Play By Play | Girl's Weekend

Simon asked to go spend some time with my parents at the coast so Anna and I had a whole weekend by ourselves.

I'm actually pretty sure this was our first weekend all on our own. It was pretty great. Great to just hang out with her, great to let her pick out things to do and watch and eat, great to listen to her laugh and great to just have her upsets to deal with vs. two.

Here's a run down of our adventures:

FRIDAY NIGHT | Ate mac & cheese and watched Babes In Toyland (Katie picked it up for us a the library earlier in the day). I let her sleep in bed with me and we read a couple stories before she finally fell asleep and I read until I finished Mockingjay.

SATURDAY | George the cat wanted to wake up earlier than Anna and I and he kept walking over us and purring really loud right in our faces. We finally woke up and Anna asked to watch The Princess & The Frog on my phone. I went downstairs to grab it, fed the animals, picked up my laptop, the newspaper, and some goldfish + apple juice and headed back upstairs. We lounged in bed for the duration of the movie.

Stripped the beds, carried the bedding downstairs to the laundry room and started that process.

Made some eggs and toast and Anna played legos and washed dishes in her little play kitchen (which is basically in our kitchen). I unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher, cleaned the pantry, kept the laundry moving, cleaned out a couple drawers and she "helped" and chatted and worked on her own dishes and drawer.

We drew cats. And ate more goldfish and some Skittles. We watched Babes In Toyland again (I did a bit more sorting in the kitchen during the second half). Right near the end of the movie she had a melt-down, hit Lily, and ended up in her bedroom for some "quiet" time.

I left her up there for 20 mins or so and went to check on her and she was quietly playing with her Playmobil people.

We cooked together. Sausage and bean soup. To have someone interested in the food being prepared was awesome. Soundtrack was Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto. We ate together (she had yogurt, oranges and a couple bites of the soup). Soundtrack was Dave Matthews on Pandora.

Did the dishes. Anna played doctor with one of her barbies. I love listening to her stories and conversations.

And then popcorn. And a cup of milk for her. And a couple rounds of Olivia on the DVR.

A meltdown on the way to bed. Stall tactics. Lots of crying. I get her in her PJ's and get her in her bed. In and out of her room a couple times in-between making my bed and she finally gets that she's in there for the night. I get ready for bed, check on her again and turn off the light, take a shower and start reading 1000 Gifts.

SUNDAY | When she wakes up we repeat Saturday mornings ritual. Iphone movie, banana muffin (+ a few crumbs) and reading the paper in my bed.

Bath-time for Anna in the big tub.

A trip to Sears to deal with a microwave that's becoming an expensive fix (with a quick stop for a latte & kid's hot cocoa - only she was very insistent that it was a "girl's" hot cocoa vs. a "kid's"). The microwave is one of those that's built in above an oven and it's only sold as a set with the oven. Awesome.

A stop to look for a new coffeepot, two stops at thrift stores. Come home with four new barbies, including two that have pink and purple hair and sparkly bodies. All barbies get a very good bath in the kitchen sink.

Lunch of left-over mac & cheese and strawberries.

A couple Dora episodes for Anna and magazine reading time for me in-between laundry folding sessions. Lots of "potty talk" - right on target for a freshly minted three-year-old.

Head outside for some weeding and picking up dog poop and dreaming about what that space could be. Thinking this may be the year that I really invest some personal time in that space.

Play soccer. Shoot a couple baskets out in the driveway. Lots of laughing. Clean up the yard stuff we got out.

Feed the animals.

Inside for edamame. We both love it. Black Butte Porter for me and apple juice for her. Watch a little TV.

Carry the baskets full of clean laundry upstairs and she helps me put clothes away in Simon's room, in her room and in my room. Her interest in domestic stuff makes those sorts of chores just a bit more fun. She picks out her jammies. I help her put the top on and she does the bottoms.

She crawls up into my bed for some snuggle time and falls asleep playing a matching game on my phone.

I finish up this post, read a bit more of the paper, and then say a really big thank you prayer.

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59 thoughts

  1. dawn says…
    02/20/2012

    aawww this is so sweet, love the way you captured this with just words and no photos. It still felt like I was right there, can just imagine her little 3 year old meltdowns and attitudes. It is nice to have a little one help with the chores, cooking and keeping company beside you. I bet you both needed this weekend together. I'm sure Simon enjoyed his weekend just as much also.

    Our cat use to wake us up before we were ready and finally we started putting him in the utility room at night. It made me sad at first but after a couple weeks it was nice to know we could sleep in on the weekends.

    Happy Monday and have a good week.

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Lisa says…
    02/20/2012

    What a wonderful girls' weekend! Love your heart of gratitude, Ali. I commend you on the awesome way you are focusing your thoughts and actions while navigating this new part of your journey. Oh, and sorry about the microwave.

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Vera says…
    02/20/2012

    Wonderful mommy+Anna time. Love it! I wonder how Simon's weekend went?

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. Debbie says…
    02/20/2012

    Thanks for sharing the details of your weekend. I loved reading each word. It's great that you are able to enjoy some time in bed in the morning with Anna alongside. A great memory recorded.

