Solo Time

What? A weekend all to myself??? That's impossible, right? These things do not happen with a husband and a small child around. And yet, that is exactly what happened this weekend!

Gus took Nikos up to Orange County so that they could visit with his (Gus') cousin and grandmother, who are visiting from Chicago and Greece, respectively. I have had so much work piling up (papers that need grading, etc.) that I opted to stay home and get things done. And what a productive time I've had!

It's amazing how "free time" takes on a whole new meaning nowadays. In the days of yore, I would drag a chair out onto the back lawn and read in the sunshine until I fell asleep or got too hot. And the weather was definitely nice enough to do that-- mid 80s and not a cloud in the sky! Instead, I went shopping for necessities, cleaned the entire house (including scrubbing every square inch of our bathroom, which needed it), did three loads of laundry and put it all away, removed the vertical blinds from baby girl's room, spackled/sanded/painted the window frame, bought and installed a room-darkening shade to replace the blinds, installed a curtain rod and curtains over the shade, worked on my art project for her wall, did the grocery shopping, AND did all my school-related work that was piling up. And I even had time to start on the fourth book in the "Twilight" series, so I did relax a little bit.

Also, on one of my various shopping trips, I decided to stop and test-drive different double strollers. And we have a winner, folks! I think we'll be getting this one, though I'm hoping to get a deal on a used one on CraigsList (I'm waiting for a seller to email me back... she's selling her gently used one for $130). After going back and forth about it, I just don't think we'll be able to avoid getting a double stroller. Nikos is just barely walking, and I'm sure he will still want to sit in the stroller once his sister arrives. This particular one was easy to steer, had plenty of room, and was really easy to fold/unfold (this was the selling point). It will take up the entire trunk of the car, but oh well!

I also bought a new cover for our infant car seat, since I never really liked the one we had. The new one is black and silver, so it will "go" with everything nicely. I should have just bought that pattern to begin with, but I didn't know it existed! Oh well. C'est la vie.

Anyway... I am exhausted. I am pretty sure I overexerted myself this weekend, which is why I am now sitting on my rear in front of the computer. But Gus and Nikos should be back any minute, and then it's back to my other full-time job: Mommy! It's a great job, just a tiring one (especially when pregnant). :)