Momcation

 

This picture is everything.  It is my view on Thursday night, alone in a hotel room in Roseville, eating a hamburger and fries in bed, drinking a Coors Light, watching Clueless and loving every moment of it.

To back things up, my much anticipated SLO Girls Weekend got cancelled due to a combination of smoke from the Tahoe Fires and the Delta variant of COVID. I was devastated, but not deterred.  I was going to get out of San Francisco for a carefree / kid-free weekend one way or another, with or without anyone else. I needed this.

After consulting a map and potential options, I booked a hotel room in Roseville within walking distance to the shopping mecca that is the Galleria / Fountains, I grabbed a rental car and got the hell out of dodge Thursday afternoon. I was emotionally and physically tired; tired from the stress from work, tired from life with COVID, tired from trying to be everything to everyone and I was ready to go crazy: I wanted to smoke a cigarette, get a tattoo, throw caution to the wind and pretend I was 24 again.

The good news is, I didn’t do any of those things… but I did get to be a little “mom crazy.” I got to be “the SAHM” wandering aimlessly through a Target Friday morning in yoga pants and a Starbucks coffee in hand. I confidently walked into every store and bought whatever I wanted knowing I could afford it.  And I found the joy in shopping local, buying one too many graphic sweatshirts and reclaimed wood signs.

Even better, Ange and Dana surprised me later that weekend so I could share my momcation with those who needed it as well.  Because drinking martinis in a fancy restaurant is just better with friends.

Still hoping to reschedule the SLO Girls Weekend and get another momcation on the books soon!

Dodged a Bullet, Only To Be Hit By A Bus

After 8 straight days of spending time with the family, with no school, work or distractions, I went to bed Wednesday night feeling a little bittersweet about heading back to San Francisco on Thursday morning and coming back to the onslaught of work that was awaiting me. 

But like all great plans, COVID decided to mix things up for us once again. 

I woke up Thursday morning and, like most mornings, I looked at my phone and checked a few emails.  Buried amongst all the rest was the one I have been dreading since March 2020 (or rather July 2020 when school re-opened).  One of Oskar’s teachers tested positive for COVID so they were shutting down his classroom for 10 days… we were once again without child care until Monday August 16.  The good news: the teacher was fully vaccinated and her symptoms were minor.  And even better news: we weren’t exposed since we had been on vacation for the past 8 days. The bad news: I was heading into quarter end at work and Martin was heading to Germany on Wednesday for a much needed trip to see his family.  We had dodged the proverbial COVID bullet only to be hit by the COVID no daycare/work coordination bus.

I was going to need help, lots of it and fast.  And while Martin normally complains that I don’t ask my parents for help often enough, I did not hold back this time around. 

My parents came over on Friday afternoon to help watch the kids while Martin and I worked (and they then stayed for dinner to celebrate Alva’s birthday).   Oskar, Alva and I went over to their house on Monday so I could work while the kids ran amok and so Martin could focus 100% on work before leaving.  And then after two days at home Oskar, Alva and I headed back over on Thursday for two more days and nights. 

While the work part of stressful and the chaos of single parenting was real, the time spent with my parents was more than I could have ever asked for. The combination of a larger house, big backyard, grandparents to assist (and parents to provide me support), ice cream for breakfast, popsicles for snacks, home cooked meals, home grown tomatoes, freshly laid eggs gathered from the coop, old favorite toys and new ones from the grandparents, magic potions, bike riding and a general lack of rules helped to provide me a slice of sanity in the otherwise craziness of trying to do it all.

If I didn’t say it enough at the time.  Thank you Mom and Dad!!! 

Sonoma County

A few months ago I came to the realization that we haven’t taken an actual vacation (you know, where you go someplace new for a few days or ideally a week) since Covid started.  Don’t get me wrong, we have definitely gotten out of the city, but there is something about sleeping in a different bed and exploring a new area that feels like vacation.  So with preschool closed for 2 days at the end of July for teacher training, we planned an epic vacation to Tahoe!  It was going to be amazing: a large house in Tahoe Donner with Oskar’s friend Neomi and her parent’s Mika and Charles, biking, swimming, tennis, time on the lake, time with friends and something different.  It would have been perfect… had the smoke from the recent fires not completing destroyed the air quality.  Five days prior to departure, we made the decision to cancel the rental and try to find something somewhere else with better air. 

