Weekend Recap: 4 Days With Family!

I think it goes without being said that I LOVE weekends.  So when I get extra days off?  Well, that's pretty much the best thing ever.  I had vacation days that I needed to use before the new year, so I definitely took them!  It was a staycation and I loved every minute of it.  Seriously, it was hard going back!  Wish I could spend every day with my boys!

On Thursday, I got to take Ben to his library class.  He sat so nicely on his little carpet square and several moms/nannies/grandmas told me how well behaved Ben is every week.  Proud momma moment!  Andy was even able to join us for a bit.  We went to his usual Thursday lunch spot and he loved showing me all of the things he does every week.  Wish I could go every week!  He had a nice long nap in the afternoon before we went out for dinner.  I had a craving of sorts for Mexican so we headed out for some chips and salsa and (virgin for me) margaritas!  I'd like to say that facial expression was because he thought my drink was gross (which he did) but that is actually his forced smile these days.

He much preferred fries dipped in applesauce, of course.

I should have titled this post "the weekend of eating out every meal" because that is almost exactly what we did.  On Friday, I decided to take him to Chuck-E-Cheese.  It definitely isn't my favorite place, but we went right after it opened and there were barely any kids there---just the way I like it!  Of course, once daddy, Nana, and Auntie Anna heard of our plans, they wanted in too.  Yep, that's 4 adults to 1 child.

His favorite game by far was the basketball hoop!  I can't believe he can shoot (and make them) from the ground.  Andy had to hold him up last time!

Look at those skills!

We went out to dinner with a friend from college and her family on Friday night.  We were reacquainted because our boys go to the same school.  It was so fun!  Ben got to see some kids from school, I got to catch up with an old friend, and the husbands totally hit it off as well.  Looking forward to more date nights!

Saturday was my Nana's funeral.  My mom wanted it to be a small, more intimate affair, and it was just that.  It was a beautiful service followed by a nice family lunch.  Ben enjoyed the company and the cake. 

The rest of our weekend was fairly lazy yet productive.  My goal is to have my Christmas shopping done by December 1, and I'm off to a pretty good start.  This was my exciting Saturday night while Andy did school work!

I don't believe I mentioned this in a post yet, but Baby Fishler #2 officially has a name!  This name has been first on my list for several months now, but Andy was finally able to commit.  He "let" me order something with his name on it.  My mom and sister are dying to know what it is, so I've been messing with them by sending them pictures like the one below.  "Baby's name is on this."  They were trying to get Ben to squeal but our secret is safe with him.  Mostly because he tells everyone that his baby brother is going to be named, "Sister." 

We had a birthday party for my Uncle Mike on Sunday and Ben got to spend more time with his little girlfriend/cousin, Lydia.  He is so good with her-- I hope the same holds true for his baby brother!

In between our fun, we did a lot of preparing for baby!  We cleaned the bassinet as well as a bunch of the baby toys.  We are SOOOOO excited to meet him!  I had another ultrasound yesterday and Baby Boy looks great!  He is estimated to be around 4 # and 10oz.  He is still as cute as ever, looking just like his big bro!

Weekend Recap: Halloween, Choo Choo, & Great Nana

Recapping the last 2 weekends, as that's just the best I can do these days!  I'm sure it will be even less frequent when # 2 arrives.  I still have some pictures from the official Halloween Day celebration last weekend.  Our neighborhood always has trick or treat on the evening of Halloween day, so Ben put on his bat costume for the final time.  And then he and Andy went to a total of 2 houses. :)

I just love my little bat.  

He got a hand full of suckers, which he loves these days, so he was a happy trick or treater. 

We ended up getting a jack-o-lantern pizza like we did last year and we had some friends over as we handed out candy.  It was nice and low-key.  In case I don't mention it in every post, I am tuckered out by Fridays!!  Candy and holding Baby Claire?  Sounds like a good night in Ben's book! 

I don't really remember what we did the Saturday after Halloween, but I do remember that we started listening to CHRISTMAS music at our house and it made me so happy!  It might be a little early for some, but we have a lot to celebrate this year, so why not get a jump start on the most wonderful time of the year?!  If I remember correctly, Benji was a wee bit on the crabby side last weekend.  Andy had a lot of school work to do, and Ben was having a huge meltdown that Andy couldn't play outside with him.  Apparently I'm not as athletically fun as daddy.  In an effort to give Andy some quiet time for studying, we decided to go visit Uncle Joe and Grandpa.  Ben made himself right at home at Uncle Joe's.  He had his snacks + a whole bag of bats/balls + Uncle Joe's guitars, so he thought he was pretty cool.

