Weekend Roundup

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While it appears via social media that everyone I know was BBQing, lake swimming, and watching fireworks this weekend, I was… not.  I had a fun and productive weekend, but it wasn’t very holiday-ish.  We have a BIG BEACH TRIP planned for next week, so we’re saving our energy (and dollars) for that.  Instead, I filled my weekend with…

 

My First Dance Class!

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I’ve been talking about making it to a Zumba-like class forever.  The one thing holding me back?  Intense fear of public embarrassment.  See, I cannot dance.  Like, at all.  I can kind of shake my butt in time to music – if and only if – I have several drinks in me, but sober?  No way.  But here’s the thing – I see the people at my gym Zumbaing and they look like they are having SO MUCH FUN.  So I’ve always wanted to try it.  And this pregnancy is the perfect chance for me to branch out and try stuff like this.

 

This weekend, I had an idea – instead of jumping into the beginner’s Zumba class (and I consider that a “jump”), why not take the old lady dance class?  My gym has this hybrid strength/dance class that is very popular with the senior citizens.  Anyone is allowed to take it; I guess it’s just really popular with a certain group of women.  I was the youngest person in class by 30 years (and one of the few not working out in a cardigan <— side note: adorable) but I could actually keep up with the steps.  And by the way, 50% of which were way harder than I expected, so rock on, older ladies.  Rock on.

 

It was really fun!  I felt awkward at times, and I know that I wasn’t totally following the moves, but I tried to just let myself go and enjoy it instead of getting all worked up over being perfect.  I had the most fun when they played a more Zumba-ish clubby song… but I think I may take that class a few more times before trying the real thing.

 

Taking Apart the Crib (and the Putting It Back Together)

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My last post mentioned that Henry escaped his crib for the first time.  The comments on this post were really great and super helpful/informative about making the transition from crib to big kid bed.  I got pretty freaked out that he was going to injury himself falling out of the crib, so on Friday, I decided to take apart the crib and move his twin mattress (which has been waiting for this day) into his nursery.  This is not that way that I *wanted* to do things originally – I wanted to design his big boy room and move him into a new special space when we did the bed transition – but I felt like I had to get him out of the crib.

 

It.  Was.  A.  Disaster.   I quickly realized that this is the toddler version of baby sleep training (posts on that –> Part I and Part II).  But after an hour and a half of going back and forth with him, I decided that Henry is just not emotionally ready to transition.  He kept telling me he was scared and wanted “old bed” back.  It was so sad!  Henry is never scared of anything, so I definitely listened to what he was saying… And re-assembled the crib (what a nightmare!).  We pushed the twin mattress up against his crib in case he tried to escape again.  Now, I’m not worried about him hurting himself with a fall (and he hasn’t tried to get out again – I think he now realizes the ‘consequences’ of escaping). 

 

This kind of reminds me of getting rid of bottles – I tried to force it on him at 12 months because his doctor told me to, but it was so hard at one year.  He just wasn’t ready.  I gave it three month months, and then saying buh-bye to bottles was a piece of cake. So, here’s my new plan for getting him out of the crib:  I want his big kid room to be all ready for him so the transition is more exciting.  And I’m going to wait a few months and try again – hopefully, the next time we try, it will be “his idea.” 

 

I Shopped – A Lot

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Speaking of the big kid room, I spent all of Saturday shopping with BFF Nicole.  Nicole is SUPER CRAFTY and loves to decorate; I’ve enlisted her to help me design Henry’s room.  She’s temporarily out of projects at her house so she jumped at the chance.  She’s come up with an awesome concept – now, we just have to implement it!  The big task for Saturday was to find a new dresser.  We shopped for so long that we ended up needing a pizza break.

 

I really wanted a solid piece of furniture, so we went to a bunch of secondhand shops and a few big box stores before settling on an awesome unfinished dresser.  Nicole helped me pick out a stain and then she came over and did the first coat (Kristien finished it up yesterday – it looks awesome!).  What a good friend, right?!

 

I Watched a Lot of TV

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Like, a frightening amount.  We are now almost done with Season 3 of Parenthood.  Every night, we say, “Do you want to watch something else? Like a movie? Nahhhh, let’s just watch more Parenthood.”  And it never fails us.  Ever.  That show is awesome.

