Atypical Week
Earlier this week, I was thinking about writing a post about our typical activities throughout the week; it would be super boring to you guys, of course, but in a few years (or decades), I thought it might be interesting or even helpful to look back on it and remember the good ol' days (or thank the Lord these days are over...).
But oddly enough, this week has been anything but typical. It started with us getting home from the church campout on Sunday afternoon and napping! Even Luke had a significant naptime with very little cajoling. After a weekend of natural vistas and heavenly fellowship (and running around like small filthy banshees, on the kids' part), we were tired...
Then we went to our weekly Sunday night small group, and the hosts had made dinner for everyone! That never happens, mainly, I think, because I'm a lazy, persistent ogre and I quash all attempts to add dinner to our routine because I think it's a lot of trouble and burden for small group Bible study settings with young families. (It was yummy and fun. But I'm still not changing my position on the issue.)
On Monday, we had our usual stay-at-home-and-recover-from-the-weekend morning before heading out to Museum School. After I dropped Luke off, Sarah fell asleep in the car (atypical) and I parked at the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed a lovely quiet hour in which to finish a nonfiction book I began only last month (Super atypical: nonfiction is truly not my thing). Incidentally, the book was excellent, and it was written by a high school classmate of mine, Kasey Van Norman (Named by God). Now that truly doesn't happen every week...
That night, we met with another couple for an Experiencing God study we are doing together, and I actually made dinner for everyone, and it wasn't pizza from Domino's. (*See paragraph 3 for reasons that is atypical.) Add to that the fact that the husband of the other couple ought to be heading up the kitchen of some famous restaurant with his incredible culinary gifts, and I'm more than a little intimidated by that... even though they are the world's sweetest people and would never criticize me for my bourgeois recipes that often use canned chicken.
On Tuesday, I got up really, really early, and P took the kids to preschool (definitely not our normal routine). While P was picking out leggings for Sarah and cooking oatmeal for Luke, I met a few others from church to help take our dear friends the Brantlys to the airport. I'm happy to announce that I did not hold Amber hostage in order to keep her here. I wanted to, but I resisted the temptation. (See? It was a really weird week!)
That night, P ended up working late, and I didn't make the dinner I'd planned to make according to my fridge menu board. I'm thrilled to boast that this was not normal. (Well, not the working late thing, although I'm glad my husband has a great job and plenty to do there.) The menu board idea has been a work in progress for years (thank you, Pinterest), but I've finally settled into a system that works for me, and I've used it with alarming success for several weeks now. Enter Atypical Week, and lots of leftovers, frozen pizza, and mac 'n cheese.
Wednesday morning was not normal because we just totally skipped Ladies' Class for no reason at all, which I never, never do these days. But we did. And I'm really glad we did, because after the campout (and everything else in life the last few months), Monday morning hadn't provided quite enough recovery time, and the kids and I just needed another day to stay in our comfy jeans (me) or underwear (Luke) and hang out at home.
Also, Sarah produced a few droplets of tee-tee in her little plastic potty! I know, that's gross. But it was a really big step for her. Especially since I'm doing very little these days to help her towards the goal of Independent Bathroom Care.
(Also, on Wednesday, I wrote an atypical post concerning my son, in which I may or may not have ranted about his behavior. Sorry about that. It was an unusually stressful moment.)
At Wednesday night church, I skipped my normal class so that I could appear as Jochabed for the elementary girls' class. Sooo fun. And probably the first time in history the story of baby Moses has ever included details about the midwife.... their moms are gonna love me!
Thursday was another glorious day of preschool, and what did I do with it? I went bonkers. Typically, you will not find me doing anything of any nature related to lawn care or gardening, and yet by Thursday evening, I had totally tricked out the front porch, added six houseplants to our previously plant-free home, and began work on our haunted-house-worthy front flower beds. And I wasn't even sore the next day. So bizarre and very unusual.
Friday was also glorious in that it provided us another day of R&R at home. The kids played together, colored together, wrestled together, and happily ate their lunches together. It was not normal. And it was sublime. Meanwhile, I made some headway on projects around the house and succeeded in totally not worrying about the mounting number of toys being strewn hither and yon (still there this morning! that's a new record for the OCD in me!).
Last night, we took the kids to their preschool for Kids' Night Out and enjoyed a lovely date - during which we finally managed to do something we always talk about doing: go to a restaurant and order dessert! (We have high ideals, people.) I don't mean to brag or make you hungry, but I can't resist sharing that I had the bread pudding and cream cheese ice cream at Brewed. It was mmmmmmmmm.
Also, my first time at Brewed. It was sort of like an amusement park experience, except that the entertainment and thrills came as a result of the amazing foods and drinks as well as the endlessly creative decor. I told P that it looked like the owners must really love Pinterest (and they are maybe the only people in the world to actually follow through on all the coolest ideas there; e.g. a gallery-style arrangement of vintage hand mirrors in the bathroom). He countered that Pinterest was actually filmed there at the restaurant.
And for the final atypical moment of our week, P left about an hour ago to fly to the east coast for a wedding this weekend, so for the first time in a few months, we'll have a Saturday without him. Fortunately, he made sure we have tickets to see Dora's Pirate Adventure at Casa Mañana tonight, so I think we'll be okay....
I guess when it really comes down to it, every week has its own surprises and detours from routine, and having an atypical week is not so unusual after all. Here's to many more atypical weeks to come! And future self: I hope that satisfies your curiosity about What Life Was Like in the Fall of '13. It's not grounds for a novel or anything, but it's not bad. Not bad at all.
