I Don't Like Mondays

Nobody in my household seems to like Mondays.

When the alarm clock went off at 6:20 this morning, I had a bed bug (the blonde one) who was so toasty and warm and who made it physically impossible to get to the alarm by blocking my access. I also couldn't help but notice that it wasn't very light outside. When did that happen?

Finally, John, Winston, and I pried ourselves out of bed at 7:00 to an overcast, cold day. Winston cried in protest. I know how you feel, dude. We'd had such a good weekend, it really seemed a shame to disrupt our lovely leisure.

The boys each had their first soccer game on Saturday.

Winston's team of four-year-olds was even more disorganized than you might imagine. While Win and his teammates were all rolling around the field like puppies at play, the maroon team on the adjacent field was doing jumping jacks and listening raptly to their coach's instructions. Winston spent most of the hour in a state of sheer excitement, doing his "skateboard moves" on or near the soccer ball, but never actually kicking the ball.

Simon's team has a couple of great coaches—each of which has a child on the team. Both coaches have a keen sense of humor. While the team lost 4-1, the kids seemed to have had fun. Simon played defense—not a very cool position, I know. But, he played it like a pro, making at least one significant save.

In the afternoon, John mowed the lawn for the first and only time this year. The lawn is plush-looking, just as he likes it. And, I organized the children's toys (many of which were filed directly into the trash). You could say the afternoon was a success, so it was only appropriate that we celebrate with a wonderful meal at 112 Eatery with Steve and Lisa.

The food was impeccible, the wine was very good (especially the syrah), and the company appreciated. Except for the previous weekend when we had brunch with them, we have seen remarkably little of Steve and Lisa this year, and I consider it unfortunate. Steve is the culprit, busy as he is with CFO responsibilities and frequent travel to India and Jersey. We talked about possibly taking our little families to Chicago for MEA weekend, so we could go to the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum and to the Shedd Aquarium by day. Then, get a kidsitter so the adults could partake of molecular gastronomy at Alinea and so on by night.

On Sunday, John and I took the boys to the Renaissance Festival, where we had a fantastic time eating fair food (enormous turkey legs, corn on the cob, popovers, kettle corn), cheering for the evil team during the joust, playing Renaissance-themed arcade games (using mini trebuchet to lob a ball into a goal), attempting Jacob's ladder, and shopping (wooden daggers, a shield for Winston, and felt knight "helmets" for each of the boys).

One of the day's high points was watching Winston scale the castle-keep climbing wall. He was eager to climb, and the wall had no height requirement so we indulged his desire. If Win were only an inch or two taller, he would have had no difficulty ringing the bell at the top of the wall. But, at the half-way point, he was unable to grab the next hand-hold. He persisted trying, then, without making a scene (uncharacteristically mature, I might add), he belayed down. It was thrilling to watch, and I look forward to giving him another opportunity to climb. I also look forward to the day when Simon—who is a climber, instincively—will harness up.

We only left the Ren Fest when the rain started coming down. By the time we reached our car, we were all soaked and cold, but agreed it was worth it. Back in St. Paul, I fixed a batch of homemade macaroni and cheese and a dose of fresh corn and zucchini for dinner. We skipped the Alley Cat party—our one chance at organized socializing with our neighbors for the year—and I have no regrets for the extra family time it gave us. After the boys fell asleep, I made my first batch of soup for the fall—a Tuscan kale and farro soup, which is incredibly earthy with Italian sausage and pinto beans. I forgot to buy the kale so didn't add it. While I think the soup would be nice with the kale, it certainly isn't missing.

Bring on the week...