The Weekend begins, for us, on Friday evening. It is a fantastic sigh of relief when Mother comes home from work around 6pm and I know that around the corner is my day off.
The thing that differentiates our weekend from, say, your weekend, is that there is still a lot of work to be done. Grandmother doesn’t have a clue what a weekend is so getting a full break from care-giving is out of the question. Ultimately Mother gets half of the weekend off and I get the other half. Gone are the days of us going out to a movie together or trying out a new restaurant. One of us always needs to be home and alert.
Already my weekend is a bit of a blur, but here is a timeline that I think is pretty sort of maybe accurate:
6:00pm Mother comes home from work, she feeds her cats, changes out of her work clothes and we discuss dinner
6:30pm Dinner has been decided on: leftover spinach pasta and garlic bread
6:45pm We put in our latest Netflix rental, Made of Honor, and zone out.
9:00pm In looking for something to watch on tv I stumble across the opening credits for Silence of the Lambs and MUST watch.
11:00pm Bed time, try not to dream of lotions in baskets
7:00am I wake up and take the dog out, check e-mail, write a blog post
8:00am I wake Mother up to be on duty and I take the dog to the groomers and then do a surprise stop to get bagels and hot cocoa
8:45am I return home, Mother tags out and takes off to run a few errands
8:46am GM wakes up and needs bathroom visit and help getting dressed
10:15am Mother returns from errands and spends a few minutes tidying her room
10:20am Doorbell rings! It is carpet cleaning company!
10:21am Mother shows the carpet cleaners where we need cleaning, Mother loads GM into wheelchair and they exit off to GM’s standing hair appointment
10:25am I put on headphones and work on some writing
11:45am Carpet cleaners are finished, GM & Mother return home, I announce that if I don’t have a turkey bacon sandwich that I will die. I am sent out into the world for food.
12:50pm I return home with food, including fresh strawberries! Also have picked up the dog from Grooming. We turn on Alabama football for GM
12:55pm I make lunch and Mother continues her turn at taking care of and tending to GM
4:00pm We celebrate football victory, get GM to eat, find something silly to watch to keep GM engaged
5:00pm GM announces that she is ready for bed. Mother sweetly gets her ready and tucked in.
5:30pm- 11:00pm I have no memory of what I did Saturday night. Honestly. None.
9:00am I wake up well rested, take the dog out, make healthy breakfast of chips and dip, work on some writing, lounge.
Rest of Sunday: Also, kind of a blur. We watched Ballet Shoes with GM, I caught up on the last episode of Mad Men, I cut up strawberries…fell asleep to the Emmy’s.
The fact that I just tried to make an accurate timeline cracks me up. (& most likely bored the fuck out of you. My apologies.) I guess what I am clumsily saying is that I sort of miss some weekends of my past. Epic sleeping ins, meeting friends for cheap brunch, going out to an afternoon movie… Sometimes I just feel so old.
But I am really glad that Mother helps out so much over the weekend. And if I wasn’t such an obnoxious control freak I would probably let her help out even more.
Sheesh, what a drab post this is turning out to be! Methinks all the rain is seeping in.
So tell me what you did over your weekend. Leave no juicy moment out. Take me with you in the details.
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Just me and the kids for the weekend so it was all about survival.
And I wasn’t bored, I liked reading about your weekend because I can totally picture you doing all those things. Thanks for the glimpse into the minutia of your daily life.
Lets see.. Saturday morning we had a yardsale… we made just enough money to pay for tickets to get into the local fair. So we packed up our 2 1/2 year old and went to check out moos, baas, and piggies… she loved it… she then rode a pony and we watched the cheesy carnival circus. Sunday morning we woke up and went apple picking.. I live in New England so its cool and crisp outside.. the Mac’s and Honey crisps are in season.. After picking we came home, put the toddler down for a nappy poo and I made home made apple crisp.. mmmmmm
then the afternoon was filled with playing at the playground and going for a walk. Oh and then some time in the sandbox on the deck and we watched Finding Nemo… for the 500th time.
