Splashy Morning

I belong to a local MOMS Club chapter & I highly recommend joining something like this if you are considering staying at home.  It isn't exclusive to mothers - we have a stay-at-home-dad in our small group too.  I was hesitant at first to join such a group.  I live in a relatively small town and didn't want to not "fit in" and then run into someone from the group at the grocery store.  I also have plenty of family nearby and found lots of things to keep us busy when Addison was a small baby.  As Addison grew, I began to realize that she truly needs exposure to children around her age.  When she was about 10 months old, I went for it and attended my first MOMS Club event.  I have found the group to be diverse, yet like-minded enough that we can empathize with each other's situations and offer great support.  We plan all sorts of activities and everything is casual.  We let the kids be kids and we all understand when someone needs to leave early.  We also have one night per month when we go out without the kids.  Can you believe it?!  Dinner, movies, pedicures, drinks - anything for a little adult conversation!  Sure, we end up talking about the kids most of the time, but at least we don't have them clinging to us or running away (it's usually one of those two extremes).  

This morning one of our members had us over her house for an awesome playdate.  Her husband rents party equipment and set up two huge inflatable water slides.  Addison is SUCH a water girl so I knew she'd love it, but OMGeeeeeee, she was thrilled.  Shrieking, jumping, laughing, and babbling away with water splashing everywhere.  It isn't easy to bring your little ones places, especially places involving water.  It is a lot of physical hard work (have you ever applied sunscreen to a wriggling toddler?).  In the case of this morning, seeing the beautiful smile on my daughter's face was an apt reminder of that "they are so worth it" cliche that experienced parents like to impart on new parents.  Will she remember this day?  No, but I do think it helps build her personality and character.  I think happiness can be learned.

Lazy Sunday

 On most weekends, my husband takes charge of childcare.  Although we are typically frazzled and relied on for a lot, stay-at-home-moms get lazy days too.  Exhibit A:

10am: Woke up to Addison’s morning babbles/cries/singing and quickly shoved my husband to get up and tend to her.  Rested a few more minutes and got up as she was eating breakfast.

12pm: After watching some Olympics and reading some hand-me-down magazines from my mom, I asked Steve if he thought it was a good idea for me to go lay back down in the bed.  He said yes and I complimented him on such a great suggestion. 

3:45pm:  Woke up from my nap.  Daaaaaang, I must have been tired.  Ate some cheese & crackers (minus the cheese because Addison stole it all from my plate).

4:30pm:  After 45 minutes of making ourselves presentable and packing a diaper bag, we left the house.  Temper tantrum #1 occurred in the garage when Addison wanted to let go of my hand and run down the driveway. 

5pm:  I wait in the car with Addison to avoid the exhausting process of shopping with a toddler.  After a few minutes (around the same amount of time it takes to enter a store with Addison), Steve exits a nearby home superstore with a new 12-quart stock pot – SCORE!  This is an exciting purchase in the lives of parents.

5:30pm:  Temper tantrum #2 coincides with the start of Mass.  This is going to be interesting.

6:00pm:  Imaginarily pat myself on the back for influencing the teen behind me to practice abstinence as Addison slaps my face with both hands and yanks my necklace.  You’re welcome, young lady.

7pm:  Pushing bedtime, we make a pit stop at the local frozen yogurt joint to stuff our faces with goodness.  Justifications include rewarding Addison’s good behavior, supporting main street business, and holding us over until dinner.  

It Goes Something Like This...

Stranger:  "What do you do for a living?"
Me:  "I'm a stay at home mom."
S:  Oh that's great.  You must get so bored though.
Me:  (::blank stare::)  Yup