Little Bro

Here's Chase stealing Trenton's CapriSun while Trenton slaves away sweeping the patio.

Sometimes it's not so bad being the younger brother.

Getaway

On Friday night our wonderful, fantastic, generous friends Sarah & John watched the boys overnight while we spent the night in San Francisco. It was our first night spent together and without kids in 2 years, 7 months, and 19 days (or in other words, since Trenton's birth :) . It was DIVINE.

Thanks to the 5 weeks Ryan spent in Austin, Texas, last fall, he has a couple free nights at the Omni Hotel. Luckily, there's one here in San Francisco, so we stayed in a $250 room for free! We used having a free room as an excuse to live it up, ordering creme brulee from room service and (gasp!) actually drinking that coke and sprite from the mini-fridge!

Gorgeous, no?

The view from our window on the 17th floor.

Us in a San Fran ally.

After checking in, we walked to little Italy and ate dinner at a pizza place I've been wanting to try. Tony's has 900+ reviews on yelp, and the reviews are dead on—pizza is an art form there! We lucked out hugely in my mind, because the seating for two right next to the chef/owner (Tony himself) had just opened up. We chatted with Tony a bit, and he even bought us dessert. If my eyes look a little over-excited in the picture above, that's because I was!

Next we walked to Union Square and H&M, where I bought the cutest little clothes for the boys to wear for family pictures. For me, life doesn't get much better than pizza and shopping! We walked home in the dark, rented an on-demand movie in our hotel room, (The Switch—I'd definitely recommend it! It was surprisingly both funny and tender.), and ordered us the creme brulee Ryan has been telling me about since last fall. Perfect night.

And this is us the next morning. I felt more rested and rejuvenated than I have in about two and a half years! And I was so excited to go give my boys a big squeeze! It is unbelievable how much a little time away can renew your love, both for spouse and kids. I was reminded of why Ryan and I were drawn together in the first place. We have FUN together! Especially without the pressures of work, kids, the house, etc.

So, the point is, who else wants to swap kids with us and get away for a night?? :)

Disclaimer

I think I may have misrepresented our life in my last "Day in My Life" post. It was a Friday, so I nixed a lot of the cleaning that I normally do. Does anyone else feel like cleaning consumes your life? I'm always looking for new ways to streamline my cleaning (or just get used to living in a slightly more unkempt home), because it NEVER ENDS! No, literally, it NEVER ENDS! And naturally, the boys would much rather I play with them than clean, so sometimes I have to remind myself that someday I won't remember that time I scrubbed the toilet, but I might remember that particular time I took the boys to the park or played cars for hours on end.

My point: My next "Day in My Life" post will likely feature a lot more cleaning. :)

A Day in My Life

Largely for my own record, here's my day last Friday. Get ready for photo and info overload!!

Chase wakes up at his very typical 5:58. I give him a bottle and sneak in a little more sleep before getting up for the day at 7.

Boys chatting in their room, so I go in at 7:15. Little cuties.

Breakfast first thing. Oatmeal and bananas. Say goodbye to Daddy.

8:00 Trenton throws a tantrum because he threw a toy at Chase to get my attention, so I put the toy on the fridge. (Tantrums seem to have made a recent resurgence, but luckily, they don't usually last long.)

8:04 Trenton happily watches Curious George while I clean up breakfast and finish feeding Chase. Chase gets into everything he shouldn't, like usual.

8:30 Boys in the bath! I love those buns!
All up in each other's space:

Boys out of bath. I get Trenton dressed while Chase pushes a diaper box over so he can climb on and try to reach the white noise maker. I cannot take my eyes off that little guy!
9:30 Chase takes his morning nap while Trenton and I attempt to sort several kinds of dry pasta. He just wants to thread the spaghetti noodles with penne. Oh well - still good! Then I sic Trenton on PBS and get dressed to head to the YMCA.

10:15 Chase up and we're out the door! Work out pretty hard and love it. Pick up the boys. Home by 11:45.

Make lunch. T throws tantrum over who-knows-what.
We eat lunch, watch some Sesame Street while I clean up lunch, read two books, and put Trenton down for a nap at 1pm. Once I'm sure Trenton is asleep, I put Chase down in the crib (1:30). Then I take a power nap! After all, this is hard work! Then I wake up, do something constructive, and listen for the boys.

3:00 Boys are up. We play in their room before getting dressed and ready to head out again.

Most afternoons, we stay home or maybe go on a walk. But it's Friday and I need a change, so we head to Boston Market. I always feel like a senior citizen when I go there, BUT it's the best place when it's just the boys and me. It's practically empty every time, so I don't have to feel like a spectacle with my crazy boys; plus, Trenton and I really like that chicken carver sandwich, and Chase loves him a side of mashed potatoes! To top it off, give Trenton some low-cal lemonade combined with Sprite, and he is on CLOUD NINE!


5:30 Back home. Play legos. It's difficult because Chase keeps knocking over our towers. :) I'm just happy because we didn't get the kitchen or table dirty for dinner. I love you, Boston Market.
Straighten up the house, vacuum, yada yada. Pajamas, bedtime routines, Chase goes down first, Trenton next. I'm free by 7:15pm!! Ryan joins me shortly after.

Phew, that was a pretty great Friday.

Good Morning, World!

This morning I heard giggling coming from down the hall. I investigated to find this little sweetheart precariously standing on Trenton's stool, splashing his little hand in the sink full of water Trenton had left after "washing his hands" (aka playing in water). Good morning, world! It's going to be another busy day!