Weekly Review 76

Dearest Gentle Reader…

Oh wait, that’s not how I start these! I’ve been watching too much Bridgerton lately, but we will get to that soon. This past week was fun. It was filled with love, laughter, lots of sleep, and even a party. I also dealt with changes in my life, which I documented in my recent post, Letting Go of Old Interests. Before I begin, I wanted to say happy birthday to Mr. O, our biggest blessing. I can’t believe he is 3 years old already! Time really does fly by, especially when you’re having fun (which we have a lot of). Another year has passed us by, and every single day he is getting taller, stronger, smarter, and funnier. I tell him all the time, “I am so lucky to be your dada”, and I mean it every single time. So, once again, happy birthday, little man. We love you!

Now, how does this go? Hello, readers. Welcome to my weekly review, where I share my previous week with you.

On Monday morning I had some extra time int he morning due to Lea and Mr. O sleeping in. It gave me time to reflect on myself and who I’ve been lately, and I did not like what I was discovering. I realized I have been on my phone too much. X, formerly Twitter, consumed most of my days. It’s a really addicting website and I had finally had enough. Without giving it too much thought, I deleted my account and then deleted the app off of my phone, before I could talk myself out of it. It’s been a week without it now and I do not miss it. I’m still in the habit of grabbing my phone, though, and opening it to hop on X, but I’m quickly reminded it’s not there, and then I’m relieved. It’s also such a negatve site. I found myself becoming angrier and angrier about things I had no control over, like politics. Seeing everyone’s posts raging about this or that, it was becoming a weight on my shoulders and in my life that I didn’t want to carry anymore. I didn’t have to carry it in the first place, I have a good life, and so far, whoever is in office hasn’t changed that.

So, I deleted it, ate my breakfast, and then Mr. O woke up. We hung out upstairs until I had to work. In the evening, Mr. O and I played with his playdough while Lea made another new recipe: steak and potato bites. It was good, I enjoyed it. After dinner, I hopped online to continue my quest with my friends in Baldurs Gate 3. Mr. O was present in the beginning of the game, but eventually he went upstairs with Lea to go to sleep. However, he left his bowl of Mac & cheese sitting on the table next to me, so I ate it all. Suddenly, he comes running back downstairs. “Oh no”, I thought to myself. He looks at his empty bowl, looks over at me, looks back at his empty bowl, looks over at me, and screams “WHERE MY MICK CHEESE GO?!” I said, “I ate it…” “NOOOOOOO!” he screamed. Lea came back downstairs wondering what had happened. Still screaming, Mr. O pointed to his bowl, and pointed to my belly. Back and forth, he just kept pointing. Lea eventually understood what he was saying. In my defense, if I may, he wasn’t supposed to come downstairs. Also, if he really wanted his Mac & cheese, he would have finished it all before he went to bed. So, who’s fault is it, really (not mine)?

On Tuesday I had the day off from work. I know, I’ve been having a lot of time off lately, but those are mostly due to holidays in the beginning of the year. On this day I had a doctors appointment. It was just the routine, yearly check up. Nothing to worry about here! Anyways, before I got out of bed to start my day (I got to sleep in), I did a little reading. It was great starting my day this way. I truly loved it. When it was time to wake Mr. O for daycare, I helped Lea get him ready for the day before they left. I had the house to myself for a few hours, so I played Madden and advanced my season as head coach of the Chicago Bears to 10-0. Then, I wrote the blog post I mentioned in the beginning of this piece. After I clicked publish, I grabbed my things and went to my appointment. It took forever! When I came home, Lea was still at work, so I continued my own personal Baldurs Gate campagin and advanced the story a bit. After being lazy for two hours, Lea came home and we started doing some chores around the house to prepare for Mr. O’s birthday party on Saturday. In the evening, I went to pick up Mr. O from daycare. He was so excited! I usually drop him off, but since I had the day off I was able to go pick him up. He saw me in the window when I pulled up to the hosue. He had his face pressed against the glass.

When we came home I made us burgers on our tiny indoor grill. Then we played until bedtime, where Buzz Lightyear (Mr. O) and Evil Emperor Zurg (Zerg? Also, me) battled once again over the imaginary city in Mr. O’s bedroom. I hope one day I can report it was a close fight, but that day is not today. Buzz Lightyear beat the snot out of Zurg again, and then he fell asleep.

