"So, what do you kids want to play?"
I don’t get out of the house much these days. I have the weekly grocery and/or Vital Supplies trip, visits to the park when the weather is nice, and the occasional oddball appointment where I have to take all three children without help and I end up wishing I were back home, possibly crying. Other than that, walking the few hundred feet to the mailbox is the outside the house highlight of my day.
When a college friend recently invited me to her home for a couple hours, I took her up on it. She has a daughter a little over a year old, which would make our interaction a playdate except that none of our children are capable of playing together. The best we can hope for is they play near each other so we can keep an eye on everyone, but not so close that they’re constantly stealing each other’s toys. I believe my friend is, like too many stay-at-home parents including myself, starved for human interaction with her intellectual peers instead of the children we spend our days with who always manage to get their way in spite of their mental deficiencies. I also think she wants her daughter to spend time around Abbie in the hopes that she’ll pick up big girl habits, specifically walking since her girl refuses to give up cruising. I don’t think she realizes that Abbie’s motivation for walking is so she can quickly access forbidden objects on countertops and other high places.
Getting to her house was a challenge, and not just because I burn an eighth of a tank of gas driving to her. I couldn’t find a good time and day to make the journey. Mornings are the best time because the kids nap in the afternoon and our spouses are generally home in the evening, which solves the human interaction problem. A weekend trip is less than optimal since our spouses are theoretically home. Monday mornings don’t work well for me since I spend that morning cleaning up the house from all the projects I started but never finished over the weekend. Tuesday and Thursday mornings I have set aside for meetings. Friday mornings I’m preparing projects for the weekend, plus I have faint hope that I might be able to attend some garage sales. That leaves Wednesday as the only suitable day assuming I don’t have any doctor’s visits or vet appointments.* With that in mind, yesterday I loaded everyone into the car and left the squalor of our three young child home for the relative cleanliness of a one young child.
The playdate, for lack of a better word, was mostly uneventful. We had grand designs on letting the kids play outside while we paid minimal attention, grateful for the break in routine, but those hopes evaporated as the rain hit my windshield during the drive. Instead we stayed cooped inside like most every day, except our children had different company, and my children had a new set of toys to drool on. The twins spent their time rolling on the floor, perhaps appreciating the long, unencumbered runways of her more spacious house. They also enjoyed the lack of a dog barking at every suspicious squirrel and hovering over them waiting for someone to spit-up. Abbie spent her time pushing every toy button, turning every book page, and grabbing every almost-out-of-reach item.
We stayed through lunch. Feeding the twins away from home is much like feeding them at home since they still eat the same thing from the same bottle everywhere. Abbie tends to get more distracted and insolent during meals away from home though, especially if chicken nuggets aren’t involved. I should say, especially if fried chicken nuggets aren’t involved since our host lovingly baked homemade chicken nuggets that Abbie refused to eat, even with ketchup. She even refused the fresh baked, homemade cookies (snickerdoodles) we offered, throwing them to the non-existent dog. Fortunately I was prepared for this bout of finickiness with the yogurt and steamed vegetables I brought from home. Plus, it’s not like she refused everything offered by our host; she ate Goldfish and a little soda pop.
We left right after lunch and right before naptime. I had to play the radio really loud the entire drive home to ensure that at least Abbie’s naptime didn’t start in the car. Things could have gone easier, but it was nice to get out of the house and escape my rut for a day. We’ll have to visit again, probably on a Wednesday.
* Note to self: I must make a vet appointment for the dog.
When a college friend recently invited me to her home for a couple hours, I took her up on it. She has a daughter a little over a year old, which would make our interaction a playdate except that none of our children are capable of playing together. The best we can hope for is they play near each other so we can keep an eye on everyone, but not so close that they’re constantly stealing each other’s toys. I believe my friend is, like too many stay-at-home parents including myself, starved for human interaction with her intellectual peers instead of the children we spend our days with who always manage to get their way in spite of their mental deficiencies. I also think she wants her daughter to spend time around Abbie in the hopes that she’ll pick up big girl habits, specifically walking since her girl refuses to give up cruising. I don’t think she realizes that Abbie’s motivation for walking is so she can quickly access forbidden objects on countertops and other high places.
Getting to her house was a challenge, and not just because I burn an eighth of a tank of gas driving to her. I couldn’t find a good time and day to make the journey. Mornings are the best time because the kids nap in the afternoon and our spouses are generally home in the evening, which solves the human interaction problem. A weekend trip is less than optimal since our spouses are theoretically home. Monday mornings don’t work well for me since I spend that morning cleaning up the house from all the projects I started but never finished over the weekend. Tuesday and Thursday mornings I have set aside for meetings. Friday mornings I’m preparing projects for the weekend, plus I have faint hope that I might be able to attend some garage sales. That leaves Wednesday as the only suitable day assuming I don’t have any doctor’s visits or vet appointments.* With that in mind, yesterday I loaded everyone into the car and left the squalor of our three young child home for the relative cleanliness of a one young child.
The playdate, for lack of a better word, was mostly uneventful. We had grand designs on letting the kids play outside while we paid minimal attention, grateful for the break in routine, but those hopes evaporated as the rain hit my windshield during the drive. Instead we stayed cooped inside like most every day, except our children had different company, and my children had a new set of toys to drool on. The twins spent their time rolling on the floor, perhaps appreciating the long, unencumbered runways of her more spacious house. They also enjoyed the lack of a dog barking at every suspicious squirrel and hovering over them waiting for someone to spit-up. Abbie spent her time pushing every toy button, turning every book page, and grabbing every almost-out-of-reach item.
We stayed through lunch. Feeding the twins away from home is much like feeding them at home since they still eat the same thing from the same bottle everywhere. Abbie tends to get more distracted and insolent during meals away from home though, especially if chicken nuggets aren’t involved. I should say, especially if fried chicken nuggets aren’t involved since our host lovingly baked homemade chicken nuggets that Abbie refused to eat, even with ketchup. She even refused the fresh baked, homemade cookies (snickerdoodles) we offered, throwing them to the non-existent dog. Fortunately I was prepared for this bout of finickiness with the yogurt and steamed vegetables I brought from home. Plus, it’s not like she refused everything offered by our host; she ate Goldfish and a little soda pop.
We left right after lunch and right before naptime. I had to play the radio really loud the entire drive home to ensure that at least Abbie’s naptime didn’t start in the car. Things could have gone easier, but it was nice to get out of the house and escape my rut for a day. We’ll have to visit again, probably on a Wednesday.
* Note to self: I must make a vet appointment for the dog.
posted by Matt at
10:18 PM
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