TGIF

The week following a trip is always exhausting, isn't it?

You're busy playing catch-up with laundry, you're tired from your vacation, and there aren't enough restful hours in the day. Keyword there being restful.

I am so glad it's finally Friday.
It wasn't necessarily a bad week.
We enjoyed a Magic Show at the library yesterday, Story Time on Wednesday, Finger Painting, some good dinners, and watching Wipeout, of course.

Aidan had a pretty good week. He has matured so much lately, and he is such a gem. Honestly. He still has his moments, of course, but he is helpful & becoming so self-sufficient.
2 things about Aidan this week: He led the family in grace several different times, and he did it perfectly. I was impressed. :) We celebrated by getting a new Lightning McQueen book (Easy Reader edition).
The other thing about Aidan--we did BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING!! Ah!!! I noticed the store had it out & for good prices, so we grabbed his list and went. It was awesome to watch him and see how excited he became. He even said to me, "hey mom! Buying school stuff is more fun that toys!". Melted my heart. I hope he enjoys kindergarten as much as he did preschool.
He'll be starting cross country in just a few short weeks!

Brennan...oh Brennan. Unfortunately he is the source for much of my stress from the week. I love the kid to no end, but boy oh boy, he lives up to that "2-year-old reputation". He is downright refusing to nap. And at not quite 2 1/2, I assure you he can't handle not napping. By 3:00 he is miserable, and makes us feel the same way.
It's not that I don't try. Believe me, I try. He goes into his crib each day after lunch. Once every so often he'll actually nap, but he's averaging 2-3 times a month. He'll jump in his crib, try to climb out (already succeeded once), sing, yell...you name it. He will do most everything but sleep. At first he's fine, but then he gets so overtired, he gets beyond crabby & clumsy, starts throwing things, etc. So not fun, especially when we're out in public.

Like yesterday. I thought he's be entertained by the Magic Show. Instead, he screamed and squirmed until I finally too him out into the hallway. During the next 30 minutes, he hit me, broke my Etsy necklace I love, threw his Hotwheel at me, and repeated the word "NO" over & over. I can only stay patient for that behavior for so long. Especially when I miss out on seeing Aidan enjoying the show.
Lesson Learned? Start paying a sitter, even if it's just for an hour. That's worth $10 to me. Thank goodness we have a potential sitter across the street.

Brennan does have his sweet moments, and of course I love the kid and see the good in him, too. But lately? Lately?! This week he wore me down.

Patrick had a test this week that caused him a lot of stress. And when he is stressed, I become stressed. His current class in an Accounting class. After looking at his book, I am so glad I am not dealing with Accounting! I loved Math, but this stuff looks hard.
Understandably, the pressure of school & studying made Pat grumpy & irritable. But you know what, that's how it is so often. And we still have over a year left of school! More than once I have wondered what the heck we'll be like in a room with each other when he is actually finished with school. Right now it's intense and so easy for us to bicker. I hate that.

Me. Yeah, pretty much the same song you could always sing for me. I slacked on housework. I went over my points with Weight Watchers. :( Instead of eating all my fruits/veggies, I munched on the Snyder Buffalo Wing Pretzels (I have John & Erin to thank for that one! You guys introduced me to those). I get mad at myself when I blow it, especially because it takes such hard work to lose weight. At least for me.

I also lost patience with the boys (see above notes on Brennan!). They need a more patient mama. I am working on it. Brennan is certainly giving me plenty of tests lately.

I can say 2 good things I did this week. I have done The Shred the past 3 days, and I will continue. It's a hard workout, but I am really loving it. A-HEM! Hopefully Sue will start joining me.
The other good thing was the pork dinner I made. It turned out just delicious. I love pork, and this meal was good.

Oh! There is another plus I did. For the first time, I cut our entire lawn while home alone with the boys. Woot! Victory for me. Normally I wait until Pat is home, for obvious reasons. But I succeeded. It's a small victory, but I felt proud of myself.

Thank God it's Friday, though. I welcome the weekend! We have another busy weekend, but there is just a different feel to the weekend, ya know?
Tomorrow Pat does have to work, but we can still enjoy some time together as a family. Maybe I'll take the boys to see UP at the theater.

Sunday we're driving to East Lansing for the day. Our friends are hosting a cookout, celebrating 2 things. The hosts just had their second baby, so that's always exciting. The other reason to celebrate is our friend's return home from being deployed. He is in the Navy JAG program, and he has been overseas since Thanksgiving. He is the brother of the guy hosting. How could we not join in on thanking someone who has served our country?
Sunday will be a decent drive, but worth it.

Do you have weekend plans? How was your week?