On Wednesday Mr. O was up at 3 AM and he went to sleep with Lea. A few hours later, I was up and I went downstairs for my breakfast and reading time. Before I knew it, I had to clock in for work. The day went by quickly, though, and on my lunch break I was able to play with Mr. O for a few minutes before his nap. We played hide-and-seek and then we spun each other around in circles until we were too dizzy to stand. Both fun games. In the evening, it was time for me to clean my office (one of my chores before the party). I decided to do some redecorating as well, and moved some things around. While Mr. O and I were in there, he found my old Toy Story toys I had brought home from my parents house. Both Woody and Buzz have to be at least 20 years old, if not more, and they still look great for the most part. I stepped out of the room for a minute and had Mr. O’s old birthday playlist playing and, by chance, You’ve Got a Friend in Me (from Toy Story) started playing. It was such a sweet moment! He didn’t know I was watching him from the hallway. He was playing with Woody and Buzz, so sweet and innocently, while that song played all around him. It was such a magical scene to witness.

Since it was just me and my boy Wednesday night, I made us dino nuggs (dinosaur chicken nuggets) and then we played PlayStation together. I recently downloaded this game called Rocket League. It’s a bunch of cool cars with rockets in them playing soccer, Lol. I put Mr. O in a practice arena by himself and let him zip around there for a while. Since he loves cars and rockets and everything else little boys love, I knew he would love this game. Eventually, I asked him if I could play. He ignored me. I asked him again and he ignored me. I asked again and he said “Wow, Dada, look at that!” as he pointed to the screen. I asked one more time and he finally gave me an answer: “In a little bit.”

Once we wrapped up TV time, we went upstairs to play. I fixed his train track (which he destroyed) and eventually he went to bed. I relaxed by playing PlayStation again for a few hours. Then Mr. O woke up and I let him come sleep with me. We were both knocked out. We could have slept until 7 or 8 AM if my alarm didn’t go off, but we had to get ready to leave for daycare. Now it was Thursday and we were on our way there. Work was very busy again. I had to stay on an extra hour just to finish all of my duties. When I finally came out of my office, Mr. O was grouchy/sleepy on the couch and Lea was making dinner. After we ate, I vacuumed upstairs before helping Lea give Mr. O a bath, which eventually led to bedtime.

On Friday I had another appointment, but this time it was really early and I went before work even started. As my car was warming up and melting all the ice off my windshield, I cleaned up our garage and back patio a little bit. It needed to be done for the party anyways, and I had time before I had to leave, so I’m glad I was able to get it done. When I came back home, with a few minutes to spare, I sat with my family and ate breakfast before I started working. In the evening, I helped Lea put up some decorations for the party on Saturday. Then I followed her list of things to do and started checking boxes as I completed them. Once I was done cleaning the bathrooms and taking the trash out, I played with Mr. O before he went to sleep.

When Saturday arrived we all slept in a little bit. Mr. O and I eventually went downstairs and I made us some waffles while we played Rocket League again. Then, his godparents came over for a couple hours to visit since they weren’t able to make it to the party in the evening. Mr. O had so much fun! They brought him gifts and played with him the whole time. After his nap, his birthday party began. We had a small party this year at our house, with very few family members. We didn’t want to go all out this year, and I’m glad we didn’t because Mr. O still had a blast. He loves his new gifts so much and we’re so grateful for all the love everyone shows him. After everyone left and he went to bed, Lea and I finally caught up and finished Bridgerton. It’s a great show and I cannot wait for the next season!

On Sunday morning, Mr. O wanted to play with his new toys right away. So we got right to it! We went straight to his playroom and began playing with his new trains and his new car. Winston the Cat also made an appearance, and Mr. O was so sweet to him. “Ninnie, you like my new toys? Ninnie, come play wiff me”, he would say as he gave him nice pets.

Eventually, it was time to go to church. Mr. O and I went by ourselves this time and it was nice. He had fun and learned new things. Now, as I write this, he is napping.

We will see what this new week brings!

A Moment I’m Still Thinking About

One moment from this week that I can’t get out of my mind is Mr. O’s birthday party. I can’t stop thinking about how much fun he had. How much love was felt for him and from him. Just seeing how happy he was and is fills up my heart with so much love. Every single day I feel my heart growing and growing. Filling with more and more love for him. It’s amazing. He’s amazing!

I’d love to hear about your week. Tell me, what was a moment that you’re still thinking about?

Peter