Playdates

Even though I work, my sitter sometimes has to have the day off, which I actually think is really fun because then I get to play with the kids.  I have a lot of friends who stay home so we almost always have plans and we have a fun playdate with one (or several) of Munchkin Girl's little friends.

Well, last week my sitter had a day off.  The only problem is that every single one of my friends was busy!  I seriously almost felt panicky, like what the hell are we going to do?  Of course I could think of plenty of things I needed to do, like run to Target for diapers because they're cheaper than at the grocery store.  I also had a Disney Movie Club that I need to return and take to the Post Office.  Sounds like a blast, right?

I decided I wasn't going to waste this day doing something boring like errands.  I began to open up my mind to the possiblity of going somewhere...by ourselves!!  I know stay at home moms are faced with this dilemma every day.  I've heard my friends talk about it.   But most of my friends also do literally manage to have something planned with someone every day.  It's just what people do, right?  Even Munchkin Girl seemed confused about the idea of going somewhere without her friends.  She kept saying, "But who ELSE will be there Mommy?" 

It just kind of never occurred to me that Munchkin Girl and Little Buddy could be each other's playmates for the day.  Really, Little Buddy just started walking well within the past few months (he's 16 months).  Plus, he is a total pain in the ass with the stroller.  I see kids all the time that are his age, riding peacefully in the stroller, just looking around and taking it all in.  Not Little Buddy.  He wants to be out, roaming free.  Plus of course he thinks I need his help pushing the stroller.  But then Munchkin Girl wants a turn pushing the stroller and the next thing I know, the three of us will be fighting and pushing and grunting until the stroller accidentally gets pushed directly into someone's legs.  People tend to frown upon having the stroller slam into the back of their legs.  Go figure!

I decided to take them to a local farmstead that has cows, pigs, playground etc.  Normally, a stroller would be the answer but I knew it would be end up being terrible. Little Buddy would whine until I let him out.  Then Munchkin Girl would want to be pushed instead and I'd end up with her in the stroller and him on my hip.  I decided to think outside the box.  I supposed I could let them walk/carry them.  But then I knew once they got tired I would end up with a kid on each hip.  Suddenly I had a "Tadaaaa" moment.   I went out to the garage and came up with this plan:



We had bought these at garage sales and normally we just take them for rides in the neighborhood but I figured why not?  They love riding in them and Little Buddy NEVER fusses while he has his steering wheel.  So, I held my breath while I tried loading them in my car.  They fit!  Off we went with a bag full of snacks and two huge cars that are certainly not meant for trips to places like a zoo.

However, we had a great time!  The cars were PERFECT!!  They could scramble out of them whenever I told them it was time to get out.  They didn't fuss AT ALL!!  I could really focus on the kids and talking to them about stuff instead of being distracted by talking to other moms.  The kids really played together and enjoyed each other...frankly I couldn't believe it!!  We spent about 20 peaceful minutes feeding the fish handfuls of food (How do those fish not die of overfeeding, seriously???)  Anyway, don't get me wrong.  I LOVE playdates and having a change to talk to my other mom friends.  And it's great for the kids to be able to play with other kids and socialize.  But I was really shocked at how peaceful and fun it was to go for a big outing with just the three of us.  We probably won't do it every week, but the next time at least I won't feel panicked! 


 

The Joys of Grocery Shopping

Saturday is usually grocery store day for me.  Today Hubby was going to watch the kids so I could go alone because I had a huge list.  The only teensy problem was that he is on call today.  We always have high hopes that he won't have to go in on Saturdays.  We convince ourselves that he's not really working since he's only on call.  I don't know why we do this since it's almost never the case.  I guess we're optimists.

Anyway, today was no different.  Right on my way out the door, his pager starts buzzing.  Sure enough, it's the ER calling with some orthopedic emergency.  The kids are coming with me.  I will admit that I spend way more at the grocery store than I need to.  I go the expensive store for 2 reasons:

1.  It's VERY close to my house
2.  They have these really cool shopping carts that they don't have anywhere else.  Not only can they both fit, they both have steering wheels!  I wish every store, especially Target would get these carts.


So anyway, I load them up in the cart.  They both drive very aggressively and the old folks in the store smile at us everywhere we go.  The kids eat up all the attention and they swing their little steering wheels even faster when they realize people are looking at them.  One person asks me if they are twins.  (They are 3 and 1, almost 2 full years apart, but Little Buddy is huge and Munchkin Girl is tiny).  She puts her arm around him repeatedly.  He puts up with her attention for awhile but finally starts to push her away as she invades his space. 

The only problem with the shopping cart is that it is seriously HUGE.  I keep running into things and knocking cans over.  Oops!  Of course it's 10:00 so they're starving and start begging me for food.  I decide granola bars are a good choice.  Soon they are both covered in chocolate.  It's all over their hands, their faces.  Crap!  I forgot wipes!  I take the cart over to the baby isle and open up some wipes and clean the kids up.  Now I have 2 wrappers, 2 dirty wipes, and the crumbly remnants of 2 granola bars.  Why don't they have trash cans handy in the grocery store?  I shove everything in the side pocket of my purse.  Yuck!!

We finally make it to check out and everyone around us is staring and smiling.  Munchkin Girl is very aware of this and starts singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star just to show off.  Everyone continues to smile.  Even the lady scanning our groceries can barely concentrate and keeps talking to them and asking questions.  Munchkin Girl looks at me and says, "I love you Mommy."  Wow, she's laying it on thick now!  We walk out of the store and both kids wave at their adoring fans. 

When I pull up at home I'm faced with a dilemma.  I have about 20 grocery bags to bring inside but what to do with the kids?  Hubby is still at the hospital in the Operating Room.  I can't leave them outside to play in the street.  I can't really leave them inside totally unsupervised either.  Plus I really need to leave the door open so then they'll just come outside anyway.  I open up the Graham crackers and give them each one.  It's probably best if they stay in their car seats while I put everything away.  They whine a little at having to stay in their seats, but they aren't too bad.  I finally get all the sacks on the counter and now begins the real work.  Time to put everything away.  This sounds easy right?  Well, look at my competition.