Five day’s notice to find a house big enough for all of us, was not the easiest, but Martin pulled through with an amazing vacation itinerary!  Three nights at Timber Cove with just our family, followed by four nights at a rental house in Sonoma, one of which would be joined by Neomi and her family.

We embraced the vacation mindset at Timber Cove and made the most of the 3 days.  Friday we drove up to the Point Arena Lighthouse where we saw whales off of the coast, seals in the cove and the impact of a gift shop on young children. 

New book from the gift shop in hand

We celebrated Alva’s birthday on Saturday riding bikes and roller skating at Fort Ross School and swimming in our collapsible pool on the patio at the house.

 And on Sunday we took the kids to the actual Fort Ross for a little history and time spent running between all of the different buildings.  We also picked blackberries both on the drive up and the drive back.  After spending so much time up there these past few months, it was fun exploring something new!

After lunch on Sunday, we packed up and started the drive to Sonoma to meet up with Neomi, Mika and Charles for a fun night at the rental!  But first, we had to stop for ice cream in Sebastapol.

Sunday night went about as well as expected.  Dinner with the two families was amazing, story time with the dads and kids was adorable, bedtime ended in rotating tears between all three kids and sleep finally set in around 10:30pm.

And yet, even after the short night sleep, the kids still seemed to have energy in reserves for the big morning at Train Town. I mean, look how happy everyone is!

 

Tuesday we decided to keep local and mellow and hopefully recoup from the lack of sleep… We walked to Maxwell Park in the morning and then spent the afternoon and evening at my friends Ryan and John’s house.  Their son Nate took some time to warm up to the crowd (and to be fair John took a moment to realize his wife forgot to tell him we were coming) but the time together was so fun.  All three kids, plus the two dads, “swam” in the hot tub and during the tour of their new home, Alva was kind enough to ask where she was supposed to sleep.  The afternoon rolled into dinner delivery and we all left with big smiles and full hearts.

Wednesday we opted to venture a little further north to Veterans Beach in Healdsburg.  Normally a packed sandy beach on the Russian River, we had the luxury of the beach all to ourselves.  And it being midweek, we were able to run across the street to get fancy slushees from Wicked Slush before heading back to Sonoma for one final night.

 

After a solid week of vacation, it was nice to come home and finally sleep in our own beds again. 

Alva Turns 3!

Alva officially turned 3 at the end of July and let’s just say, while she had a great time and loved telling everyone it was her birthday, I was riddled with second child mama guilt for most of it.

To back things up, when Oskar was born and as he progressed through daycare and preschool I made an effort to meet the other moms and form friendships with the other families. These moms became my group of people and naturally the kids also became friends.  By the time Alva was in daycare, I had a full plate and for better or worse, I didn’t invest as much time or energy into this new group of moms.  Add Covid to the mix when Alva was just starting to engage with other kids, and well, I really don’t know any of Alva’s friends or their families.

So this year, when we decided to actually have a party for her, I picked a date that worked for our family, the weekend after our trip to Sonoma, but didn’t check in with any of her classmates. And of course, none but two could make the selected date.  Let’s call that Strike 1 against yours truly.

We spent Saturday, her actual birthday, up at Timber Cove with just our family and celebrated with cake for breakfast and afternoon snack.  The following day was spent in Sonoma with Oskar’s friend Neomi.  And while Neomi and Oskar are both great about including Alva in their games, she is still the younger sister.  So when Neomi handed Oskar a lollipop she had brought just for him followed by Alva's look of confusion like “it’s my birthday, where is my lollipop” my heart kind of broke.  Strike 2.

And then, well COVID hit their preschool, closing down Oskar’s classroom and sending us into a 10 day quarantine and we had to cancel Alva’s birthday party with her 2 friends that could actually make it. Strike 3.  Oh! And to top it off her Auntie Dana, Uncle Cody and Granny Fran and Grandpa Vic all forgot it was her birthday and didn't call to wish her a happy birthday.  Strikes 4, 5 and 6.  It's official, I am a failure. 

Thankfully my parents came over the Friday after Sonoma (to both assist with watching them while Martin and I worked and to celebrate her birthday with dinner) and all was forgotten and hopefully forgiven.

I promise to make it up to her next year and will make a huge effort to get to know her friends at German School!

Happy Birthday Alva!

Correction: Brenda and Cody did in fact remember Alva’s birthday and even called to sing her Happy Birthday.  Due to lack of cell reception up at Timber Cove we didn’t get the message until later.  Apologies to you both!