Last weekend was a nice combo of meanngful activities intermingled with rest and relaxation. Exactly as I like it! On Saturday rained all day so in the morning we played, cleaned the house, and went to buy some groceriesto have guests for tea.

In the afternoon, we had a Russian (!) family come over for tea: mom, grandma and a toddler. They live down the street down from us, in the same town. Because they are my compatriots, I was very excited. It feels wonderful to make friends as an adult. We had a good 3 hours of “posidelki” with tea, cheese, kolbasa (Russian sausage), pastries, and, of course, chocolates. Then it was time to relax for a bit so the kids watches a few cartoons, T worked on a video, and I read my book, journaled, and planned my week.

Sunday I went to a Korean Spa to get a Radiance facial and spent time toasting my bones in dry and wet saunas afterwards. After about 3 hours I truly felt relaxed and rejuvenated. Korean sauna seems to be not as hot and intense as Russian banya but I enjoyed my experience nonetheless. Becasue the saunas were “cooler” I could actually bring my Kindle and saw other people reading books while sweating in the sauna. Plan on coming back bi-weekly or monthly for my body and mind. Pictures were not allowed for obvious reasons 😉

On Sunday afternoon we had a birthday party to attend which was a lot of fun: it was for R and L’s friend and his family next door to us. The kids had a blast. Great food, wonderful music, and many familiar faces from the neighborhood. Sunday night was used for mental organization, reading, and meditating. Also, prep work to set me up for success, because ->

This week I am flying solo: just the kids and I. T is traveling for business for the next four days. So it looks like this:

4:30-5:30 Golden hour- coffee, meditation, morning pages, [maybe a short workout, read]

5:30-6:00 get ready

6:00-6:30 get kids ready + eat breakfast

6:30-7:00 drop kids off at two different locations, not close by :[ Use my commute time to listen to my audio book (currently -the Second Mountain by David Brooks), have green tea in my travel mug, and do affirmations aloud so nobody can hear me.

7:15- arrive at work, take a deep breath, high five myself for making it not only on time, with time to spare (usually).

7:15-2:45 educate young minds!

2:45-3:15 prep for next day, clean up loose ends, clean work desk and area.

3:15-4:15 pick up kids at two different locations. Use time in the car to decompress, breathe, listen to audiobook, listen to sad music and cry, listen to a standup and laugh, call a friend: whatever is needed for me on a particular day.

4ish: arrive home. Unload the car, wash hands, put stuff away (coats, shoes into the closet, lunch bag dishes- dishwasher

4-5pm: kids play, while I have tea and either play with them for a bit, or patter around the house and prep myself for the next day. Preparing lunch means scooping whatever leftovers we have into a container, re-packing the lunch bag, adding fruit and a utensil, and placing it all in the fridge. Also refilling the water bottle, and placing it in backpack.

A little digression… I have to commend the kids because they have been playing outside so well lately. And by “lately” I mean since R turned three in January. That’s when the magic started to really happen in terms of all kinds of play. But when they play together, emotions can run high so we have to intervene sometimes. But for the most part, they are very good.

5ish-6:00 Dinner, heat-up and eat: me and the kiddos.

6-6:30 they play, I clean up the kitchen, do “closing duties”.

6:30-7: baths, teeth, books, bed, songs and snuggles.

By 7:30 everyone is in bed, maybe not asleep but in bed, with their door closed. This is the time for me to rest, and I rest by journaling and reading. At the end of the day I feel very worn out.

Yesterday was especially hard because after work, I picked up L, then picked up R, then went to drove to Duck Donuts, then drove to visit my friend who had a terrible loss not too long ago. After spending about an hour and a half at her house, we drove home, and by the time we had dinner and did the evening routine, I was so done. I had absolutely nothing to give, and felt deflated, cynical, and negative. This morning I still was quietly sulking but I that’s just the fatigue. I am giving myself grace for doing my best, and I forgive myself for snapping at the kids and being angry at the world.