See what you have to look foward too!
you can see it in pics if you like at http://www.meetheboyles.blogspot.com hahaha
I miss typed… dang it. http://www.meettheboyles.blogspot.com
Ahh yes.. right now its cool and crisp.. give it 3 more months though and it’ll be 10 degrees and we’ll have so much snow I won’t be able to see out my front window… .BLAH! the joys of New England haha
I had a pretty boring weekend. But thanks. We have some friends who are caretakers to a family member, and thanks for reminding me, it’s a thankless, full time job, and they don’t get much in the way of breaks.
Went out Saturday for our traditional Sat morning breakfast. We’ve given up on ordering Sol his own kid’s plate and now just order more stuff for us and let him pick. Refuse creamer and hide salt/pepper/sugar lest 2.5 yo eats them all.
Then hit yard sales, get a pitchfork for new attempt at compost pile! Husband mows lawn while I hang with the Sol-man. Friends arrive w/ their 2.5 and 10 yo kids, we stomp in river, then off to local fair. Anticipated sleepover (with social drinking with other adults!) is canceled due to cranky 10yo.
Sun morning went to church. Sol sees his makeshift grandparents who sit for us on our (rare) date-type occasions. Stopped for crazy-spontaneous dry cappucinos and biscotti! Home again for lunch. While Sol naps, husband mows and prunes and I approve a change to someone’s research study (I work part time at Major Research University). Then I finally frame a photo of Sol from 9 months ago. Then naptime is over and we play while husband makes dinner (!) which is sea bass. No this doesn’t happen often. Then we go through Sol’s nighttime routine, and then each work some more. At 10pm it’s time for US and we celebrate by folding laundry and sipping wine to X-files.
Yes, I hear you on the former life thing. I miss sleeping as long as I want, miss spontaneously doing pretty much anything fun for me. But it’s worth it. for family… especially if you can finagle a break here and there.
Friday:
4:00 p.m. – leave the office and head for Arlington to pick up Izzy
4:30ish – get to Izzy’s office and we sit and shoot the breeze while waiting for Evie (her co-worker) to get back to Izzy could leave
4:50ish – leave izzy’s office and drive to Parks Mall. Go to Torrid to find they don’t have the tee-shirts we wanted. Walk by Cinnabon; inhale deeply. Go to the bathroom. Walk around the mall and go to Sears. Laugh at the heinously ugly clothing, try on a few really cute shirts, buy two. Go to Barnes & Noble. Use the bathroom again. Search in vain for the Buffy Omnibus 5. Get into the car.
6:15ish – drive to Lone Star Comics. Search in vain for the Buffy Omnibus 5. Search in vain for Fables. Get into the car, only to find it won’t start. Cuss. Tinker with the thingie that Joe showed me, it still won’t start. Cuss some more. Realize it’s dang warm. Try it again. It still won’t start. Cuss some more. Let Izzy start the car. Bit-cah! It started for her. She explained that she started it the same way she started her old Pinto when she and J were married.
6:30ish – leave the car in the parking lot of the School of Social Work at UTA, and let Izzy drive her car.
6:45ish – arrive at Celebrity Bakery and buy 4 chocolate cupcakes for Elle & Troy, who are working box office at the theatre.
6:55ish – arrive at Airways. Stare in disbelief at each other as the workers there cook, chat with each other, and chat on the phone before FINALLY walking up to the register and asking if we were ready to order. When our food is ready, snarf onion rings and burger (me) and a grilled cheese sandwich and onion rings (Izzy).
7:35ish – arrive at the Theatre. Chat with Elle and Troy. Go sit down and wait for the play to start (Annie Get Your Gun). As soon as BJ is through giving the spiel for the season and for Taste of Arlington, snare better seats.
