to grab a spot on the lawn for our picnic blanket and Paseo-esque homemade sandwiches with some of Reese’s friends. The music was great and they even had free ice cream for the night to help seal the deal.
Tomorrow and Saturday we will be celebrating Bryan’s birthday and I’m excited to spoil him for his big day. Should be a nice weekend and I’m ready for it!
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 