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yesterday i had planned to take beth to a local farm where you get to look at pigs and chickens and cows and sheep and other farmy animals. all morning i talked up this farm to her, expressing a great deal of enthusiasm to see these animals and the baby cow and sheep and pigs that we would get to also see. beth became excited for the trip to the farm. the 25 minute drive to this farm was filled with exclamations of "let's go find the aminals!" "cows!" "chickens! (bok, bok, bok)" and "horsies!". excitement for our venture to the farm began to swell within me, knowing the joy my daughter would find in seeing these animals we had made such a big deal about all morning.
we arrived as scheduled and pulled into the half-filled parking lot. i put on the moby (which takes a good 5 minutes) and loaded my smaller child in said baby carrier. again, i implored beth to jump for joy as we had now arrived at our much anticipated destination. we walked toward the entrance. on our way we pass the cows who are eating. the fun begins...
...and ends immediately when we go to pay for our tickets and find this:
what?! i look for a sign that displays their hours - surely this is a mistake. i see one and squint as i read it: Monday and Tuesday - CLOSED. i stand there in disbelief as if one of the workers will telepathically know what i have done to praise their farm with such great effort. i think that if they know this, they will come and open the gates for us. but instead, i now have to find a way to explain to my over-zealous child why we cannot go in... why the door is closed.
i do my best. i fail. she goes to the door and knocks on it politely, but firmly, requesting they open the door. these are the exact words she uses as she pounds her fist against the wood. i stand there letting her do this, hoping that someone, anyone will hear the desperate pleas of a two year old and let us in to see the animals. however, this idea also fails.
i see a playground nearby. i am hoping for some sort of redemption. surely a slide will be just as fun as seeing the baby sheep, despite the fact that we go on slides nearly every.day. this one is a different (and unfortunately smaller) slide. in my sweetest voice i persuade her to walk toward the playground.
as we again pass the cows near the entrance on our way to the park, i hear voices from within the farm walls. high pitched squeals and laughter and an explanation of how the cows are fed from a deeper voice. and there, not 30 yards from us on the other side of the cow pen, is a large group of people walking inside the farm gates. children and parents pointing at the cows, little bodies being lifted into the air so as to get a better view. beth of course sees this group of people and again asks me to go in to look at the animals. my disappointment now turns to anger. i wonder if we are getting punked. but no, we are not. we have just found ourselves caught in a double bust. farm closed, punch #1. group of people including children having such great fun inside of closed farm right in front of our view, punch #2. i am defeated.
we make it to the playground and play for quite some time as i put off walking back to the car knowing we will again have to pass the farm on our way and i will again have to try to explain the closed doors. two other moms and their children join us at the park. i notice their cars parked next to mine. eventually we walk back and instead of making the 25 minute drive home, meet daddy for lunch, another failed attempt at redemption.
i am grateful the park wore her out enough to sleep on the bench through the entire lunch, and that she forgot about our extraordinarily anti-climactic trip after waking up.
we will shoot for the farm on friday.
and today? well, today was not a bust but a total success. more on that to come.
so it's my last week home with these two. i'd by lying if i didn't say i was having some anxiety about going back to work. i try not to think about it. i try to remember that it's going to be okay, the same way it was the first time i did this. but then i look at them and can't help suddenly hating my job. actually, i take that back. i don't hate my job. i like my job. i'm good at my job. what i hate is that it takes me away from them everyday.
so to distract ourselves we have big plans for the week. today i'm getting things done. things i said i would do the entire time i was off and never did. but the rest of the week we are having fun. we're just going to stay busy playing and enjoying each other and the beautiful weather we have. and i'm going to keep trying not to think about going back to work next tuesday. yep friends... the countdown has begun.
after 2 1/2 months of being a stay at home mom, and running my errands during the day, i have come to terms with being a part of the geriatric ward. because those are the only people out early in the morning running their errands too! no seriously, 9 out of 10 people at the grocery store have to be at least 87 years old. this isn't the case when i shop after work or on the weekends - that's when everyone else goes out. but on a weekday, btween 7am and noon, i'm telling you, it's like walking through a nursing home that happens to have rows and rows of food for the taking in it too. i tried to get pictures to prove it, but after a lots of disturbed and bothered looks from said older folks and a few failed attempts at clear pictures because i was using my phone camera, i gave up. instead, i took a picture of how i have learned to successfully grocery shop with two children, namely a 2 year old.
