January All Year Long: Weekend Review: Getting Ice Cream Wasted

We've been preoccupied lately with helping my parents prepare to sell their house that we have not really done much with the kids. Yesterday, MD and I decided to go with the flow.
No plans.
Open to anything.
That flow lead us to a chill day which turned out to be one of the best days lately.

The day started out just like a normal day. Woke up. Fed kids breakfast.
Went upstairs to wake up MD (Lucky him...he's not a morning person).
But then something happened. I laid down for only a second. Next thing I know I was fully under the blankets ready for an early nap. It isn't unusual for me to want to take a nap...all. the. time. But what was different was that MD got up and took over with the kids, without any discussion leaving me to rest peacefully.

When I woke up, I was amazed that I woke up on my own, without any screaming or crying or someone asking me for something. I found the kids out in the front yard having popsicles and learning to make paper airplanes with their daddy. Their favorite one turned out to be a plane lacking a tail...i didn't ask why. I just found it awesome. Why did I never think to make paper airplanes with the kids???

Do you want to know what was more awesome? Not even 10 minutes after I woke from my restful slumber was it time for the kids to nap. Are you kidding me? First I got to take a nap without restrictions and now the kids were going to be snoozing leaving me with an extra hour or two of peace and quiet. Was this some kind of weird do-over Mother's day? Because all I asked for on that day was to take a nap followed by a couple hours to relax.

My body and brain has gotten used to always being busy so I began to get restless to say the least. As soon as my kiddos woke up I buckled them into the car and took them on our weekly adventure for something new. This time we headed to Ghiradelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop.

I was a little apprehensive taking them to eat somewhere especially in such a small place. If you've read my previous post about my experience with taking the kiddos out to eat, you would understand why. We got through it quite well, although not as long as I would have liked. My son seems to be turning into a homebody nowadays. Always saying "i want to go home now". But overall its was still fun. The only thing I would've done differently was to bring some baby wipes for sticky hands and faces...and clothes and hair, etc... It would have been a lot easier than having to ask the cashier for my own package of napkins for head-to-toe wipe downs.

And that was it. They went swimming afterwards, ate dinner, and went to bed. But I was totally happy and satisfied. Not just because it was the most relaxing day I've had in a long time, but that I continue to work on my goals (for today it was trying something new with the kids every weekend) and moving steadily ahead in pursuit of happiness, balance, and being a better mommy.

Sunday didn't seem like a big deal from the outside. It was just paper airplanes, ice cream, naps, and keeping cool...but if you think about it, the little things are a big deal to a little kid. Being able to slow down and have fun with your parents' full attention is happiness to a child. I hope to have more days like this.