Jill and I took our kids on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Borders Bookstore to attend Elmo's birthday party on Saturday.
We didn't find out until we got there that Elmo would only be making appearances at "select Borders locations", and the Borders that we went to was one of the ones that he would not be stopping at. That was a bummer. But the kids got to listen to some Sesame Street Music, had an Elmo book read to them and played some Elmo themed tames. They also got "Elmo Juice". That was the highlight of Reagan's day.
Thanks to Aunt Katie for the new Elmo & Abby purse. It's now Reagan's "must have accessory" of the season.
Another accessory (we are hoping will go out of fashion this summer) is Reagan's pacifier. It is certainly going to have to be gone before the new baby comes. However, later in the day on Saturday I had to snap this picture. Nick and I were driving and we heard Reagan doing a sneaky sort of giggle from the backseat of the car. When I turned around I saw that she had managed to fit two binky's in her mouth. We all thought it was pretty funny.
The major realization I had that day was that once my new baby is born my social life is dead. My cousin Melinda had mentioned how difficult it was to take two children out of the house (especially when one of the children is in the child carrier and one child is mobile). I had not thought of it until this point. But after Melinda pointed this out to me I really opened my eyes and I know that I am in deep trouble.
Reagan is in constant motion. She hates holding my hand. Even with two hands free I often have a hard time keeping her near me.
On Saturday Reagan ran willy-nilly through the bookstore & made several attempts to run away in the parking lot. At lunch she threw a tantrum and ended up tossing a plate: frisbee-style across the table. Thank goodness Jill has "Mom-reflexes" and was able to deftly catch the plate. The cherry on top of all of it was when she picked up a rock in the parking lot and then threw it AT my car when she realized I was going to put her in her car seat. Yes, it appears I will be home-bound for quite some time after the little bambino gets here. My only hope is that I still have several months before the baby gets here- but what are the odds that Reagan will mature and demure in 5-ish months time?
I still love the girl with all of my heart and wouldn't trade her for anything!
One solution might be to get Reagan an older/responsible sibling? Reagan won't willingly hold my hand. But she was more than happy to hold Thayne's hand in the parking lot.
Does anyone have an older child they would like to lend me for day trips? Requirements: must be potty trained, be patient, have zero attitude, never throw tantrums, be able to entertain themselves, not be fussy when it is near naptime, and basically act like an adult. Do you think I am asking too much? :)
6 comments:
I would lend you my 4 year old niece, but I don't think my sister would go for it.
I bet Reagan is just going though a tantrum phase, that she will grow out of sometime.
I believe in parenting by trickery. I used to tell Thayne he needed to hold my hand to keep ME safe. Once I had Benson, I would tell Thayne that the baby carrier was too heavy for me and I needed him to hold the other side. He felt so big and important.
And, you can still have a social life with two kids--it just changes. I mostly visit people's houses where my kids are more easily contained instead of going out, except of course when a friend invites me and I get up the gumption to try it! Thanks again!
LOL. You are so funny. It is hard but sooooooo worth it!! I do like the carseat idea from Jill. That's a good one! Kids love to feel helpful. It won't be as bad as you think. You just have to figure out what works for you.
Melinda
You will be surprised! Somehow it works out. And it really isn't so bad. Most of the time. Still exhausting, but not so bad. Alyssa was still pretty little when I had Krysta. My best advice is to start teaching Reagan how to buckle herself up, or at least put her straps on. It's a huge time saver when you have to buckle two in.
The 2 binkies at once is hilarious! What a cute kid.
This is Jill's sister, Tara. Been reading your blog for awhile. Finally decided to comment when I saw one of my favorite little boys (Thayne) on your blog. It made my day! He's pretty sweet, isn't he?!
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