I had a great weekend, where I am starting to recognize myself again. I was able to give myself me time, get my “stuff” done, and spend quality time with my daughter. It was a jammed packed weekend, yet I did not feel even the slightest bit of stress.

Friday started with going to the movies. I rarely go these days and it is something I miss. I used to be such a movie buff but got out of the habit when I was married. I plan to go more regularly on my weekends that I am a free parent.

My daughter’s father took her that night because he knows that I literally can’t remember the last time I slept in. I did! I woke up at 9am and it felt greeeeeaaaat! It was nice to have the quiet time before my daughter arrived. I was able to write posts in this blog.

She and I played a game of Quirkle and then, I took her to the Y Openhouse. They had a jammed pack program filled with games, arts and crafts, face painting, Radio Disney and a fitness class for kids. She had a blast and I posted some pictures of her participating in the class.

We went home and cuddled and I gave her a bath and shampoo and dealt with her tangles. We read some books together, and then I made her one of her favorite meals. Chicken strips breaded with Panko bread crumbs, some Texmati rice and some string beans. Simple, but she loved it. (And she had no idea that I put paprika in the egg wash before dipping the chicken.)

Sunday was even busier. We took a few hours to undress the Christmas tree of its gazillion and a half ornaments. It’s tedious to wrap up everything but we did it. I was going to ask my wasband to bring the tree down to the curb, but didn’t want to wait till he woke up and came to visit. So, I did it myself. That was of course a huge mess to deal with. There were pine needles everywhere, all the way down my stairs. That took a lot of time to clean up. The needles filled up a 13 gallon trash bag! I’m sure I’ll continue to find needles around the house. That’s just what it is with a “live” [dead] Christmas tree.

Afterwards, I vacuumed the house, cleaned the kitchen and bathroom, put my daughter’s clothes away, dropped off the laundry and went food shopping.

When we returned, I spent quality time with my kid. We practiced a study guide for the G&T exams that are coming up, and then she read some books “to” me. (Very cute). We also teased the cat with a brand new kitty doll stuffed with catnip. She was really, really frantic, rolling around acting kitten like. (I wish I filmed it because it was hilarious.)

Finally, I cooked a pasta dinner with a homemade arrabiata sauce for a friend.

All in all, quite a productive weekend. I feel like my old self is starting to surface and it feels great.

Next week, it’s mom’s weekend off. I already have some mischievous (re: naughty) plans up my sleeve.