So our much loved and much needed nanny (hi Gabrielle! We really do love you please never leave us again) left town for a month. We survived intact!

To be transparent, it was a convenient month to be childcare free. Travel plans and a heavy rotation of visiting relatives chopped up the month nicely. But it was still fucking hard. Googling “typical schedule stay at home mom three under three” helped me feel a little less shitty about how stressed and antsy I sometimes became. And reassured me that not filling the days with enriching, age appropriate activities and excursions didn’t mean I was neglecting and depriving my offspring. The motherhood guilt is real.

The month is now a blur, but we definitely did a lot of stuff. Summer in Seattle things! We grilled a lot. I went on lots of walks and made lots of park trips. Those things are *somewhat* manageable while solo wrangling infant twins plus toddler. If you ever find yourself trapped at home alone losing your shit with three kids under three, and you live in Seattle, better hope it happens during summer.

Another thing we did: travel by plane with all three kids. This was fairly exhausting, and at times mildly terrible, but made manageable by the presence of my father in law, the duration of the flight to Salt Lake City (90 minutes), and my husband’s MVP status with Alaska Airlines, which is obviously our favorite airline because we like to remain predictable by fulfilling as many Seattle stereotypes as possible.

The trip went surprisingly well overall. My father in law’s new abode in Salt Lake City has a floatie equipped pool, which the kids loved. The weather was a delight; as a native Arizonan I am all about the dry heat. And Will and I got to sneak away for a couple dinners out (Red Iguana and Current Fish and Oyster. Both thoroughly enjoyable.) I also had my very first dueling piano bar experience. Weather, food and culture (and lots of international tourists…all LDS obviously)! Who needs Europe when you can go to Salt Lake City? Laugh/cry emoji.

Another key achievement from the previous month: taking all three kids wine wasting. Apologies, Kerloo Cellars. We felt so guilty foisting our children on their tasting room that we joined their wine club! I highly recommend wine tasting in the Sodo area of Seattle if you enjoy wine, whether or not you have to pound your pours because you brought kids and they are losing their shit. Lots of great tasting rooms in close proximity to each other, but much less overrun than Woodinville. In addition to Kerloo’s Sodo tasting room, I like Rotie, Nine Hats, Sleight of Hand, and even the ubiquitous Charles Smith (maybe don’t bring kids to that one though). If you get sick of wine, Schooner Exact Brewing has a full menu and a kids’ play area.

Well, summer in Seattle continues, only now it’s 1000% better because I have childcare and can sometimes escape my children. I see a lot of grilled food, many short lived lake trips (turns out crawling babies aren’t that fun to bring to the lake), and gallons of rosé in my future.