Weekend Bust

After all my bragging about our wonderful weekends, we finally had one blow up on us. No big deal...we didn't have any plans in the pipeline, anyway. In fact, we had thought about going camping and decided to can that idea. With the new school year starting this week and a birthday coming up...preceded by a couple of busy weekends, we thought it best to stay put. And stay put we did. Well, the boys and me, anyway.

Dylan found out on Thursday about a last minute work event that would consume the second half of Friday. No problemo there...Gavin had been asking to go to the aquarium, so I decided to fill the afternoon doing just that. But then on Friday morning, D found out about a last minute trip leaving Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. Bleh. Still, really no problemo. These things are bound to happen a couple times a year, and I was just grateful it wasn't blowing up any plans. I just had to get my mind right for a weekend of single parenting. I've done it plenty of times, but still it requires some careful planning and forethought...but mostly I had to dig deep within me to find lots and lots of patience. Without Super Dad around to play with blocks and Legos and dig for bugs, what the heck would I do?

D took the boys to Chick Fil A on Tuesday while I was at a happy hour and they bumped into Elaine and Luke. What a treat!

This photo looks so familiar from when Gavin was this age.

We are SO overdue for haircuts. Well...3/4 of us, anyway.

My dinner date on Thursday night in-between school and Back to School Night.

Gavin's seat in his new classroom. He'll be in Pre-K this year with Miss Katie starting Tuesday!

The aquarium never gets old! The lighting for photos is so poor in there, and I gave it up after this one photo. We've seen it all before, anyway.

We survived mostly unscathed. It wasn't an exciting time, and we hunkered down at home for much of the weekend. For the most part, the boys were pretty good! Poor Graham was woken up just after his nap had begun when we got a last minute showing request on Saturday. So we straightened things up and headed down to the gas station for cheap ice cream sandwiches. After finishing the ice cream and then hunting for bugs in the parking lot for a while in the 100 degree heat, we came to the realization that we were dealing with a no-show. My former self would have been like, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU MADE ME WAKE UP A SLEEPING BABY FOR NO REASON!!!!" But my current self is into taking a more Buddhist approach. Sometimes, shit happens. I try to roll with it and just stay chill. It was really not a big deal, and I'm glad I didn't waste much energy being pissed. What the hell else would we have spent our day doing, anyway?

Sitting on the gross ground where I'm pretty sure people take their smoke breaks. Nasty. After Graham dragged his creamsicle across the ground, I had to throw it right into the trash before he'd even had a bite. I guess we can't trust him with treats on a stick yet! Note to self: drive the extra 15 minutes to go to a real ice cream place next time.

This keeps them occupied for at least an hour. 

Going to town on his after-church donut.

Dancing to the background music of Trolls.

Graham loves wearing hats and masks and puts on the silliest expression. I really haven't met someone that makes me laugh as much as Graham does.

I got preoccupied with something and realized I hadn't heard much from the boys. I found them in the pantry eating all the Special K. So, I took a photo and then shut the door and allowed them to continue. #lazyparenting

He also loves everyone else's shoes.

So that was that. We found time for the gym and shopping and errands and church and the park. We did Legos and Play-doh and buried the boys in pillows. We splashed in the kiddie pool outside and watched Trolls. Twice. I also accomplished a fair amount at home when the boys were playing (or zoning out to a screen). Dylan was wheels down at 2pm today, which positioned him nicely to do a week's worth of grocery shopping before heading back to the boonies. He played with the boys and helped me put them to bed, and he's already off to see his buddies. He'll be putting his Dad pants back on tomorrow while I work and head out on a few appointments. In fact, the schedule is pretty packed. I'll hardly see these guys until dinner on Thursday. And then it'll be time for a weekend that will probably not be a bust!