Day in the Life: Weekend Edition

In all the years that I’ve done Day in the Life posts (starting back in 2012!), I don’t think I’ve ever done one about the weekend.

(And after doing this, I know why! 2.5 days is a lot more to keep track of than 1).

But in honor of the Better Weekends series I’ve been doing this month (Part 1 was about having fun weekends with kids, Part 2 about balancing chores and fun on the weekend and Part 3 was about weekend fun on a budget, plus the original post from earlier this year with tips for better weekends), it seemed only right to finish it off with a Day in the Life post.

Here’s what this past weekend looked like, starting on Friday when the girls got out of school and ending on Sunday night when I went to bed.

FRIDAY

1:30 p.m. Bart heads off to pick the girls up from school and I finish filming some sponsored stories for Brooklinen. Everyone puts away their backpacks and has a little snack in the kitchen. We gather around the dining table and I open my birthday presents (my birthday was the day before, but we didn’t get around to presents because we went out for ice cream after dinner and it got too late).

2:15 p.m. The girls recycle the boxes from my presents then head to the basement playroom to play Monopoly, while Bart goes back to his office to work. I put in my earbuds and listen to my audiobook (When the Day Comes) while I put away my presents and clean up the kitchen and dining room a bit, including putting all the things the girls need to put away on the coffee table.

3:00 p.m. One of Star’s friends comes over to play and they hang out in the kitchen eating a little snack her friend brought over and I come into my office to start this post. Once it’s up to date, I start working on our plans for our Paris trip (it’s not too far away and I’ve hardly done anything!).

3:45 p.m. Ani is ready for swim team so I grab my purse and we head out the door. I drop her off and then stop by the library to pick up my holds. As I’m leaving, Bart calls to say that swim team practiced was moved to a different facility so I go back and pick up Ani and then take her to the new location. Afterward, I drop off a thredUp return at the post office and then head home. On the way, I call my parents to let them know about some changes we need to make to our Paris itinerary based on things being closed on certain days (we’ll be meeting up with them there for a few days – they happen to be in Paris at the same time we are, which is fun!).

4:45 p.m. When I get home, I start working on the pizza for dinner. Bart and I are going out but I don’t want to leave the girls to fend for themselves for dinner. I make a pepperoni pizza and as I start to make the second one (the fig pizza that is beloved at our house, especially with Star), I realize that I’m out of fig jam. After searching the fridge I decide to use strawberry jam and mix it with a balsamic glaze instead. Bart gets home with Ani, he sets the table and cleans up the dishes, and I change clothes and brush my teeth while the pizza finishes up.

5:45 p.m. Bart and I get the girls set up for dinner and then head out. We’re attending a 25th reunion for Bart and some of his high school friends, hosted at one of their homes up in the mountains. It’s fun to see some of his friends that I already know and meet others that I don’t. We have dinner out on the back patio and the weather is perfect and the views are gorgeous. Someone pulls out a guitar and plays a few songs, then we help clean up, say goodbye and head home.

9:15 p.m. When we get home, the girls come out of their rooms to say goodnight and then after Bart and I get ready for bed, Ella joins us to watch White Collar. The episode ends on a cliffhanger, so even though we rarely watch two episodes in one night, we take advantage of it being the weekend and watch a second one.

11:30 p.m. Ella goes down to bed and we turn off the lights, say a prayer and go to sleep.

SATURDAY

7:15 a.m. I wake up and drift in and out for a bit. I hear Star come into the living room and start listening to her audiobook on the Alexa and I go out and join her. I reply to DMs for a bit and then read on my Kindle until Tally comes in. I turn on the oven to make puff pancakes and then while it preheats, I update this post.

8:15 a.m. I whip up the batter for the puff pancakes, pop them in the oven and then go change into my running clothes. Bart and I chat for a few minutes and then I put in my earbuds and head out for a three mile run. It’s the fastest I’ve run the whole summer (still not fast by anyone else’s standards but fast for me).

9:00 a.m. When I get home, the girls are done eating and Bart is cleaning up the dishes. I put away the leftover puff pancake and sweep the floor and Bart does some spot cleaning of the floor too. I clean up the living room a bit and I tell the girls they all need to have their rooms cleaned up before lunch. Bart and I go out to the backyard to check on the grapes and the blackberries (Bart’s mom had texted to ask if there were any blackberries left) and we straighten up the back deck a bit too. I start my breakfast cooking and then go take a shower and get ready for the day. Bart heads out to a pickleball tournament.

10:15 a.m. I eat my breakfast and read my book while the girls keep working on their never-ending Monopoly game. I come into my office to update this post. I also order this pair of pants with the birthday money my parents gave me.

11:15 a.m. I wipe down the coffee table and vacuum the living room, go out to the garden and pick a zucchini, then sit down on the back deck to read my book. After a few minutes, Star comes out and hangs out in the swing and reads her book (no surprise, it’s Keeper of the Lost Cities).

12:45 p.m. I tell the girls it’s time to clean up their rooms and I vacuum the playroom and their rooms and they get some lunch together (leftovers from dinner and breakfast). Ella gathers up her face painting things, I grab the donations to drop off, and everyone loads in the car so we can head up to the park where Ella is face painting for a birthday party. We listen to The Doughnut Fix on the way there. Once we arrive, I drop off Ella and then park and lay in the shade and read my book while the other three girls play on the playground.

