It's a Tough Day

This week daycare is on vacation (no worries, it’s a scheduled vacation that I’ve known about for a while – not like our last daycare provider who called Friday to say she’d be closed Monday indefinitely), so I’ve been a full-time Mommy this week. That may sound funny to you, seeing as, you know, I’m always a Mom (no matter where I go, there I am) but I don’t honestly feel like one. I work 8-4 most days (except during the summers) and so Silas is at daycare from 7-4; I mommy from 4 until 9:30 or so when he typically goes to bed (and sometimes there’s even a nap in there). Obviously the weekends are different, but I have to say that on the weekends I get exhausted really quickly. By his second nap around 2 p.m. I’m ready for a nap (and sometimes get one).

Since I knew this week was coming, I’ve been trying to plan fun Silas and Mommy activities (since Daddy is still working and going to school until Friday). My schedule looked something like this (yes, I’m a planner) – Monday, Chic-Fil-A for lunch and play in the play area, then Just Add Children (an indoor play area) until they closed or Silas turned into Captain Chaos (i.e., tired lil’ boy); Tuesday, Witte Museum (3-8 they’re free for families and have a good toddler play area); Wednesday, Fantastic Playland (another indoor play area); and Thursday, toddler time at the library and the San Antonio Children’s Museum. Friday we’re leaving for Victoria to visit with Mike’s family for the 4th, so obviously I didn’t plan anything for that day.

Well, let’s see how this is going so far. Monday – we had Chic-Fil-A (Silas really likes their chicken) and we played in the toddler play area. It was pretty cruddy. Most of the stuff didn’t work. The rest of the area was for bigger kids, and when a gaggle of bigger boys came in Silas got pretty uneasy – I would too if I were his size, they were pushing each other and very loud. We left there and went to Just Add Children to find that they changed over to summer hours and are now closed on Monday. I was going to flex the schedule and go to the Children’s Museum when I noticed a little boy in my rearview whose head was resting on the car seat side and whose eyes were slowly closing. It was, after all, by that time, nap time. So we went home instead. Silas slept and then we played toys (my SIL and her husband brought their girls up Sunday and we did a toy exchange – he got some fantastic new gadgets).

This morning (Tuesday) I asked Kelly if she and her daughter wanted to join us at the Witte around 3. Her response was that they had plans and that we should get there way early because by 2:30 the parking lot is full and there’s a line around the place waiting to get in. Silas and I ran errands and grocery shopped, then he napped. I called at 2 and there was already no parking (and it was over 90 degrees) so…we stayed home. Silas napped until 4 anyway. Then we played toys and we cuddlebugged (sitting on the couch arms wrapped around each other and heads snuggled together) during some DVR’d episodes of Olivia (which is his newfound fave).

So tomorrow I don’t know what we’ll do. I’d like to take him out and do something, but it’s hard with his nap schedule. I think my expectations and what my kiddo can handle at 14 months are way out of whack. I had this idea that I should try to be super fun Mommy this week (because I could) but with three two-hour naps during his day (8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.), it’s pretty hard to go anywhere or do much of anything. I would like to go to the Playland tomorrow but it’s open 10-3. We nap 10-12 and 2-4 and there needs to be lunch in there. *Sigh* Perhaps trips are just not destined to be. And toddler story hour? It’s at 10:15. I think my plans are screwed.

And that’s ok. Because right now what I should be doing is enjoying my cuddlebug and playing toys and going outside to find sticks (when it’s not stupid hot out) and playing in the wading pool. Maybe next summer we can do daytrips during daycare’s vacation. But tomorrow I think we may just sleep until we want to and go out if we feel like it (if we’re not too close to nap time).

One thing we have been doing a lot of this week is talking, and that is just fan-tastic. It is amazing to think that this little person is developing preferences and is now able to tell you those preferences by shaking his head no, nodding yes, saying, “Yeah” (we’re working on the s, believe me, I hate “yeah”), and pointing at what he wants when it’s visually available. Sunday Jerry (my BIL) asked him, “Do you want to take a nap?” and he nodded emphatically. And he did. He took a nap. This afternoon he napped and when he was done I heard his little voice, “Ah dun!” Apparently he’s realized that all done can apply to eating AND to napping. At dinner he told the dogs to “go,” drawing out the o and really making the o face. It was awesome. He’s following commands better and actually NOT touching that the first time rather than testing you to see if you really mean it (and I do). The other day I asked him as we were leaving, “Do you want to help me put the dogs up?” (in their crates before we leave). “Yea!” he cried, following me to get the treats then following me to the crates. Today I took pineapple chunks out of the fridge for him and he cried, “Yay!” with a huge grin when he saw them. Boy likes pineapple (as he should since I ate it every day throughout my pregnancy).

He’s just an amazing little person. And I need to keep that in mind. No schedules, no required trips. Hangout. Cuddlebug. Hugs. Play toys. Some sticks. Naps (of course). That’s what we need.