9:15ish – intermission. Go chat with Elle and Troy some more. Put all my change in the basket for the theatre guild and don’t take any treats.
9:30ish – intermission’s over. Enjoy the rest of the play.
10:15ish – the play’s over. Chat some more with Elle and Troy. Get grossed out when Troy thanks me for the cupcakes and tells me he rubbed them on his nipples.
10:40ish – go to Sonic and get a watermelon Sprite (me) and a Dr. Pepper (Izzy) and some cheddar peppers. Eat, drink, and be merry.
11:00ish – get back to my car. It still won’t start. Cuss. Let Izzy try to start it. It won’t start for her. Cuss some more, and get back into her car and let her drive me home.
11:20ish – get home, tell Joe about the car, take my meds, go to bed and read until I fall asleep.
SATURDAY:
9:00ish – wake up, decide I don’t feel like waking up, and go back to sleep.
11:00ish – wake up, check the schedule for Bankston and see their service dept. closes at 6 on Saturdays.
noonish – Joe and I drive to the School of Social Work at UTA and try to start the car. It won’t start. Cuss. Drive to Wendy’s and have some lunch. Drive to the auto parts place and get some stuff that is supposed to clear the fuel line. Drive back to UTA. Watch Joe do his mojo and see the car still not start. Shake it up and down and back and forth per his directions. It still won’t start. Get hot and sweaty, and go inside the building while he works on it. Fortunately there was a good book in the car, so I had something to read. Dig all the change out of my purse and buy us sodas and candy at an exhorbitant price.
3:00ish – talk him into calling for a tow, because the damned car obviously isn’t going to start.
3:40ish – the tow truck arrives, and Joe sends me home in the Isuzu, saying he’ll ride home with the tow guy.
4:00ish – get home, play with the dogs, make beef stew for dinner, go into the bedroom and read all evening. Joe went to see the play.
9:30ish – the stew’s ready, and really dang good, so eat a bowl of stew and then go to sleep.
SUNDAY
9:30ish – wake up and start laundry. Read.
1:00ish – get a text from Elle saying that the movie starts at 4:05. Decide to meet there.
Later – get another text from Elle, wanting to know what I’m doing.Tell her laundry, and invite her to come on over if she’s bored.
Later – Elle gets there. We talk and talk and talk. Scout doesn’t bark ONCE at her–count this as a milestone.
3:15ish – leave for the theatre, get popcorn and cokes and Reese’s Pieces. Talk all during the ads and previews. Laugh my butt off (unfortunately not literally–can you imagine a big old fat butt bouncing around the theatre?).
Later – leave the theatre, joking and telling each other our favourite lines from the show. Go to Rosa’s and get Tex-Mex to go. Take it home and eat hot fresh yummy tortillas and watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Talk some more. Elle goes home, and I go into the bedroom and read until I fall asleep.
How’s that for details? Love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not a drab post in the least.
Our weekend was an exciting one. Friend we hadn’t seen in *thinks* 3+ years came from CA, and we spent the long weekend taking her on a food tour of the DC area. Starting with breakfast at Ikea, ending with dinner last night at an amazing local restaurant, with things like the md ren faire and fish & chips at an “authentic” irish chipper in between.
In between meals, we mostly laid about in a food coma.
Your weekend didn’t sound boring. I spent the weekend with another cold wishing I would just keel over already. Always fun to keep a 4 year old cooped inside because you feel like you are one breath away from drowning in snot. PreK is killing me! So far P has brought home 3 colds, pink eye, and a nasty stomach bug and shared them with the rest of us. I barely have time to recover when we are hit with something new. Thankfully I am well enough today to carry on with my cleaning streak and resume obsessing about my (almost non-existent) love life. Two activities that go well together.
The best part? Sadly? Eating buffalo wings. It was a long boring weekend here, too.
I really liked reading that, actually. I like to know how people spend their time.