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Allison says…
    02/20/2012

    Babes in Toyland used to be my favorite! I'd kind of forgotten about it... must see if I can find it. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. Janette says…
    02/20/2012

    Ahhh I just loved reading this Ali! My 3 daughters are all grown up now, but your story brough back so many wonderful memories of when they were little! My husband is a shift worker so there were many times it was just the 4 of us girls on weekends and I used to love that time alone with them! Sorry about your microwave issues - hope you get that resolved soon. Hugs!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Ellie A. says…
    02/20/2012

    OH so amazing. Love. Right now I am enjoying my girlie time w/my baby girl. It gets "Interesting" in here w/Daddy & 2 boys and all the "noise" they bring so Wednesday-Friday is us time after the boys are gone & Daddy's gone to work. She will be starting Kindergarten in September & be gone for the whole day & her being my baby truth be told I'm taking it harder then her. She tells me how not to worry that when I see the time and it says three- three zero she'll be home shortly & tell me all she did. SIGH... YES love the stories during barbie play the peek into her imagination is something I am forever thankful. I think to myself WOW was I that imaginative at her age? She also is a "Super Chef" (as she calls herself) in the kitchen before I am there and asking What ingredients will be using today. I really think it's another BIG reason why I do project Life because w/all the busy moments in our daily life it will be wonderful to go back into these albums and look at the "little things" that I was able to capture and then share w/her and let her know our special time is truly cherished. As well as the time w/my boys but there is something about a Mama & Girlie time that is super sweet. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. patty says…
    02/20/2012

    LOVE how you can make the everyday "stuff" sound like good fun!
    your focus on being G*R*A*T*E*F*U*L & moving "up" amazes me...
    thanks ali for sharing and teaching me how to have GRACE at any point in life....
    xoxo...
    -p

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Wilma Cole says…
    02/20/2012

    Such a sweet weekend together.

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. Aubree says…
    02/20/2012

    This sounds like a wonderful weekend! I love that your weekend didn't need to be filled with "special" out of the ordinary things in order to be considered great!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. BARB T says…
    02/20/2012

    This was such a wonderful description of a great mom and daughter weekend. It brought back such delightful memories for me. I love that so many little girls, boys too, find the everyday domestic life fun. I hope you continue to enjoy these most precious days.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Lori says…
    02/20/2012

    Hope you LOVE 1000 Gifts. It was a life-changing book for me.I am taking your OLW class and I just wrote it down on my gifts list yesterday.... all that I am learning in OLW and what I learn from the poise and strength you show as you walk through changing days. Thank you, Ali.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Kate madaus says…
      02/23/2012

      I love that book as well! It was life changing for me as well.
      Thanks for sharing your weekend Ali, always a sweet reminder of the simple and good things in life.

  13. Paula G says…
    02/20/2012

    Sounds perfect :) The book you started also sounds great. I embarked on The Hunger Games as a read aloud with my 14 year old daughter this weekend. We just finished reading all 7 Harry Potters aloud for the 3rd time (Aspergers = the definition of heaven is repetition!)....so I was excited to switch to a new series. I really should document our weekend the way you just did...may be our last "normal" one for a while due to my mom's illness and it was a sweet one. I don't want to forget the tears my daughter cried when the last page of book 7 finished - made reading thousands of pages over and over worth it. PS we may have shared some of the same words in our thankful prayer at bedtime last night.

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Jonnelle says…
    02/20/2012

    What a wonderful weekend! I'm sure she enjoyed that one-on-one time (as did Simon with your parents!). Thank you for sharing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. laura g. says…
    02/20/2012

    what a great weekend with anna!

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. Kendra says…
    02/20/2012

    What an awesome post....and weekend! Will you adopt me :)?

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. Cecilia says…
    02/20/2012

    How fun! Similar in many ways to my weekend with my 2year old daughter while dad was away studying. I remind myself that it may not always be just the two of us on the weekends and it helps me appreciate the time that much more.

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. Ruth G says…
    02/20/2012

    It is amazing how simple and fun life is when you've alone with one child for a change! Sounds like it was a real "girls weekend"! With you reading Mockingjay my first thoughts were the Barbies that sound like they belong in the Capitol...

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. Ali says…
      02/20/2012

      HA! I totally thought that too!

  19. Christine says…
    02/20/2012

    Nice to see you do all the same chores all day that I do--I am sure a lot of people think you get to create all day! And I LOVED the Hunger Games series--just finished Mockingjay also!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Liz says…
    02/20/2012

    Real nice Ali! Anna is one lucky ducky. Wish I were there to help you with the microwave. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. emily (justem) says…
    02/20/2012

    I loved reading this. :) Especially the parts about the melt downs. My daughter will be three at the end of March. It's good to know that her behavior is not unique! ;)

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Debra Anderson says…
    02/20/2012

    Beautiful weekend. 1000 Gifts was one of my favorite books last year. I read it twice, once with friends. Savor it.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. Nicky H says…
    02/20/2012

    That sounds about as perfect as a weekend gets. :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. madeline St onge says…
    02/20/2012

    What a perfectly fantastic weekend Ali. So fun even with the melt downs

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Wilda says…
    02/20/2012

    So So Sweet! My daughter is 11 months old and I'm so looking forward to those special moments when she can interact much more with me.
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply 0 Replies

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