Oh, hello and happy MONDAY.

Monday as a teacher and Monday as a parent just HIT DIFFERENT, y’know?

We are happy resuming our routine today (and by “we,” I most definitely mean ME) after a weekend of ALL-THE-THINGS.

All the activities. All the emotions. ALL THE FEELINGS ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY.

Let’s rewind to Friday.

Friday, I picked Ishu up early from school and then we met up with the Potters at the Navy Pier fountain. It was PERFECT outside. Not too hot, not too cold. And we set up camp underneath one of the trees.

After the boys had had their fun and finished collecting their sticks/going on adventures around the splash pad area, we packed up and stopped for some ice-cream-in-a-cubs-cap on the way home.

After putting the kids to bed, I put myself to bed. As I do these days.

There’s no point in pretending I want to stay up and do a fun Friday thing. The fun Friday thing in this phase of life is getting as much sleep as I possibly can.

On Saturday, we made pancakes and then I took the kids over to Crown Fountain/Millennium Park area to celebrate Millennium Park’s 20th Anniversary.

They splashed around for an hour or so and then we dried off and picnicked on the nearby grass while Wiggleworms was kicking off a little family-friendly concert.

We wandered over to the Pavilion, and stopped by the bean for a quick picture. We immediately sent the picture to the Cousins as a fun little reminder that their trip to BEANTOWN is just DAYS AWAY!

They had some booths set up in that area where you could ‘spin the wheel’ for a prize. One travel company lured Ishu over to spin the wheel while they could talk to me about cruises and resorts. (I, with two kids in a LOUD AREA, could not pay attention to a word she was saying). But, the wheel landed on “Mystery Prize” and she handed Ishu a Dum-Dum lollipop.

As we made our way to the Pavilion, Ishu sucking on his lollipop and skipping by my side, he looked up at me and said, “I CAN’T BELIEVE I won the MYSTERY PRIZE, MAMA!”

Ha.

We got to the Pavilion where we got some face painting done and balloon art made. They had a booth giving away free candy. And a bunch of other stations set up for arts and crafts.

Afterward, we walked over to Maggie Daley and played around for a bit. Ishu’s balloon sword had popped, so we (stupidly) decided to make our way back to the pavilion to get another one made on our way home.

At that point, however, it was much more crowded and MUCH LOUDER.

Which really set Ishu off and we completely fell apart after that.

Lots of tears and screaming and meltdowns on the way home. At one point, on our way out of Millennium Park, a security guard came up to us because she heard Ishu shrieking. I don’t know whether she thought it looked suspicious or she saw a Mom with two kids, one of them in full blown meltdown mode, and wanted to help. But, she knelt down and tried to put her hand out for Ishu to hold (???) and then proceeded to tell him he was a big brother and “big brothers don’t cry.”

No, thank you.

I don’t get why people do that. Why they come in and try to parent my kid. AS A STRANGER. I get the intention. You see a Mama struggling and you want to help.

But, man, there are so many other ways to help.

Anyway, Ishu hid behind my leg and continued to cry and wail. And she walked away because OF COURSE THAT DIDN’T WORK.

Okay, anyway, this was a rant I didn’t know I needed.

We walked home. Luckily, he stayed in the stroller with Riyu, but there was screaming and crying and melting down the whole way home.

He managed to reset once we were home and bathed and properly fed.

And then, we turned a movie on and I popped my AirPods in and listened to my audiobook the rest of the night to help ME reset.

I think, even a few months ago, I would probably tell myself it was an epic fail or “I should have known better” or “I did everything all wrong.”

But, I really think – if anything – Saturday helped give me a little insight into what Ishu needs or what environments are a little too much for him right now. It wasn’t a fail. It was a really good day with lots of really fun, beautiful moments. AND I ‘gathered a little data’ to help me prepare better for next time we do something like that.

I also want to commend myself for giving ME what *I* needed once I got home. After holding myself together through ALL OF THAT, I knew I needed something to help ME come down from it all. And it doesn’t make me a bad mama for wanting to tune out the family movie and listen to an audiobook I have been excited about.

Which was perfect because, come Sunday, we went out and did all the things all over again.

In the morning, Ishu had his tennis lesson.

Riyu, who has recently learned how to clap, is his biggest cheerleader.

After tennis, we took Riyu home for a short nap while we packed up all the things.

Then, we set off toward the Sprinkle Pool outside of the Museum of Ice Cream.

They were handing out free Dove bars so Ishu had his share AND Riyu’s share. And then we moseyed on over to Lakeshore East Park afterward.

Ishu loves a splash pad, so the two of them had a few hours of fun in there.

Which was a lot more manageable for me when I’m alone because it’s nice and contained.

Before heading home, we stopped at the climbing structures by the river and did that for a bit.

And then we walked home, stopping for some ice cream in a cap to take home for Papa to reward him for studying all day.

It was much more manageable than the day before. And, again, filled my own cup in the evening with an audiobook in my ear while making dinner.

And that’s it.

Bed early. Broken sleep had by BOTH CHILDREN. And this mama needs her coffee now.

Okay, have a great one!