3:00 p.m. After about an hour, the girls are ready to go, so we head out to run some errands while Ella stays to work. I pick up a Walmart order of Halloween items (I’m very excited about these fun candles and candlesticks and this witch hat garland) and then the car wash. The car wash doesn’t seem to be working so after waiting in line for a bit, I give up and stop at the thrift store to drop off my donations. We drive home and I make some pistachio pudding for the girls for snack, but Star feels car sick and goes to lie down while Tally throws a tantrum about it being pistachio instead of butterscotch or chocolate. I was planning to have Bart take the girls and go get Ella, but none of them want to go. My two bad options are staying home with grumpy children or getting BACK in the car. I opt for the car with my own audiobook option and drive back to the park and pick up Ella and then come home.

5:00 p.m. Back home and the girls are playing a game of Life. Bart and I spend about 20 minutes chatting in his office and then I come up and film a few Instagram stories and update this post. There is a football game tonight and we have friends coming over to watch, so Bart gets the TV set up.

5:40 p.m. Friends start to arrive and the kids mostly play outside aside from a few of the older kids who stay in to watch the game with us. It’s off to a bad start but our team starts to rally and we’re all VERY into it. At half-time, we turn it off and everyone leaves (we tell them they’re welcome to stay, but they want to put littles down to bed). Bart and I head out to our dinner.

7:30 p.m. We meet up with friends at a ceviche restaurant – one of the couples suggested we start a monthly dinner group where one couple chooses a favorite restaurant and then helps everyone order the best things on the menu. This is the first gathering and we sit around eating and chatting for a couple of hours. We check the game score periodically and when there are three minutes left and it looks like we might actually win this thing, we pull it up on Bart’s phone and several of us watch the win!

9:40 p.m. On our way home, we stop at the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for the desserts I’m making on Sunday for a little birthday gathering. We get home and chat with Ella for a few minutes who has been waiting up for us and then send her to bed and get ready ourselves. Bart turns off the lights and I read on my Kindle for about 15 more minutes before shutting it off and going to sleep.

SUNDAY

7:30 a.m. My alarm isn’t set to go off for another 15 minutes, but I’m awake and get up and jump in the shower. When I get out, Bart comes in and starts getting ready. We chat while I do my hair and put on my makeup and he showers. As he’s getting out of the shower, Tally knocks on the door and says she just threw up. Well . . . I guess she’s not going to church. The other girls get ready and eat breakfast and then I head out with them while Bart stays behind.

9:00 a.m. We get to church and sit by Bart’s parents (who always kindly save us a bench). During the second hour of church Bart texts me to say it must have been something Tally ate because she’s full of energy, ate breakfast and a snack and wants to read books, color, make up songs, and play games. Several of the girls walk home from church with various friends and Ani and I drive home. When I get home, sure enough Tally seems to be totally fine, so we decide not to cancel our birthday party this evening.

11:15 a.m. My sister Landen stops by with a little birthday gift, along with a loaf of homemade bread and some vegetables from her garden. We chat for about 15 minutes and then she heads home. I start working on the peach cobbler cheesecake with the two big girls and then they go down to play more Monopoly and Bart comes in and we work our way through some of the 36 questions to fall in love while I finish the cheesecake. Once it’s in the oven, Bart takes over the dishes while I make myself some lunch and sit down to eat and we talk over the week’s schedule and plans.

12:50 p.m. The girls come up to the kitchen to eat some lunch and Bart helps them get what they need while I make the week’s menu and grocery order.  Then the girls disappear for a moment and return with a basket of homemade birthday gifts, including DIY party poppers filled with candy which is super delightful.

1:30 p.m. The cheesecake is baked and while it cools, I head to my room to finish up my book. I read for about 15 minutes and then start to feel pretty tired so I pull up the quilt on our bed and close my eyes. I wake up after about 15 minutes, finish my book and then return to the kitchen to put the cheesecake in the fridge, start the dishwasher and catch up on this post. I also have some Old Navy super cash which expires tonight, so I order a few things to try including these velvet trousers and this long-sleeved ribbed tee.

3:00 p.m. The girls are starting to get a bit restless so we gather in the living room for Family Home Evening – Star has been looking forward to teaching the lesson for several weeks and she does a great job. Afterward, we play Wits & Wagers (which I’d picked up from the library on Friday) and then Ani has prepared a neighborhood scavenger hunt for us to do as a family. I put the chicken and the bacon in the oven to cook and then she passes out everyone’s lists and a pen for everyone and we head out the door. It’s a little warm but it only takes us about four blocks to finish everything on the list and then we head back home.

5:00 p.m. Tally and Ella start working on cookies for tonight’s little party and I work on dinner. Ani and Star set the table and then when we’re about 5 minutes away from dinner being ready, Bart comes up and does some dishes while I finish up the last parts. Dinner prep took longer than I expected, so when we sit down, it’s 6:20, only a few minutes until our guests arrive.

6:40 p.m. Fortunately everyone is a bit late and by the time people arrive, we have the table cleared and most of the dishes done. I do the last bit of cheesecake prep and then we sing a round of Happy Birthday and cut the cheesecake. Most of the kids head into the backyard to eat on the back patio and play. About 20 minutes in, one of the kids falls and hits his head on the cement. His mom takes him home to put him to bed and we finish up dessert and then move into the living room to talk and laugh and open a few gifts.

8:45 p.m. Kids are starting to get pretty tired so everyone heads out and we do the last of the clean up of the dishes and also the house and deck and then the girls get ready for bed and we tuck them in.

9:45 p.m. Bart and I get ready for bed and I settle in to read my book (Murder on the Baltimore Express: The Plot to Keep Abraham Lincoln from Becoming President) until it’s time to call it a night.

10:25 p.m. Alarm on, prayer said, and lights out. Good night!

 

if you liked this day in the life post, you might also like these other posts:

• 8 Tips to Make Weekends Fun With Kids
• 12 Ideas for Entertaining on a Budget
• My Goals for the School Year