The title of this post has nothing to do with our entire weekend…just a small part of it. But given that Aladdin is one of my favorite movies of all time, it felt right!

FRIDAY

Friday was my most productive day. I think it had something to do with getting my grocery shopping and the majority of my food making out of the way first thing in the morning versus walking over a mile to go to Soul Cycle and then doing everything else.

Anyways, I went to TJs and Target first thing, which was nice because both stores were practically empty. I then came home and cooked for two hours. I made The Chutney Life’s Instant Pot Lasagna Soup and her Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers. Both recipes are really good and a huge hit in our family!

I headed to the gym for a Barre class around 11:30, which was a nice change of pace. The class was hard but I loved it. So many shakes and quakes!

After coming home and showering, I ran to Costco to get some essential items like toilet paper!

I wrapped up my Kaiden-free time by making my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but these are so good. As evident by the fact that the 24 muffins I made are gone!

After picking Kaiden up from school, we headed to the park since it was such a beautiful day.

SATURDAY

Saturday started off strong. I went to a cycling class at my gym…it’s no Soul Cycle but it’ll do!

Kaiden and I then headed to a fun brunch with a few girlfriends (all boy moms!), including my good friend Ruchi who is in town as part of her annual US trip. So fun to see her and catch up with everyone. I wish I could say Kaiden was a perfect angel for this meal. He ended up falling asleep in my lap at some point, which means the rest of the day was kind of hit or miss. I didn’t want to miss out on seeing Ruchi and knew that would mean messing up K’s nap. I was hopeful it wouldn’t but it did. I didn’t want to keep him at home because Vishnu was studying. Ah well…you live and you learn…that it’s one day of many!

The weather was a little iffy in the early afternoon, so I took Kaiden to Target just so we could get out of the house. The park was an option…just one I didn’t want to entertain because I was tired!

Vishnu stopped studying when we got home (!!). We played and sang and danced.

My sister and BIL stopped by for an hour or so right before K’s bedtime, which made him so happy. Aekta and Adarsh are two of his favorite people. To illustrate, imagine this – we were walking to Target and he started chanting their names! And this happens regularly!

Anyways, my coworker and good friend Lamia and her husband Dusty came over after K went down for the night. They kindly agreed to stay at our place so Vishnu and I could go see ALADDIN!

You guys! Go watch this movie, especially if you grew up loving it as a kid. The only thing I would say is expect it to be a little different. For example, Will Smith brought his own flavor to the role of the genie. A lot of people feel like Robin Williams can’t be replaced, but I think of all people, Will Smith did an amazing job. Think of this version of the movie as a modern one!

SUNDAY

This brings us to Sunday. The hardest day!

I don’t know what it was. Maybe the lack of a good nap on Saturday. The 5:15 am wake up. But Kaiden was in a mood.

We headed to the Children’s Museum for what I thought would be a fun morning in a different environment. All was well until about 9:40 when more kids showed up and also wanted to bowl. This meant Kaiden has to share the space and the balls. He didn’t want to. I took him to another area of the museum that he usually loves. Didn’t love that. I took him to an entire floor altogether and offered him some snacks. Didn’t want any part of that. So when the screaming wouldn’t stop, I decided to take him home. I find that sometimes just getting him of the environment is best for everyone.

So then we came home, ate a little snack, put on our sunscreen and headed to the park. This worked out a lot better for the most part. He didn’t want to wait for people to finish with his favorite swing so when they saw Kaiden making a fuss they kindly got off and offered it to us. To be honest, I was thankful and a little embarrassed. But it is what it is. Another boy mom at the park told me her newly minted two year old refuses to share and is lacking major patience…which wasn’t a thing before. Good to know we’re not alone! With that being said, Vishnu and I are brainstorming ideas for how to help Kaiden when he’s feeling these big emotions. Will keep y’all posted on that!

Kaiden ended up taking a 1.25 hour nap after lunch, so I decided to take advantage and nap too. It wasn’t the most restful sleep but I’ll take what I can!

Later in the afternoon my friend Pankti and her little guy Arjun came over for an impromptu play date. We headed back to the park so the boys could run around and expend some energy. All was fine until Kaiden decided the water fountain was his new BFF. I was fine with him splashing himself and playing with it, but then he started reaching for it when other people were actually trying to use it. To make a long story short, our park visit ended with me carrying a kicking and screaming kid home. Ay, ay, ay!

The rest of the evening was spent playing and home and chatting with Pankti. Kaiden continued to have his moments but again…it is what it is! He’s almost two!

After I put K down for the nap, Vishnu and I talked for a bit about what we can do to help him and where a lot of this is stemming from. And the only conclusion we came to is that we have to be more strict about his naps on the weekends. No exceptions! When he doesn’t nap, he’s a different person. And not a pleasant one!

Anyways, I’m going to stop right here with this lengthy post and wish you all a happy week! If you made it this far, thanks for reading. 🙂