So obviously I love O dearly. But boy do I envy those friends of mine who have family nearby. Not only to help and babysit but because their kids form great close relationships with them. Both my parents and Aa’s are about 3 hours away in opposite directions, which isn’t that bad distance wise. But we try and see them, or have him see them, as often as we can. I also love the idea of O going by himself because I think it’s great for his independent spirit and his relationship with his grandparents and aunt and uncle all on his own. Although, yes, it does help that he has no separation anxiety whatsoever. The other thing is that Aa works so incredibly hard that we don’t get to spend very much time together just the two of us. I think that is so important for any relationship. So this last weekend, we shipped O off to my parents house on friday and I just picked him back up Monday morning which left us with 2 full days on our own!
I tend to get a little overwhelmed by options in situations like this and also I feel overwhelmed by the feeling that I MUST take the best possible advantage of every. single. second! But we had a good mix of fun and relaxation this weekend and it was a blast. (But wow, was I happy to see my little 3 year old run, arms open, across the highway oasis where I picked him up from my dad!)
On friday we spent the night with some great friends and stayed out waaaaay past our bedtimes, Then on Saturday morning, we went and got some coffee/tea and then did a little drooling over architectural salvage and antiques at two of our favorite places, Salvage One (we almost got married here) and Urban Remains. Both are truly amazing places, but way beyond our budget. Still it’s fun to daydream.
We got some lunch at a nice outdoor cafe and then went to see the new movie Gravity (in 3D!). Talk about an intense movie!! I’m pretty sure Aa’s fingers are still numb from how hard I was gripping them for pretty much the entire thing. Still we both really liked it and I can definitely recommend it. (An aside, since when does a movie in the middle of the day cost $28 for two people?! I know we had to pay more for 3D but seriously?!)
After that we tried out the new Indian restaurant we’ve been dying to check out and it was delicious. The fact that it is basically downstairs from our house was even better since it was totally pouring rain.
On Sunday we woke up (even when O’s gone, I cannot sleep past 6:45, boo!) and drove out to visit Palos Forest Preserve which is the largest natural area in Cook County. It. was. gorgeous. I had no idea this was less than a half hour from the Loop!
We took a nice walk through the woods where leaves are already changing color, saw a woman riding her horse down the path and thoroughly enjoyed some real nature.
After that we decided that, having never been, we should go check out the Logan Square Farmers Market (i.e. Hipster central). We took a break for breakfast, bought some heirloom tomatoes and flowers, ran into some friends we haven’t seen in far too long and I ate the best chocolate croissant I have ever had. Usually we can’t eat baked goods made by other people because they aren’t safe, so I really really enjoyed it.
In the afternoon I did some knitting, Aa watched a little football and then we took a short ride on Divvy bikes, I think it was the first time I’ve ridden a bike since before we had Oliver. (Have you heard of Divvy, Chicago’s new bike sharing program? It’s great, we are big fans.)
All in all it was a really really relaxing weekend. What did you do this weekend, friends?
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