 

I Cleaned

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I did my quarterly scrub-the-floors-with-a-rag clean.  Henry helped.  <3  We also did a ton of lawn care, organized the garage, and tackled the mountain of laundry that’s been taking over our closet.  It’s nice to start Monday off on a tidy foot!

 

So… that was my weekend!  How was yours?

{ 27 comments }

 

  • Jess July 7, 2014, 7:33 am

    I totally agree on letting your toddler ‘own’ these big decisions. My 3.25 year old held out on potty training until this very weekend. We tried all the different techniques starting at 2.5 but it wasn’t until he wanted to do it that it actually stuck. Congratulations on baby #2 – I have a 6 month old girl and her big brother is already her favorite person in the house.

    • Caitlin July 7, 2014, 7:35 am

      Aw that is so sweet. I have a feeling Henry will be slow on the potty training too. Gotta listen to the kiddos sometimes – it makes it easier on all of us.

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat July 7, 2014, 7:42 am

    Ugh scrubbing floors is probably my #1 most loathed house chore! But kudos to you for getting it done. Sounds like you had a pretty eventful weekend, and even though the crib assembly was probably a bit of a pain, shopping for Henry’s ‘big boy’ room sounds like fun!

  • Mary July 7, 2014, 8:09 am

    I like to think I can dance (probably can’t) and love going out and getting up on the dancefloor. However, planned moves – not my thing. I’m really uncoordinated when it comes to moving at the same time as everyone else to the music! Well done for getting up there with the older ladies!

  • Brynn July 7, 2014, 8:40 am

    I have heard nothing but great things about Parenthood, I have to get into that show! My fourth was spent with my family up north on the water. The perfect way to spend a long weekend!

  • Jacquelynn July 7, 2014, 8:46 am

    Oh I am SOOOOO glad to read this about the bottles! My little guy is almost 12 months, and the pediatrician had mentioned about transitioning from the bottle, but he has NOT wanted to cooperate with it 🙁 Sippy cups are pretty much teething items for him right now. I’m hoping he wants to transition from the bottle more on his own in a few months…

  • Sarahf July 7, 2014, 8:50 am

    The ageing population here in Japan ensures that 95% of the people at my gym are over 60. I’m telling you, they’re living life right! I realised pretty quickly that old doesn’t mean weak for these guys!

  • Maryea {happy healthy mama} July 7, 2014, 8:54 am

    We did all the traditional 4th of July stuff this weekend: parades, lake time, family BBQs. I loved every minute and am so not ready for Monday!

  • Katie @ Talk Less, Say More July 7, 2014, 9:11 am

    Sometimes the productive weekends are just as nice as the big crazy holiday weekends. I had an alright weekend with quite a bit of down time with some social time thrown in as well. it wasn’t what I was hoping for this weekend, but it was probably what I needed.

  • Sally July 7, 2014, 9:26 am

    Agreed on waiting for readiness – I was going to say keep that in mind for potty training. My 2.5 year old decided he was ready for his “undies” and was done as far as peeing within 1 day (literally, we have had no accidents since day 1). Pooping took another 2 weeks – because I think we were forcing it too much. After days of him holding it to the point he was in pain, we backed off and told him he could go when, where, and how he wanted – a diaper was fine, a pull-up was fine, on the potty was fine, and we wouldn’t get mad and he wouldn’t get in trouble. Lo and behold, he decided the potty was the way to go. Again no accidents since. He is so proud of himself and will even go “his own self” (which is awesome – we don’t have to remind him to go!)

  • Reenie July 7, 2014, 10:31 am

    let’s just watch more Parenthood.” And it never fails us. Ever. That show is awesome…… LOVE that show…. so sad that this season will be it’s last. 🙁

    Cute pic of you and Henry cleaning. 🙂

  • Ms. Dolly July 7, 2014, 10:32 am

    I saw this over the week-end and thought of Henry; http://www.acmoore.com/specialpromo?spid=139
    Look at 7/23…. and it’s FREE! We’ve done the Thomas make and take in the past & the kids loved it. They still play with their Thomas’s – 2 years later. But maybe you’ll be away at the beach that week?…..

