Friday, March 12, 2010

A change of season

Last weekend marked the first signs of spring. The temperature on Saturday reached 54 degrees and the high on Sunday was a few degrees shy of 60. That meant outdoor play for the girls. We follow the parenting school of Wear Them Out. Actually, Rich monitored the outdoor play sessions while I cleaned inside and attempted to take care of the never ending piles of laundry. (And just between you and me, I only like to be outside when it is 70 degrees or warmer.)

On Saturday morning, I needed to make a trip to the post office so I decided to bring Em with me for a little one-on-one time. The entire time we were preparing to leave she could not stop talking about going to the post office with Mommy and while there she kept saying, "I am having some special alone time with Mommy. What are Allie and Anna doing with Daddy? Are they have special time with Daddy?"

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Of course, our trip in and out of the post office lasted approximately five minutes and I felt so bad when the big alligator tears appeared as we were leaving. Not a temper tantrum or fighting with me just crying because she knew that our special alone time was nearing an end. I felt bad so we stopped at Dunkin Donuts on the way home. How can you be sad if you are eating a chocolate munchkin? (I want to note here that Em insisted on eating peas with her pancakes earlier that morning. That offsets the munchkin. Right?)

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We attempted a shopping trip to the outlet mall very late Sunday afternoon but it was a mob scene so we did not stay for long. Rich had allowed Em some free range toddler shopping time and all three wanted to walk with us instead of riding in the strollers. It was just too crowded and would have taken a half hour to get back to the van, which normally would not have been that much of a problem but Em had mentioned having to go to the bathroom and my attempt at bringing her into the public restroom did not work so I wanted to return to the van and the comfort of the froggy potty as soon as possible.

As we pulled onto our street, Em started crying hysterically because she wanted to "go to more stores." {Insert sigh here.} A girl after my own heart.

Okay, here's a tip for you: If you don't have a sandbox handy, the dead mulch and dirt around trees is a great substitute.

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Silly Anna!

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2 comments:

Rock, Paper, Scissors said...

Last picture is ADORABLE!!!!! (I am usually a lurker just looking at your sweet girls)

janineb said...

so sweet :)
quick question - are you and your husband conscious of scheduling "alone" time with each child? Or do you just wing it? How do you make sure each child is getting the right amount of one on one?