What A Great Day!

Today truly was a wonderful, great day! I will admit I was rushed when I got up this morning, and I even opted to savor a few extra minutes in bed in lieu of taking a shower (even though I had planned on washing my hair… I just could not get my eyes to stay open!).

It was 8:20am (I know, might seem late to some people, and it probably is, but I like to sleep – especially when I don’t do it that well. I’m still in practice, you know.) when I finally coaxed my brain to release my body from under the cozy, cozy covers. Zack had to be at school by 9:15am, which meant leaving the house no later than 9:05 (luckily we are only 8 minutes away from school), but both boys were still in their jammies. In fact, so was I! Will had at least gotten Zack’s clothes laid out for him, but I had to switch the pants because if he plays outside at school (which I knew they would today because it was just gorgeous!) he needs to wear jeans or he’ll rip holes in the knees of his sweats. He definitely prefers the sweat pants (and hey, I don’t blame him), but we are slowly getting used to wearing jeans with real big boy snaps and zippers.

So, in a determined, stern, not quite going crazy whirlwind I sunscreened the top half of Zack; had him finish getting himself dressed; threw on some old yoga capris, a t-shirt, sweatshirt and flip-flops to get myself dressed; gulped down a half cup of juice; stuffed the mini, canvas bag-I-take-everywhere with Brayden’s snacks, milk, water, diaper, wipes & my cell phone; hauled everything downstairs to start the car; ran back upstairs to get Brayden dressed; led the boys in cleaning up their toys; got jackets, socks and shoes on; led the crew downstairs, hopped into the car, buckled everyone in, and we were off to drop Zack off at school. Amazingly enough, we were all happy and somewhat fed, hydrated, and dressed! Phew!

We made it to school on time, and then Brayden and I were even early to our Mommy group playdate. As the first ones there, Brayden got the pick of the “good” toys (they’re all good, but when you get to choose first, they all seem that much better), and we took a stroll up the street (our friend lives on a wonderful cul-de-sac) while the little kids scooted along on push toys (and my back and legs got a bit of a workout). Once more Mommies and kids started to show up, we headed into her backyard (a-MAY-zing!) to play and snack in the sun. It was indeed a gorgeous day!

After playdate, we headed home, I got a little bit of lunch into Brayden, put him down for a nap (he’s been resisting going down for naps & bed lately – another post, another day…), opened up the windows to get some fresh air into the house, and sat down with another cup of coffee to relax for a minute before getting some work done. Just before 3:00pm, the house got really dark and I could see the clouds rolling in, the wind blowing the pine trees, and the smell of coming rain. I love the smell of rain – it is one of the best smells in the whole world! Aaaahhhhh….  And, as the weather man predicted, it rained.

Back from picking up Zack from school, and my car having gotten a slight rinse from the rain, it’s now 3:30pm and we are waiting for our friends to come over for a quick afternoon playdate. They come, we play (yes, all of us – we are not at the point yet, or shall I say, the kids are not at the point yet where we can completely leave them alone – and they don’t leave us alone, which I am fine with because I love playing trains and trucks and tractors), we all eat a little dinner, they go home. Brayden, Zack and I then make a quick birthday card for some other friends, and head over to their house for a short visit and to wish them happy birthday. We get a tour of their new (rental) house, the boys play, I get them in their jammies, we drive the 2 min back home, and it’s milk, teeth and bed. Brayden fusses for a short bit, but he is now sound asleep in his little, yellow alphabet jammies. Heaven.

Yes, it was a great day! I would gladly repeat this Monday anyday.

Sleepovers and Playdates

WOW, is it really Tuesday night (almost Wednesday now) already? I started this post Sunday morning, but then “life” got in the way of me actually finishing and posting it! Brayden’s been fighting a little stomach bug the last couple of days, and last night (hopefully) was the worst of it. I’m praying that tonight he sleeps peacefully, now that it’s all out of his system (literally).

So, pretend it’s Sunday…

8:30am this morning, my eyes barely open, I look at the clock. POP! I’m up and out of bed. “Time to get up,” I tell Will as I gently open the curtains. “We have to go get Zack.”

“Why?” he asks.

“M and T are coming over at 9:15am!” (*names kept private*)

Zack had a sleepover at the neighbor’s house right next door. They have 3 kids, their youngest, also a boy, a few years older than Zack. They had been playing together for several hours yesterday afternoon while Brayden was sleeping and Will and I cleaned out the garage (I must say it is sooo nice to be able to park my car in the garage again – just before winter!). Will and I had a party to go to, and we were invited to bring along our boys, but I thought, how nice would it be to just have one at the party? I walked over and told the neighbor I had a proposal, to which she could say “no” if it wouldn’t work for her and her family.

Lucky for me, she was happily open to hosting a sleepover. We both double-checked with Zack, just to make sure he would be okay sleeping somewhere other than at home, and almost before we could finish asking him, he was excitedly nodding his head “yes!” He has spent the night away from home, without Mommy or Daddy, a few times before, so I knew he would be fine.

I slipped back home and packed a quick overnight bag with jammies, pull-up, toothbrush, blanket, pillow, 2 buddies (Doggie & Teddy – yes, those are the unique names that Zack himself gave them), and clothes for the morning. Back next door, I gave instructions to Zack, the neighbor, and once more to Zack. I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him to have fun and I’d see him in the morning.

About and hour later, Will, Brayden and I were off to our party. It seemed oddly surreal to not have Zack with us, especially because it was so much quieter in the car! We arrived at the party and were greeted by happy friends, all wondering where Zack was? We told everyone he was at a sleepover, and most people responded similarly with “oh, he’s such a big boy!” Yes, he is…

As the party began to die down (it was pretty mellow to start with), and the time started getting closer and closer to being way past Brayden’s bed time, we agreed it was time to go. We changed Brayden into his jammies so he could fall asleep for the short 15 min car ride, buckled him into his car seat, and drove home.

Walking into our dark, quiet house, I again had a surreal feeling. It was so peaceful; I welcomed the silence, but still there was a slight emptiness. I knew Zack was safe and sound next door (and hopefully sound asleep) so I just whispered good night to him one more time and blew him a traveling kiss.

Aside from knowing that we had two other little friends coming over for a play date in just 45 min, what really got me up and out of bed was wanting to give Zack a big, giant, good morning hug! As soon as I was dressed (it really doesn’t take long to throw on a comfy old pair of house sweats – not always proud of this, but hey, it’s real) and Will was up and taking care of Brayden, I bounced down our front steps, navigated across our front yard, and knocked on the neighbors door. Zack was still in his full-footed, camouflage jammies, playing space Lego’s (or something of that sort). I asked how his night was, and in his usual 4-year old response, he said “good.”

I got him dressed and his makeshift bed on the floor somewhat cleaned up. I re-packed his overnight bag and got the full report from the neighbor. “He was perfect,” were her exact words. Wow! I was so proud of him, he really is growing up!

I knew he had fun because he didn’t want to leave. He kept wanting to show me “one more thing.” I finally got him out the door when we could see his friend’s car (well, actually, the parent’s car…) pulling up into our driveway. He was so excited to share that he was just coming home from a big boy sleepover. And then, of course, he asked when he could have his next one.

How old were your kids when they had their first sleepover?