But oddly enough, this week has been anything but typical. It started with us getting home from the church campout on Sunday afternoon and napping! Even Luke had a significant naptime with very little cajoling. After a weekend of natural vistas and heavenly fellowship (and running around like small filthy banshees, on the kids' part), we were tired...
Then we went to our weekly Sunday night small group, and the hosts had made dinner for everyone! That never happens, mainly, I think, because I'm a lazy, persistent ogre and I quash all attempts to add dinner to our routine because I think it's a lot of trouble and burden for small group Bible study settings with young families. (It was yummy and fun. But I'm still not changing my position on the issue.)
On Monday, we had our usual stay-at-home-and-recover-from-the-weekend morning before heading out to Museum School. After I dropped Luke off, Sarah fell asleep in the car (atypical) and I parked at the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed a lovely quiet hour in which to finish a nonfiction book I began only last month (Super atypical: nonfiction is truly not my thing). Incidentally, the book was excellent, and it was written by a high school classmate of mine, Kasey Van Norman (Named by God). Now that truly doesn't happen every week...
That night, we met with another couple for an Experiencing God study we are doing together, and I actually made dinner for everyone, and it wasn't pizza from Domino's. (*See paragraph 3 for reasons that is atypical.) Add to that the fact that the husband of the other couple ought to be heading up the kitchen of some famous restaurant with his incredible culinary gifts, and I'm more than a little intimidated by that... even though they are the world's sweetest people and would never criticize me for my bourgeois recipes that often use canned chicken.
On Tuesday, I got up really, really early, and P took the kids to preschool (definitely not our normal routine). While P was picking out leggings for Sarah and cooking oatmeal for Luke, I met a few others from church to help take our dear friends the Brantlys to the airport. I'm happy to announce that I did not hold Amber hostage in order to keep her here. I wanted to, but I resisted the temptation. (See? It was a really weird week!)
That night, P ended up working late, and I didn't make the dinner I'd planned to make according to my fridge menu board. I'm thrilled to boast that this was not normal. (Well, not the working late thing, although I'm glad my husband has a great job and plenty to do there.) The menu board idea has been a work in progress for years (thank you, Pinterest), but I've finally settled into a system that works for me, and I've used it with alarming success for several weeks now. Enter Atypical Week, and lots of leftovers, frozen pizza, and mac 'n cheese.
Wednesday morning was not normal because we just totally skipped Ladies' Class for no reason at all, which I never, never do these days. But we did. And I'm really glad we did, because after the campout (and everything else in life the last few months), Monday morning hadn't provided quite enough recovery time, and the kids and I just needed another day to stay in our comfy jeans (me) or underwear (Luke) and hang out at home.
Also, Sarah produced a few droplets of tee-tee in her little plastic potty! I know, that's gross. But it was a really big step for her. Especially since I'm doing very little these days to help her towards the goal of Independent Bathroom Care.
(Also, on Wednesday, I wrote an atypical post concerning my son, in which I may or may not have ranted about his behavior. Sorry about that. It was an unusually stressful moment.)
At Wednesday night church, I skipped my normal class so that I could appear as Jochabed for the elementary girls' class. Sooo fun. And probably the first time in history the story of baby Moses has ever included details about the midwife.... their moms are gonna love me!
Thursday was another glorious day of preschool, and what did I do with it? I went bonkers. Typically, you will not find me doing anything of any nature related to lawn care or gardening, and yet by Thursday evening, I had totally tricked out the front porch, added six houseplants to our previously plant-free home, and began work on our haunted-house-worthy front flower beds. And I wasn't even sore the next day. So bizarre and very unusual.
Friday was also glorious in that it provided us another day of R&R at home. The kids played together, colored together, wrestled together, and happily ate their lunches together. It was not normal. And it was sublime. Meanwhile, I made some headway on projects around the house and succeeded in totally not worrying about the mounting number of toys being strewn hither and yon (still there this morning! that's a new record for the OCD in me!).
Last night, we took the kids to their preschool for Kids' Night Out and enjoyed a lovely date - during which we finally managed to do something we always talk about doing: go to a restaurant and order dessert! (We have high ideals, people.) I don't mean to brag or make you hungry, but I can't resist sharing that I had the bread pudding and cream cheese ice cream at Brewed. It was mmmmmmmmm.
Also, my first time at Brewed. It was sort of like an amusement park experience, except that the entertainment and thrills came as a result of the amazing foods and drinks as well as the endlessly creative decor. I told P that it looked like the owners must really love Pinterest (and they are maybe the only people in the world to actually follow through on all the coolest ideas there; e.g. a gallery-style arrangement of vintage hand mirrors in the bathroom). He countered that Pinterest was actually filmed there at the restaurant.
And for the final atypical moment of our week, P left about an hour ago to fly to the east coast for a wedding this weekend, so for the first time in a few months, we'll have a Saturday without him. Fortunately, he made sure we have tickets to see Dora's Pirate Adventure at Casa Mañana tonight, so I think we'll be okay....
I guess when it really comes down to it, every week has its own surprises and detours from routine, and having an atypical week is not so unusual after all. Here's to many more atypical weeks to come! And future self: I hope that satisfies your curiosity about What Life Was Like in the Fall of '13. It's not grounds for a novel or anything, but it's not bad. Not bad at all.
Thanks for loaning P to us for the wedding: I had a great time catching up with him (and the others)!
ReplyDeleteI've decided that a clean house only happens in marketing photos. Or if we have company that needs to be impressed. Otherwise, I settle for reasonably clean. And sometimes just to be able to see the floor...