Next, we went to meet Grandpa for lunch.  Lunch of champions right here:

"No Packers game today."  He made sure everyone knew this.

I really blame Benji's crabbiness last weekend (and during the week) on that darn daylights savings time change.  I had no idea it could mess with him (and therefore US) so much!  He seems to be back on track now.  He is actually asking to go to bed at like 5:30 every night because it is so dark. :)  Thankfully he got a good night of sleep on Friday night because he had a BIG day on Saturday.  He went on his first (non-zoo) train ride!  He had been talking about this all week and every morning he would remind us of how many days were left.  Despite his 5:30 wake up every other morning this week, the one day he was getting picked up nice and early at 7:00am, he slept until 6:30.  Luckily he is pretty low-maintenance in the morning.  ;)  He waited eagerly for Nana and Papa John to pick him up.

"Want to bring "Mother Goose" on the train."

The train did not disappoint!  I was definitely sad that I didn't get to see how excited he was, but I also enjoyed a rare and much needed day all to myself!  (Andy had class.)

They headed out to Chicago to check out the Christmas display at Macy's.  Hmm…early Christmas celebrating must be in our blood.  (I swear I haven't forgotten about Thanksgiving!  Though it sure seems like I have…)

I would have loved to see him "ooo" and "aah" at all of the displays, but there will be more holiday fun over the next several weeks!  Including more lights and Santa!  The final verdict was that he liked Santa this year and he even told Santa that he wants a basketball for Christmas.  (Though I picture him panicking like in the Christmas Story movie when Ralphie says he wants a football instead of the Red Ryder gun.  At least I hope Benji doesn't want his 53rd basketball. ;)  Typically he tells me he wants a baby brother for Christmas, which I was totally planning on getting for him.)

Although I most definitely missed both of my boys yesterday, my free day was amazing!  I went to the gym, the mall, almost took a nap (thanks door to door insurance guy for freaking Rosco out just as I was about to drift off to sleep), and cleaned in total peace (+ Christmas music)!  I really can't remember the last time I was at home by myself for more than 10 minutes.  But, I was really ready for both Andy and Ben to come home.  Ben apparently wasn't and insisted on going to Nana and Papa John's instead of going home to see momma and daddy.  Thanks, buddy!  Andy and I went to pick him up and made a quick grocery stop on the way home.  My relaxed state of mind slowly withered away after Ben got hold of a mini-cart and nearly knocked every other person in the ankles.  And then to make sure I was truly back to reality, Ben attempted to one-handedly pass the eggs to the cashier and of course, the eggs went flying/smashing everywhere.

You can't be mad at him for trying to help though!  He felt so bad and was crying which made me sad too.  He recovered quickly with some stickers and then we got home we surprised him with his own mini Christmas tree.  He gets to put on an ornament for doing good things, mainly eating!  It's working like a charm thus far!

I am certain that the only reason he took 5 bites of pancakes today was because he got to hang 5 ornaments on his tree.  Yes, he had fries and a pancake for breakfast the morning.  Yes, he was more interested in coloring than eating.  

Ben was an absolute angel all day today though.  He did NOT sleep well last night, and I ended up spending most of the night in his bed because he woke up crying about every hour.  I'm attributing this to his choo choo/ Santa excitement.  You couldn't tell today though.  He did not get/need his "nee nee" for the entire hour at mass today and he was giving people the sign of peace like it was his job.  (Last week we heard "want to go home" about every 5 minutes.  ;) )  He happily ran errands with us, took a great nap while we cleaned the basement, and then played nicely by himself while I blowed leaves with the leaf blower for about an hour while Andy was studying.  He is good about 99% of the time, but he was extra good today.  This was much needed because it was a sad day at our house, my Nana (my mom's mom) passed away today.  Thankfully, she went peacefully but it is still sad.  Even though her memory was definitely failing her at the end, I am glad she was able to meet Ben, because she always wanted a great-grandbaby.  I'm also thankful we were able to see her one last time last week.  I have nothing but happy memories of my Nana while growing up.  We love you Nana!  Hope you're having fun up there! XOXO