I have a check list by my computer for the things I did Sunday – I already threw out Saturday’s list. According to my list, I went to UU church service, went to the gaaaaaaap and bought the pants I tried on the other day, made a meal plan for the week and went grocery shopping, paid the bills and balanced the check books, overhauled all my clothes (put summer clothes away, got rid of stuff that doesn’t fit or I don’t wear and refolded all the piles), returned my Saturday-home-alone video (“Baby Mama”…I don’t know…), did a ton of laundry, made some lavender spritz for my hair, went to dinner with our potential new KD and his GF. Wow, that sounds like a lot all written out! The things that aren’t checked off are putting air in my car tires and exercise
Saturday I did some yard work and shopping and ate dinner in front of “Baby Mama,” but I can’t remember what else I did exactly. And Friday after work we cleaned the house and watched “Smart People” which was just alright.
hmmm i was kidless this weekend.. they were at their dads..
but saturday night a great game of D&D was played..
photographs was taken sunday .. nature shots
and i did laundry and i had coffee while visiting my sis
other then that .. nadda.. lol
Friday – 1:30 p.m.: Get off work beautifully early as I was totally over being there.
Go home, clean kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, pick some stuff out of the garden, swiffer the floor, check my email… begine making pecan pie for bake sale that is occurring Saturday morning.
3:15: Sweat my way thru the front doors of the elementary school to pick up Wil and we walk home just in time for me to pull my pie out of the oven. We do stuff – I don’t know what, untuil Cale gets home at 4:30.
5:00: Cale sets to the task of tiling the backsplash after working all day installing a bathtub at someone else’s house. i stand around asking how I can help and finally decide that the best thing to do would be to go get refreshing beverages for when he finishes. Do so.
7- 12: We have a few beers, feed Wil some really tough steak and put hime to bed. We then venture downstairs to practice some songs. We spend until I say I’m exhausted me practicing bass and singing and Cale and I trying to write new songs.
Saturday – Wake up at 8 a.m. and am unable to go back to bed. Make myself a peice of toast and get in the shower while everyone else sleeps. By the time I get out everyone is up and we get ready forthe Homecoming parade and bakesale. Pick up Cale’s grandmother and venture down to the parade. Go to the bakesale buy a plate sized cinnamon roll and two of the banana caramel cupcakes I had donated to the bakesale (thank you Rachel Ray!!) Went back home and Cale works on tiling the bathtub until 7:45. I make food and sit around, running for things as he needs them, asking Wil and the neighborhood kids to stop picking my vegetables and using them as batting practice (Gallagher style) – generally feeling guilty about not being able to help Cale tile.
9p.m. – babysitter shows up and after donning my favorite 1940′s dress that I finally actually fit into – we go hit the bar in Conrad. Big times had by all 40 people who attend the bar. We go home early and go to bed. I enjoyed the adult time and dancing to “The Humpty Dance” was by far the highlight of my evening. The non-highlight was my neighbor almost coming to fisticuffs with me when I tried to apologize for the unfortunate chain of events that culminated in her dog being put to sleep after it tried to bite a 4 year old child (which would have been the 7th person he had bit).
Sunday – We wake up and try to steady ourselves for the full day of grocery shopping we have in front of us. We have to drive an hour away to go big grocery shopping and therefore it takes all day. We get to Great Falls – eat at the local food trough – try on some jeans – go to Sam’s club for the basics and halfway thru I realize that Wil has soccer picture in an hour!! D’OH! Scramble thru the store frantically piling things in the cart, pay and leave. Get to the field a mere 10 minutes late – take pictures – go home home- eat pasta e’fagiole that has been in the crockpot all day and try not to move off the couch the rest of the evening or think about the fact that I didn’t get my groceries. Argh!
Now that was boring!
To GM: Roll Tide!
I loved reading it too!
On Friday after work, I dragged vee shopping and we bought a shirt for me to wear for our CP service (couldn’t find one for her) and then we came home via the supermarket where we picked up Indian food, cooked said food, then walked dog and watched a scary TV programme.
