Always Trust Your Instincts!

Day Care – Day 1

No issues! Seriously. I’m still not sure how it happened – except to say that I have to start trusting my instincts because apparently I’m onto something over here…..

John and I dropped the girls off in the morning together. We had them go find a few toys that they seemed to enjoy playing with when we took them in for 2 short visits the week before – than had them sit down at the table where the rest of the children were playing. I gave them both a quick kiss good-bye and we left. That was it. No tears, no whining, no running to the door like we just abandoned our off spring. Totally amazing!

The thing that I had not anticipated was all of this being harder on John and me than it was on them. Honestly a shocking revelation for the both of us – being the stoic individuals that we are. You want someone with cold blood? Marry a German or a Korean (Yes – we are so lucky that we found each other!).

But yes, I had spent the day wondering and worrying if my little half-breeds were doing OK. I got my answer when I went to pick them up at 5PM. I had prepared myself for tears of overwhelming joy – of which I got none. When I walked into the room they both looked over at me with these looks that basically said: “Oh, hey! I’m glad to see you but I hope you’re not seriously trying to take me home right now. I’m sort of busy over here, Mom.” Nice my little offspring, very nice….

I spent the next 20 minutes bundling up my kids. It was a scene straight out of 'A Christmas Story' expect you have to add in another kid, a stroller, and a giant plastic stroller cover (which I do believe will end up being a pain in my existence), a baby bag and now one sweaty mother who was exhausted from having an emotion for the past 9 hours that wasn’t ‘calm’ or ‘anger so uncontrollable there is steam visibly shooting out of my ears’. I started to head for the door only to look up and find my husband standing there – and again I’m hit with a couple of different emotions we won't mention in my PG-13 blog – but ended back at being ‘calm’ yet still sweaty. I mean – who really wants to head out on a 21 degree day for a 10-block walk if they really don’t have to? Right?

The day being over – the night was just beginning! Our little Einstein’s, full of exhaustion and a newly found independence, proceeded to give me a run for my money. I sent John out to search for food (I mean who wants too cook after the day I just had – not me for sure!), while I started feeding the girls some staples of their diet. That being YoBaby yogurt and peas.

I’ve always encouraged the girls to self feed and lately to try and use utensils. John always wants to do what it easiest for us - and avoiding the huge mess that follows when the girls attempt to feed themselves falls right into that category. Last night both of the girls REFUSSED to let me feed them. Even though I was completely amused at this little defiance the logical side of me knows the mess I make when I try and feed them yogurt – I cannot fathom the aftermath of this one. So I opted to let them feed themselves their own peas - and then shoved spoonfuls of yogurt down their throats where they weren't looking.

Tantrums squashed, but the war wasn’t over. Sidney quickly got sick of using her spoon and starting just picking up her bowl and dumping the peas right into her mouth - and down her bib, into her chair, onto the floor, bouncing every where and leaving a little 'butter' trail every where the eye could see. Upon John’s return from foraging for food (OK – it was Yang’s Chinese food to the rescue again) an epic battle ensued. It was the right to be fed vs the right to feed themselves. John soon raised a white flag and let them just have at it. Parents 1 – Children 1.

So after baths, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, hair combing, lotion-ing, pajama-ing, de-toy-ing and story time - we put the girls down for a long winters nap – glad that the day was over with little tears, much joy and a night of Tivo to look forward to.

*Sigh*

We’ll see how Day Care - Day 2 goes……