Best Sunday Ever

I have been so tired. I can't really remember not being tired. I've been trying to figure out why and I've decided it's because I don't sleep well. I was talking to my dad about this problem while I was sick and he recommended taking NyQuil to help me get some rest that might help me recover quicker. The thought of taking a drug that would knock me out gave me anxiety. Travis doesn't wake up for anything. He doesn't wake up for Aiden screaming, he doesn't wake up with me pushing him, he doesn't wake up with his own alarm! His alarm wakes me up, then I wake him up.

Because of that I am convinced that if there is a fire, or something wrong with Aiden, or someone breaking into our house, it will be up to me to wake up Travis and to take care of the situation. I finally broke down this weekend and asked Travis if he would let me have drugged sleep once a month so I can catch up a little. So now, every fourth weekend, I am going to take a Benadryl before I go to bed on Saturday night and Travis is going to get up with Aiden in the morning.

We gave this a try for the first time this past Saturday and it was A-MA-ZING. I set my alarm for 9 am (I didn't want to sleep the day away), popped one Benadryl, threw on a sleep mask (GREAT recommendation Alexa!) and laid back to enjoy the ride. Usually I get up at 6:45 with Aiden. On Sunday, I woke up at 8:30 to Aiden talking in his bedroom. I decided that I felt rested enough that I would just get up with him and let Travis sleep in longer. Sleeping in until 8:30 meant almost two extra hours of sleep and I was happy with that.

I rolled over to make sure Travis wasn't getting up and HE WASN'T THERE. Travis got out of bed and I DIDN'T WAKE UP. We got lucky and Travis was up going to the bathroom when he heard Aiden talking, so he didn't have to worry about Aiden not being able to wake him up. I was a little disoriented when I realized Travis wasn't even in bed. I can't tell you the last time he moved in bed without my knowledge.

I decided I would just lay back and wait out my 9 o'clock alarm. At 8:45, I was awake, but was still feeling the relaxing effects of the Benadryl so I turned off the alarm and just laid there, staring out the window. I finally rolled out of bed at 9:05. NINE OH FIVE. Ugh, it was sweet bliss!

I got dressed, went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and do the morning deed before heading out to the living room where Travis and Aiden were watching Thomas the Train (worst children's show ever, but Aiden LOVES trains). I took Travis' spot on the couch and he ran to McDonald's to grab breakfast for us. It was such a lazy thing to do, but I just happened to be feeling lazy. Actually, lazy isn't the word for it. I was rested and relaxed. Not tired, just relaxed. Not stressing about what the next step in our day was, not rushing around packing bags to go somewhere. Just sitting and enjoying it.

We ate breakfast at the kitchen table, then headed outside to enjoy the cool weather. Travis quickly got to work on the patio. Aiden followed him around with his Home Depot tool belt and tools from Blair's birthday party this year.

I was looking back through my posts and I've come to the conclusion that Travis started digging the trench for the drainage system that will divert water away from our usable yard on April 23rd. Three weeks later and the patio is complete!

After the patio was dusted with sand and watered, Travis grabbed a beer and collapsed on the ground. We let Aiden cool off by playing with the water hose.

Now all we need is the privacy wall to block us from the street view. I realized Sunday evening that we will still be able to enjoy the patio without the wall because we can watch Aiden can playing on the concrete drive while we sit in the shade of the patio.

We christened the new patio with a grilled dinner of Buffalo wings, pasta salad and melon. Aiden was a bit cranky by this point because he refuses to nap these days, but we still enjoyed our meal. I think we both will appreciate not having to walk around the fence to get to the patio. Also, it will be nice to leave our patio furniture out there all the time instead of packing it back in the garage at the end of the day.

I felt like we've been working on the yard renovations for months. Years maybe. I am so grateful to have Stage 2 done. (Stage 1: Drainage system. Stage 2: Patio. Stage 3: Stucco wall.) But, I think Stage 3 will be the most stressful. There are so many decisions to be made about the foundation and the inner make-up of the wall. If we make the wrong decision, the wall might sink and/or crack.

My dad emailed me the post layout yesterday, but I think we'll take a few days off before we get started on that. I need to take advantage of all that rest I got Saturday night!