Sundays Aren’t for Rest (At Least Not Yet)
In a perfect world, Sundays would be for rest. Maybe brunch, a nap, some kind of quiet reset before Monday.
But as a parent of a toddler? Yeah—there are no rest days.
Weekends are for all the big chores. The “extra” stuff that never seems to get done during the week: washing sheets and blankets, building that piece of furniture that’s been sitting in the garage for three weeks, reorganizing the fridge that’s somehow already a mess again. (I swear I threw out those leftovers last week!)
I guess, if I were a god-fearing woman, I’d find time to rest before or after church. But I’m not religious. So instead, my husband and I take turns “sleeping in” on Saturdays and Sundays (and let’s be honest, sleeping in means 8 AM if we’re lucky). The rest of the weekend is spent trying to get the house in order, tackle the groceries, and gear up for the week ahead.
The last few weekends have been even more chaotic than usual—because our daughter got her big girl bed! Which is honestly kind of bittersweet. I had planned on doing one of those cute little Montessori floor beds, but we already had a queen mattress from our old setup (we upgraded to a king when we bought the house), so it just made sense to use what we had.
After some intense internet sleuthing, I found this beautiful four-poster bed on sale, and I couldn’t pass it up. It’s solid, timeless, and should last her well into her teen years (that’s the hope, anyway). I still need to add the curtains I bought to the “posters”, but the pocket was too small, so I’ll need to sew a new one. (Link to the bedframe at the bottom! And No, I don’t get any commission!)
In other “house things that feel bigger than they are,” I also grabbed one of those behind-the-toilet storage towers. (It was on clearance—because of course it was, I love a deal.) Our old bathroom shelf used to hold all our laundry stuff, since we’ve got a stacked washer/dryer situation in our bathroon. But now that Lorelai can reach it? Not ideal. The new tower keeps things out of her hands but still accessible for us. My husband hates it. But I think it looks cute! I popped on some blue glass storage jars I scored at the Target dollar section forever ago, and honestly, it’s giving “Pinterest mom on a budget.” (I added my pintrest to the bottom, just in case.)
Eventually, I want to organize the bathroom closet and swap out the hardware on the tower shelf with these adorable shark-shaped knobs I bought ages ago. But that’s another weekend’s problem, and the knobs are somewhere, in a box, from when we moved into this house.
I guess weekends have kind of just become the default “project time” because it’s the only time it’s not just Lorelai and me at home. It’s hard to tackle anything big with a toddler glued to your leg. And evenings are dinner, bath, bedtime, and—if we’re lucky—twenty minutes of couch time before we crash.
I know it’ll get easier. When she can self-entertain a little more, when I don’t need to be on toddler-alert 24/7. And sure, I let her watch some TV here and there (I’m not above Ms.Rachel, or Bounce Patrol). But I’ve never wanted the TV to be a constant babysitter. I try to involve her when I can… but some projects just aren’t 16-month-old-friendly.And that’s just how it is right now. No rest on Sundays. No aesthetic “slow mornings.” Just a whole lot of love, a little chaos, and a house that’s always almost clean.