The rest of the weekend is a blur of more shopping* (for boots, to the farmers’ market for veg, and for some other things I can’t remember) and gardening/cooking/manically micro managing (me) and napping/chilling/reading (vee) and probably some other things too. Oh and we went out for a meal on Saturday night to a local vegetarian restaurant. Yum.
Will that do?!
*We don’t usually shop so much. I don’t know what happened there!
PS
Somehow I left a whole chunk out… on Saturday morning/lunchtime we went to the post office and then went for a walk around a reservoir and checked out a few country pubs, looking for a venue for a post-CP lunch for our parents (who have never met! aagh!). Found one. Woo!
Just had to tell you that.
My weekends normally look just like the one you had, but amazingly this one was very active and fun, for me mostly.
Friday night invited a couple and their 2 young kids over, made a healthy pasta, shrimp, and broccoli dish, and a to die for layered lemon-raspberry trifle (breakfast today). Bed by 11. Saturday morning woke at 6:30 to get ready to drive an hour north for sons soccer game, home by noon, to switch out kids and take daughter 1/2 hour north again for her soccer (both in the pouring rain) Sick baby, so thats why we had to leave one at home to babysit the whole time. Biggest kid now has a job, so he’s always gone. Home from soccer at 3, made a quick dinner for family of homemade chili, rice, and cornbread. Left at 5 to meet up with 2 girlfriends for drinks and appetizers at red robin and then to a 7:20 movie…the women. A decent film, but it could have been better. Sunday sleep in and hang with the baby and hubby. Skip church since the baby is still sick. Send the big kids to church any way for some peace and quiet. Kids come home from church leave them with the baby, hubby and I take a drive to the local brewery for burgers, beer and football watching. Home to play with baby and help kids with homework, then bed by 11. Bummed that mad men was a repeat, so read up on my doula training books.
I don’t quite remember either. I think we went out to dinner on Friday night. Yes, I had good pasta. Then on Saturday, we went to a far away town to go shopping at Costco and get Krispy Kreme doughnuts. On Sunday, I went grocery shopping and Matt watched football. I worked on my sewing project for most of the afternoon.
The weekend started with a surprise visit from the out-of-town boyfriend… I love that kind of surprises, don’t you ?
Saturday started late with a breakfast in bed and then a road trip, with the dog, in the country to admire the colors of autumn. Followed by the discovery of a very cool tiny restaurant, in the tiniest village ever. Very yummy. We then had a very late diner where lots of wine was consumed…
Repeat, lather and rinse for Sunday !
The boyfriend left Sunday night, only to turn around after 30 miles and spend an extra night. Yes he did have to get up at 4am in order to make in on time to work but…
Yeah…I had a great weekend !! Sorry…
Well… Friday I had a comp day so I went shopping for “professional looking” clothes. There is no dress code at my work so I usually wear jeans and a t-shirt, but lately everyone seems to think I’m 23, which would be a compliment (I’m 30), but I’m trying to get promoted, so I needed to buy some more adult-looking clothes. Then I came home and my fiance and I made sandwiches for dinner and watched a movie (this strange 70s film called ‘If…).
Saturday we joined some friends on their boat at this high desert man-made lake for most of the day. That was fun, although I realized I’ll never be a “boat person” since I get seasick. Saturday night we picked up Thai food and watched DVDs of Mad Men.
Sunday, woke up and watched more Mad Men and then left for work since I work in the ‘biz and had to work doing Emmy-related stuff (that sadly did not involve me actually going to the Emmys or any similarly glam party). Got home at midnight, read some of the fourth ‘Twilight’ book, went to sleep. Woke up, wondered if the markets had crashed, made coffee and read some blogs. Which brings us to… now!
do you want the activity version or the mind/heart version?
i may have to make my own “anatomy of a weekend” blog post for you…
PS – was the turkey bacon sandwich from Panera? just curious, cuz you made me insanely hungry for one…with a side of their Potato Soup. mmmmmmm. at least you are feeding a snork. LOL
xoxo
I rarely comment here, but I had a very cool weekend and thought I’d share regardless.