  • Jen July 7, 2014, 11:02 am

    Zumba is a great workout! Don’t be afraid to jump in. No one is judging you, they are too busy having fun and focusing on themselves! It takes a few classes to get the moves down. The great thing is you can adjust your own intensity so you can workout all through your pregnancy. We have ladies, including the instructor (!) who exercised right up to their due dates!
    Also, does Cici’s have gluten free pizza now?!

  • Ainsley July 7, 2014, 11:51 am

    I’ve been wanting to take a Zumba class for a while now! Just the thought of dancing for exercise sounds perfect for me 🙂

  • Emily July 7, 2014, 12:05 pm

    Have you tried creating a baby cage? Remove the mattress platform from the crib, place the crib mattress on the floor, and then place the crib over the mattress.

  • Sarah July 7, 2014, 1:38 pm

    Go you for trying the dance class! What a good idea for helping yourself transition to the class you want to take.
    I also love that you’re willing to let Henry go at his own pace with things like bottles and beds. You’re a great mama!

  • Rebecca July 7, 2014, 1:39 pm

    What a weekend! Maybe having his own big boy room will help Henry with transitioning to a new bed! My cousin transitioned her oldest to a new room recently (he’s five and his baby brother was just born at the end of June) and he’s loving his new room–and his new brother. 🙂
    I’m still getting over jetlag. Got back from our trip at 10pm Wednesday, and then I had a full weekend. I ended up working until 11pm ALL weekend after being gone for 10 days. AND I had to work three hours in the morning yesterday and then run to church before going to work. Not a relaxing weekend, although I did get in a couple of naps. My parents stopped by the lake on Saturday to visit family and I was so bummed I couldn’t go with. But I have most of this week off of work, so I can catch up on things. I officially start my new part-time job next Monday, so that’s exciting!

  • Caitlin @ Happy 'n' Hungry July 7, 2014, 2:05 pm

    My weekend was fun but also productive. Lots of cleaning and shopping, but equal parts outdoor and friend time!

  • Tricia July 7, 2014, 2:28 pm

    We are getting ready for baby #2 so we are ripping out the current guest room/office. We did make it to one bbq. I literally hate fireworks now though bc of my poor dogs. Such a shame.

  • Sara July 7, 2014, 3:22 pm

    Our house is on the market (eeek!) so we did a LOT of cleaning, painting, repairing…you get the idea 🙂 Wacky! (I’m so tired and sore and nervous).

  • Tamar July 7, 2014, 4:28 pm

    You rag-clean the floor quarterly, like every three months? Your family must be so clean! I do that every day!

    • Caitlin July 7, 2014, 4:46 pm

      I mop every week but I rag clean every three months. I hate doing it!!

  • Kacie July 7, 2014, 6:31 pm

    I love zumba! But I’m the same way, dancing is NOT something that comes easily to me. What about trying it at home to get more comfortable with some of the movements before busting it out in public? I zumba in my kitchen all the time. I really like the youtube channel refitrev. They have a TON of videos that are so fun and the steps are fairly easy to follow…sometimes I can only do the feet and not the arms though. 😉 Good luck!

  • Jolene @ Homespun Heritage July 7, 2014, 9:32 pm

    That’s pretty much what we did this weekend! We cleaned out and organized the garage, had a daylong bonfire, did some fun stuff but mostly worked on the disaster of a garage. Next up? Build a new shed since the last one was squashed by all the snow we had over the winter.

  • Runner Girl Eats July 8, 2014, 6:08 am

    Friday was full of holiday fun but Saturday and Sunday was 99% relaxing. It was pretty awesome but by Sunday afternoon I was going a little bit stir crazy.

  • Ruth July 8, 2014, 10:15 am

    Yah, Zumba is so much fun, try a Youtube video at home first, then you know a bit of the moves before you show up. Probably the class you are taking is giving you some idea what to expect anyways, honestly, no one judges, they all just have fun.
    Aww, that was so sweet about Henry wanting his crib back, I guess sometimes we think we are ready for something and jump in head first, only to discover maybe we need a bit more time.

  • Kelsey @ Ramblings of Change July 24, 2014, 6:15 pm

    Perfect weekend! I’m ready for one of these myself…

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