give the girl some snacks to eat while sitting in the cart and you're golden. works everytime.
and by the way, i love old people. don't get me wrong. they're entertaining with their "let me stop you and tell you how cute your kids are, then tell you my life story" - ness, or occasional begrudged looks when you shove cookies into your napless, crying toddler's mouth to keep them happy during your we-have-nothing-at-home shopping experience.... i have nothing against old people. i think they're famtastic, really. i just now know that other stay at home moms must shop when the working moms shop. but personally, i like shopping with the geriatric ward. it's a nice change of pace for me.
we had such a good day. really, SUCH a good day. we took beth to the aquarium downtown and she loved it, despite the throngs and mobs of people. (we later learned it was $10 day... who knew? and it would also explain the extra-long line....) she LOVED all the fish and wanted to touch all of them. (nevermind that we let her try - good thing we didn't get ourselves kicked out. that would've really blown everything). after the aquarium we went out to lunch at this awesome mexican place, and even sat outside on the patio because the afternoon gave us just enough warmth to do it. it was perfect. then we headed to grandma and grandpa's house where we had a ragin' party. it was so fun to watch beth get excited about each present. and yes, i caved... the girl is wearing a crown. (for those of you who call my hyporcrite, yes,i know, i've accepted that i am.) she begged me for one at the store - i had to do it! so i gave in. i did not, however, cave to the princess gown she requested for her birthday. but i don't think she missed it - she got spoiled with plenty of other fun things. she wasn't quite sure what to think about all of us singing to her, but she did like the candle and the cake covered in sprinkles made just for her. the rest of us got cupcakes. delish!!! a much needed visit that included dinner at great grandma and grandpa's house topped off our very full day. we all slept good that night. some good friends had also come over the day before and surprised beth with a HUGE bag of birthday goodies and fun things to do outside, including some awesome flower glasses that she would NOT take off. and frankly, i didn't want her to :) does it get any cuter? i mean, c'mon....
happy birthday miss beth!!! i can't believe you're already two. wowsers. i love you :)
do you ever have those moments where you just sit back, look around you, and say, man i'm blessed... i simply couldn't ask for anything more or better than this? that was me, on this day, which also happened to be my birthday. this one is from the sledding venture we took that glorious sunny saturday afternoon.
we had such a good time, and literally, standing atop the hill, watching beth and hank ride down after having gone down myself a few times, i was hit with it: WHAMO. my life is good. right now, my life is really, really good.
and it is.
february was good to me. to us. we found ourselves in february. we found our rhythm and and our place as a family of four. and now i can't imagine it any other way. beth blows my mind each and every day with the new things she says and does - most of it is quite comical and fun to hear ("see ya later birdies!" as she waves to the birds we pass on our walk...) and it's so fun to be around her and talk to her and play with her each day. she grows up more and more everyday - so fast i can't keep up with it! i am so loving my time off work and being able to feel like i am spending quality, un-rushed time at home with her. she really is such a joy and sweet girl. 85% of the time anyway. that other 15% she's just TWO and i get that. but most of the time we're two peas in a pod that love to be together. she's very into doing things "all by self" lately. and it's very cool to watch her take control of her life as best she can and take on the challenge of doing most things by herself. her mind is still a little further ahead than her body - she gets frustrated when she knows what needs to be done, but can't quite get her tiny appendages to coordinate with it. but she tries and succeeds at times and finds such great pride in it. it's so fun for me to watch.
hyde is just a little rockstar. still on a roll with the sleeping-through-the-night thing which i'm incredibly grateful for, and overall a mellow kid. doesn't cry much, other than when his big sister tries to help out by putting the paci in his mouth and instead ends up shoving it halfway down his throat (you can imagine, i'm sure...). he has just multiplied the size of our hearts and consequently the love in our lives. it's awesome. he is going to be a stellar kid, i'm just sure of it.
and hank, well... hank is just the man. and when i say man, i mean the MAN. an amazing dad and even better husband who knows when to give a girl a break without me needing to say a thing. without him i would be lost. i can't express how glad i am that he and i are on this parenthood journey together and there really is no one i'd rather spend my life with. i don't post enough about him, i should be better at that. because he really is the anchor in my life. it doesn't get better than him kids, i'm telling you, it just doesn't.
so yes, my soul is full and i am happy. i take it in everyday and enjoy it. because heaven knows what lies around the corner... but for now, it is carpe diem.
carpe diem all the way
