Happy Monday 🙂 In light of it being Monday, and me being back in the “real world” as far as work is concerned, I thought it’d be fun to write about what a perfect weekend looks like to me. Now that I’m no longer home all day everyday, I treasure weekends more so than I ever have before. When I was freelancing, I still preferred weekends to weekdays because my husband was home, but now weekends take on a whole new meaning.
I wrote a post a while back on “How to make the most of your weekends,” and I still base my weekends around that. Now, however, I have to do more cleaning and preparing for the week ahead (stuff that normally could have waited until Monday or Tuesday).
I actually just got back from a solo trip to the grocery store for this week’s meal plan. As much I as prefer to fly by the seat of my pants when it comes to cooking, a meal plan is now becoming a necessity as I no longer have time to head to the store every day. This week I am making Baked Ham and Cheese Sandwiches (have you guys seen these floating around Pinterest?? Yum), homemade salad (courtesy of John), crockpot BBQ chicken sandwiches, hamburgers on onion buns with a side of herb butter rice, and frozen pizza (can’t help it…it’s easy and I LOVE me some frozen pizza haha).
In addition to getting the grocery shopping done, I also make sure the house is clean for the week – including all the dishes and laundry being done. This is usually pretty easy for me because I do keep up with it during the week.
Now…on to the fun stuff.
I’ll start with what a perfect weekend for me would look like, and conclude with what our weekends actually do look like.
My Perfect Weekend vs My Actual Weekend
Weekends start on Friday night, right? Fridays for us always involve a trip to Publix for dessert, beer and a movie. There is no better way to start the weekend then by relaxing, and with two little kids, this is the best way to do it. This is always the plan and it’s followed through 99 percent of the time. Friday nights rock for us.
Saturday
Our Saturday’s normally begin at 6 am when the little ones wake. In a perfect world, they’d sleep until 7:30, but I actually don’t mind getting up early. I sit with the girls in the kitchen while they drink milks and John and I have a coffee. John sometimes has to work on Saturday, so he’ll either head out to work within an hour or he’ll watch the girls while I freelance. If he does work, I normally freelance on Sunday mornings while he watches the girls.
If we’re both home and I don’t have too much work to do, we always try to squeeze in a fun morning activity. If the weather’s nice, we’ll go to the park or on a bike ride. If it’s warm out, we’ll usually go to Target, Barnes and Noble or the mall. We got lucky in that our girls LOVE running errands and going to normal stores like the grocery store and Target, haha. We’re always home by noon at the latest for naps.
This past Saturday, John worked so I took the girls to Walmart for new puzzles and some cleaning supplies. We had planned on going to the bookstore but both girls were extra cranky, so we just decided to head home for an early nap.
Nap time is when I clean or work. If John’s home, we’ll sometimes relax and talk or watch TV together.
Almost every Saturday, we go out to dinner. We normally don’t spend much – usually less than $30 – but it’s so fun to get out. We try to eat outside if we can and most of the shopping plazas around here have live music on Saturday nights. It’s a great time for all of us and the girls are almost always perfectly behaved. Saturday night involves relaxing and watching a movie or Netflix once the girls go to bed.
Sunday
A perfect Sunday would involve sleeping in until 7:30, going for a walk or a bike ride, and doing lots of cooking, baking, and blogging. One day, that is what my Sundays will look like 😉 However, now they look a bit different.
We do usually get up and get outside again if the weather is nice (and assuming I don’t have any freelancing to do). This past Sunday, I did have some work to do so we got a late start to our day. We decided to take the girls to Barnes and Noble for some playing instead of going to the park. They have such a great time there and never want to leave. I also love being there – I’m able to flip through books, sit in silence with a coffee or play with the girls. Today, I read through The Pioneer Woman’s Holiday Cookbook (ummm, I officially can’t wait for the holidays) and played with the girls.
We came home around 12:30 and got the girls down for a nap. I then headed to the grocery store to get my shopping done for the week. I was gone far too long for only getting a few items, but it was nice to be out and about without the little ones in tow, haha.
Now that the girls are in FT daycare, I really have been trying to make the most of my time with them. They are so, so sweet and truly the best little girls I could have asked for. In a sense, working FT has made me a better mom because I really appreciate the time I get to spend with them. They’re going to grow up so fast, I just know it, and I don’t want to look back with any regrets. Those two (and John) are my world and I thank my lucky stars for them each and every day.
This evening, we’ll make dinner and play outside – sounds perfect, if I do say so myself 😉
What does your perfect weekend look like? And…what does a weekend for you actually look like?
Cute little girls!
Our perfect weekends involve relaxing at the neighborhood pool and spending time as a family. That is my favorite thing to do right now. I wish summer lasted a few more months!
Relaxing with the family is also my favorite thing to do 🙂 Now that my girls are in daycare FT I value my time with them so much more. They really do grow up so fast 🙁
My aunt loves the Pioneer woman and my aunt is an amazing cook. A perfect weekend for us entails a day at the beach, but considering we’ve only been to the beach twice this summer we are not doing a good job at living our perfect weekend.
There’s still time to hit up the beach!! I am definitely going to be trying out her recipes this fall season, can’t wait!!
Your girls look so so sweet! My ideal weekend sounds pretty similar to yours! Lots of family time with some relaxation and productivity mixed in there too. I also do some work on Saturday or Sunday mornings typically while the hubs takes over Little Miss duties for a few hours. Have a great start to your week Sarah!
We seem to have the exact same schedule haha! (other than me now working FT!)
Hope you have a wonderful week, too!
My perfect weekend has a good balance of time relaxing/writing with a cup of tea, getting projects and errands done, and seeing friends!
Yes! I agree – the best weekends are a mix of relaxation, productivity and socializing.
Sounds like a great weekend! We have never really gone to Barnes and Noble to play. It might be worth checking out, especially during the cold winter. I LOVE desserts – what did you get at Publix on Friday?
Publix is the best!! We got almond bear claws LOL. Not quite “dessert,” but they looked really good (and they were!!). I’m thinking we’re going to go back tonight for cake or cookies….
My perfect weekend is doing nothing. Maybe a short workout each day so I feel productive. Then movies/ TV for the rest of it. If we’re talking truly ideal, a ton of junk food without gaining an ounce, but I think that’s perhaps taking the idea too far.
Unfortunately, it’s usually a couple of errands, and my husband wanting to go somewhere (he’s home all day, so he gets cooped up). But at least I get a little extra sleep, and I’ve been doing okay on the workouts the past couple of weeks.
I agree that working out is a great way to make you feel productive! I would love to stay home if we didn’t have the kiddos haha. With them, it’s almost easier to go out because it keeps them busy!!