Last Week in Review

Last week I made it to six out of my seven regular gym classes (the exception being the Saturday weight-lifting class, which I had to miss for a dentist appointment). I also swam 2,000 yards on three separate occasions. I put all the laundry away, all week long. I made a time flow-chart every single day, which kept me productive and also a little bit stressed. And my friend had a baby. Here's the breakdown, in more detail:

Sunday 11/8:
There was a special Sunday family swim at my gym, so I took Nathan. I figured I might as well get in a workout myself, so I did my swimming and then ate a brought-from-home lunch with Nathan on the couches at the gym before swimming. The highlight (or, rather, lowlight) of that trip was that I had to shower in front of Nathan after swimming, and he mistook general dripping for me peeing in the shower, which he loudly announced to the other gym patrons.

Monday 11/9:
I went to my local mall, but I already discussed that. And I made it to a very torturous weight-lifting class at the gym.

Tuesday 11/10:
Quickie playdate at the park, followed by swim and the hardest yoga class ever. I vowed to try every single thing at yoga that day, rather than just say I can't do that and remain in extended child's pose. You know what I totally suck at? Side plank. And twisted balancing half-moon. Anyway, Tuesday night we went to a party sponsored by Microsoft XBox. Surprisingly, I was the one who had the connections to get us in, through the blog Chicagonista. We played various forms of Rock Band and ate such appetizers as cheesecake pops on a stick. Then Bill wanted to go eat at The Walnut Room, which is the restaurant inside the former Marshall Field's flagship store, which is now Macy's. It was really beautiful with their big Christmas tree, but my butternut squash ravioli was only so-so. And Bill ordered a yule log cake for dessert, which was also so-so.

Wednesday 11/11:
As I stated earlier, this was our story hour day at the library. Then I went to the new drop-in hours at my Weight Watchers, where I had lost a pound, in spite of the cheesecake lollipops. I'm up to 28.4 pounds lost, and I better as hell get to 30 this week. Anyway, later that day I went to my hardest class at the gym, went home, ate dinner, got Nathan in bed, and had just settled in to watch Glee when my friend Sarah called and asked if I could come over and sit with her sleeping three-year-old because she was in labor and needed to go to the hospital. (A little backstory here, Sarah's doctor had predicted this child would come fast. Her husband works downtown and her sister lives an hour away, so I was on call to provide childcare and/or hospital transport in the event that nobody else could arrive on time. I was actually a little bit nervous about this, because I was afraid I would be out of the area when called on to perform.) So, thankfully, my only part in the baby's delivery was to sit in the house with the sleeping three-year-old for an hour until the sister came over and took over for me. And Sarah had baby Luke after only two hours of labor, and he was ten pounds! And no epidural!

Thursday 11/12:
Nathan goes to his old daycare on Thursdays, and I always attempt to build in some relaxation for myself while he's there. It never happens. I'm always scrambling around to take advantage of my no-kid time to get errands and chores done. So that pretty much sums up Thursdays. Oh, and I go to aquacize in the evenings.

Friday 11/13:
What a lucky Friday the 13th, because I got to go to another mall! I met my former co-worker and current friend Amy, whose adorable 11-month-old just learned to walk, at a mall in Lombard (45 minutes away). They had a really cool playground in that mall that had a treehouse theme, as well as a little ride-on train. Plus we ate at the Claim Jumper, a gold rush-themed restaurant with ridiculously huge portions, which until this week I did not know existed outside of California. And we had some white sangria there. After lunch we went to Von Maur, where shoe fiend Amy helped me pick out some new boots. That night we met giant baby Luke and brought his family some mac 'n cheese (no, not the Kraft kind).

Saturday 11/14:
I went to Power Hour at the gym, which I am really starting to get the hang of. It's one of those aerobics classes where you have to learn a sequence of steps, but it's not all dancey like Zumba. And, as I said, I got to skip weight-lifting so I could go to the dentist. Full confession, I kind of like the dentist now that I have a kid. I get to lie down for half an hour, and they have TVs there, so I always watch The Food Network. I didn't have any cavities this time, so that was good, too! Following the dentist I took Nathan to the park, to take advantage of what might be the last nice park day until winter. Then I took a big fat nap because I'm getting a cold. And we all drove to Indiana to eat at Joe's Crab Shack. This was my first time there, and I'm in love! They have a playground for the kids, and it's totally noisy in there so Nathan's yelling wasn't really a problem. I ordered one of their steam pots with corn, crab, and shrimp. It was surprisingly Weight Watchers-friendly, and I liked that there weren't any totally junky add-ons like the crazy cheddar biscuits they have at Red Lobster.

And that was my week.