As I got ready for bed last night I looked around the room at the remnants of the weekend (a basket full of unfolded laundry, a new pile of clothes to wash) and thought about the mess in the kitchen (a stack of mail and paperwork, a bundled up sunshade blocking the back door, dirty dishes in the sink). I wasn’t as productive as usual and the house is a hot mess. I’ll have to catch up on cleaning this week, which is already going to be extra busy and emotionally draining. The mess reminds me that it was one of the best weekends I’ve had in months.

The reason it was such a good weekend was because I gave up on my “to do” list. I let myself enjoy the amazing weather with my family and not worry about the mundane tasks at home. When my coworkers ask me what I did this weekend my answer won’t be “Oh you know, the usual.” This time I have stories to tell and pictures to show!

I’ll tell them how Pete had to go into work Saturday morning and I tore Hannah’s closest apart searching for the 6-9 month clothes. She played under her activity gym while I packed away her tiny clothes and stared at 18-24 month sizes in disbelief that they will fit her one day. I thought about all the baby things she no longer does and wondered what 2 year old Hannah will do. We also survived our first diaper blowout and thanked our lucky stars that it happened at home (and that the brand new white onesie, white crib sheet, and white mattress pad show no signs of doody destruction).

I’ll tell them about the walk we took along the Farmington River. That Hannah slept the whole time and that my arm is sore from Gamy pulling me from one scent to the next. After the walk we drove over to our favorite deli for a late lunch. It was close to feeding time for Hannah but we risked a meltdown in favor of dining outside. Hannah and Gamy were both perfect lunch dates, as usual.

I’ll tell them how I slept through my alarm clock on Sunday and didn’t wake up until 6 am. Somehow Hannah was on board with the late start and only mildly irritated with the delayed breakfast. Pete went fishing and I dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa’s house after Hannah’s morning nap. I had some errands to run and grocery shopping to do and knew I’d be more efficient without my adorable sidekick. I hate not spending time with Hannah on the weekends but sometimes this momma needs her personal time. I drove with the windows down and music up thanks to Pandora playing my favorite songs.

I’ll tell them how the pre-Labor Day sales were too enticing to pass up and that I left Old Navy and Kohl’s with bags full of new clothes for Hannah. While the stores are filling their shelves with scarves, candy corn, and all the things pumpkin spice, Hannah and I put on our bathing suits for the first time all year. I finally bought a plastic kiddie pool to play in but Hannah was unenthusiastic due to her afternoon nap strike. I finally got her to fall asleep on my chest but she immediately woke up when I tried to deposit her into the crib.

I’ll tell them how we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for dinner and that Hannah still refused to fall asleep. She must know she’s the life of the party and refuses to miss any excitement. We ate and chatted and left in time to watch Bachelor in Paradise and Hannah finally fell asleep.

I’ll tell them how I wish chores didn’t exist so I could always have weekends like that.