Good morning! 

I am, oddly enough, awake before Ishu’s first day of school. And this is likely going to continue to happen. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think once he’s in school for an almost full-day, he’s gonna be a tired little kid. I also think the predictability and routine is going to benefit this whole fam. 

Last night, it was approaching 8:30 and we were video chatting with the family. And Ankur looked at me and said, “I think we should try to keep his bedtime to 8 on school nights.” And I felt like I should turn around and look at who he was talking to. Cause, that felt like such an adult thing to say. And I feel like I’m still the kid who needs to adhere to a bedtime. 

It’s funny. I know that I didn’t immediately immediately transform into a new person when this little guy was first handed to us. It happened over time. But, you’d think at the 2.5 year mark, I’d feel like someone’s mother. 

But when Ankur said the words, “bedtime on school night,” I DEFINITELY felt like I was playing some sort of role separate from my real life. 

Anyway, before we rush off to get the day started, I wanted to share some photos from the weekend!

Friday

We spent the morning walking around the Navy Pier and then ended up at the museum. As we do.

Actually, we were headed home because he had pooped and I didn’t have an extra diaper. But then we ran into some friends at the fountain and they gave us a diaper and then the four of us decided to turn back and head into the museum together. Moms who carry extra supplies and share with other moms are my kinda humans.

We have been in this playspace room countless times at this point. And, no matter what, he always seems to love it. But I felt like I was viewing him with a new set of eyes. Watching him roam around the place – knowing he’d be in school on Monday morning doing this same thing – made me appreciate it so much. Everything we’ve done up to this point has prepped him for this big transition and – even though these last two months have felt especially rough – I am so happy to have been able to be home with him for 2.5 years.

After the museum, he napped real hard and gave me some quality work time. And then, by the time he was up, we got ready to head to a community carnival.

Bubble show, Play-doh prizes, and toddler-made popsicles. Needless to say, he had a freakin’ ball. When he went off to sleep, Ankur and I watched the final episode of Ms. Marvel. I liked it for the brown culture. But I didn’t really love it as much as I thought I would. I think WandaVision has ruined all Marvel shows for me, thankyouverymuch.

Saturday

We walked over to the Field Museum. But, of course, I made the ultimate mom-mistake and walked by the Dippin’ Dots truck BEFORE heading into the museum.

So, naturally, we had to stop. And then it is VERY DIFFICULT to walk while simultaneously making sure the Dippin Dot balls don’t roll around on your spoon. So, the final short incline up to the museum took us just as long as the 2-mile walk to Museum Campus.

Winner, winner.

Once he was sufficiently filled with all that sugar, we went into the museum. We didn’t make it up to the main floor because he loved the kids’ playspace right at the entrance.

There was so much to do in that room that we spent a good 1.5 hours there. And then, before heading home, we stopped at the aquarium to catch the dolphin show.

I know I say this over and over. But I just feel so lucky to get to have memberships to these places so, even if our trip is a total of 20 minutes just to watch the dolphin show, I don’t have to feel guilty about not getting use out of our ticket. It feels like the right move when you’ve got a toddler and you just can’t stay in a museum for the entire day.

We hung out at home the rest of the evening. And when Ishu went off to sleep, we ate some homemade pizza and started watching She-Hulk. I also finished this book (eh, I feel whatever about it) and started this book.

Sunday

We did a lot of emotional and mental prep (and a little bit of physical prep!) for Ishu’s first day of school. We read some books (this one being a personal favorite of his).

And Ishu and I made a trip to Costco.

Ishu made friends with a doorman at one of the local buildings here and he gave him a pack of M&Ms. Which, thank you sweet man, was the only way I got through a Costco trip alone with this little monkey.

And now we’re here. To today. Ishu’s first day of school!

I will be back on tomorrow morning to report on how it went!

So excited and nervous and happy and scared and all the feelings.

Have a good one!