Getting the most out of Saturdays....

The weekend has  a totally new meaning to me since I've started working full time.  Before having a day job out of the house (because staying home with Mimi was A JOB), I never fully drank in the weekend like I do now.  It's not that I didn't appreciate them (weekends) then, I just didn't soak them up and suck every minute of out them like I do now.

During the week I am so busy and stressed that things fall apart.  Our friend Manny stopped by for dinner Thursday night unexpectedly, as he sometimes does bless his heart, and our house was a wreck!  I was too tired to even be embarrassed.  There were bags of stuff piled by the door, like my purse, daycare bag, breastpump bag etc, with shoes scattered in between.  There were dishes all over the kitchen with a dishwasher of dry sparkling dishes waiting for my husband to put them away.  There was dog hair on the rug, knowing my dog is part chow chow I hope you'll understand that...So you can see, we fall apart during the week.  We run out of milk and butter, we have no clean pants left and there are pairs of pajamas strewn (<---sp?) on our bathroom floor.  If our cleaning lady didn't brave it all to come every other week we would be in a truly sorry state.   By Friday me and my husband are exhausted.  We rarely ever go out on Friday night unless it is for a specially organized thing like a birthday party of something.  So brings us to Saturday/Sunday.

Saturday morning I usually wake up feeling like a million bucks, even if Mimi wakes up before 8.  Saturday I get to not wake up to an alarm, not pump instead of nurse my baby, not rush off to a job that vexes me, I just get to hang out with my family in my pajamas cooking soft boiled eggs and sipping coffee.  It's like Christmas every Saturday morning.  It never felt this good until I starting working full time.  I've noticed that I don't like to have "big plans" on the weekends either.  I keep my expectation low and my list short.

Today was a wonderful day.  I started off my weekend with a really sour/angry/frustrated feeling.  I was determined to push those feelings away and have a great weekend with my family.  We woke up and I nursed Mimi in bed and then we made french toast and played all morning with Mimi.  We decided to run some errands. We went to Michael's and perused the crafty things we could use to decorate for Mimi's ladybug-themed birthday party.  It was really fun, I will do a post of her party so you can see the cute stuff we came across.  The party supply store was next door so we picked up plates, cups, cutlery , streamers all in our red and black theme.  My husband got into it too.  I couldn't help but notice all the things at Michaels' that would be PERFECT for Sophie's Birthday!!!  I wanted to take photos and send it all to Courtney! I restrained myself though.  ;-)  We had lunch with some friends at Five Guys before heading home---NOT on my diet plan, but SO WORTH IT.

After we all had an afternoon nap, we ate a light dinner.  We decided to let Mimi sit at the table like a big girl, by taking off her high chair tray and lowering her to our level.  She ate with her fork, not using her hands for anything! She drank from her cup and we all had such a pleasant meal.  She didn't even get food on her dress.  After hearing that my friend's kid has an entire repertoire of words, I found myself repeating words to Mimi more than usual! lol "Mimi is that your CUP, are you drinking from your CUP, where's Mommy's CUP...."

We took advantage of the fact that it wasn't raining at dusk for the first time in a week and walked to the park.  My husband pushed Mimi on the swing while I ran a mile on the track.  My knee if feeling so much better these days.  The last time I was running regularly I was 22 lbs heavier, when I think about that, it would be like jogging carrying Mimi (who is now 24 lbs!), crazy.  I hope to get down to my goal weight and start running 3-5 miles again.

My husband put Mimi to bed and my friend and I went and got a pedicure and caught up over coffee while the smiling ladies massaged our legs, so nice especially after my short run.  I wish I had someone to do that every night! If you tell me your husband massages your feet and legs every night I think I might cry from jealousy!

I made the most of my day.  I spent time with my husband, kissed my daughter 5,000 times, played peekaboo and read books to her, I even emptied the dishwasher!  Tomorrow we are taking Mimi tubing down the river for the first time.  I am feeling better now that we have a infant PFD that fits her properly.  We'll see how she does!