Saturday: ~8 wake up. Put clothes in wash. Pack bag. Do hair.
~930. Head out to Momma’s house
~11. Arrive at Momma’s house. Go grocery shopping for Wedding Cake supplies (my mom’s making my wedding cake!). Buy 4lbs of butter. 5lbs of flour. And other large amounts of cake things.
~1. Begin making cake. Good looking stuff.
~430. Finish getting ready and pick up friend
~5. Check into hotel and light-rail it to the bar.
~630. Begin Bachelorette party!
~9. Hit up “Dirty” (that’s it’s name). Dance and begin checking things off “The List”.
~?. Gay bar in town for male dancers. Heck yes. Quite cute, but friends were uncomfortable, so we didn’t hang long.
~?. Pizza and Karaoke bar. Spent the rest of the night here, dancing and drinking and having a blast. Found a good dancer there…yup. Oh and we talked with this pregnant lady who was out on the town and eating donuts at a renowned local joint. Ha. Good stuff.
i told you saturday already by email (girlfriends, baby shower)
sunday:
8am wake to deaf cat screaming bloody murder for food/snacks/pill/attention
8:01 pee while listening to cat screams
8:03 give cat pill/snacks/food/attention (in that order)
8:15 go back to sleep knowing that the husband is in a tylenol-pm-induced coma and will not awaken for awhile
10:00 get out of bed for reals
10:01 glass of mango juice diluted with water, iron supplement, cottage cheese with fruit cup
10:07 check email, cali’s blog, cruise internet
10:30 hear the husband stirring. good, don’t need to wake him
10:50 straighten up apartment, guests are coming at noon
11:10 shower
12pm get a text. guests are late because they ran into their neighbor who just found out his wife is cheating on him. this isn’t the first time. he is done with her.
12:30 guests arrive. get tour of the apartment. talk about the apartment. ooh and aah over the washer/dryer and storage space.
12:45 the husband is starving. getting cranky. need to leave immediately.
12:46 walk to brunch place. pass a weird car show in the middle of the block.
1:00 brunch place guy says 5-10 minute wait. the husband is starting to go downhill from hunger. why does he do this to himself?
1:10 no table
1:20 no table
1:30 the husband is turning into a werewolf
1:40 guests see someone they know and chat him up
1:45 husband’s eyes rolling into back of head. i start to get blamed for everything.
1:47 cancel reservation. walk up the street to british chip shop for english breakfast.
1:52 get seated immediately. order immediately.
1:55 husband apologizes to group for crankiness.
2:45 say goodbye to friends. husband goes to grocery store. i pick up cat food.
3:15 home
3:30 internet / email
4:30 nap time!
5:30 wake up. discuss dinner.
5:31 dinner decided upon. we are full from english breakfast, so just cereal and snacks for dinner.
5:32 throw load of laundry on
5:33 – 10:00 blurry: eat, take pills, ice foot, check email, order crib mattress, watch the closer, some of the emmy’s…….
10:00 bed time. stress about life a bit before falling asleep.
thanks, this was interesting. or incredibly uninteresting actually…
Your old life misses you too.
Certain coffee shops and restaurants feel empty and cold without
Calliope living nearby any more.
New life promises to be great, though… just you wait til your
baking time is over! Busy busy!!!
XOXO
Um. I don’t remember doing anything Friday night. Saturday I woke up at 6:30 and had a yard sale until about 3pm. I’m not sure where the rest of my weekend went, but I want it back.
Me, I worked and I slept. That pretty much covers it. Not much going on in my life. Being in a job where I typically work weekends I sort of miss the Friday afternoon excitement of a weekend spent with friends or just goofing off.
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