Have any of you moms with young children ever felt like your life is like a video game; your objective being to simply navigate your kids in such a fashion that they don't get run over by cars, walk off with strangers in the mall or ingest something they shouldn't? Phew. It's exhausting! I recall age 3 to 4 being the most challenging with Flo, and it seems like Joe is following that pattern. He has a mind of his own, and a real stubborn streak. He's now rejecting the stroller, which makes taking him anywhere with large crowds somewhat of an anxiety-ridden experience for me. But, this too shall pass… right? And soon I'll be missing the cuteness of toddlerhood… The question is, will I miss it enough to embark upon a third Petite experiment? Not sure.
Darren has been working at home for three days now, and I swear we already both have more energy. It's rather refreshing. He doesn't seem like he'll have any problem keeping to a schedule. He's been setting his alarm for 6:30am, and starting work at 7am. He used to have to get up at 4am to get to DC by 7am. Ya, I would say that's a real improvement.
We're going to Ontario this weekend to visit Darren's family. Since we moved to Maryland, we haven't gotten up to Canada, mainly due to the time it takes to drive there, and the expense involved. Darren's parents live in New Brunswick, Canada, about twenty hours away, and unfortunately haven't seen our kids (or us) in over two years. It's kind of a bummer, but I guess it's the price we pay for all being so spread out. Flo asks about her grandparents all the time and why she doesn't see them anymore, so at some point, we're going to have to save up some time and money and make the twenty hour trip, but unfortunately it can't be for awhile. Thankfully, Darren's sister and brother only live about seven hours away in Ontario, so that's a doable long weekend, and we're looking forward to going. Darren's thirty-sixth birthday is on Saturday, so it will be nice for him to be with family.
In a twist of fate, I, the mother who cared for a child with severe eczema, has now developed eczema myself. And it's in the worst place; right on the back of my upper thigh, so ever time I scratch, it looks like I'm scratching my butt. Sexy, eh? It's insanely irritating, and I've yet to find anything that helps. Ugh!
Joe didn't nap today, and we thought we were set for an early bedtime. I read to Flo and she was asleep by 8:30pm. It's past 10pm now, and I can still hear Darren telling Joe to get back in bed upstairs. So much for some alone time. We were going to catch up on all the American Idol episodes we've recorded, but now we're both too tired. C'est la vie!