Working Woman

We are so busy. I know that sounds lame because everyone knows that they are busy but we are really BUSY. With both of us working like crazy (which I'm loving every second of it) and trying to fit our work around the boy, we barely have time to talk to each other unless I stay up until all hours of the night or if Super jumps on his fathers head in the morning and wakes him up. With open houses every weekend, showings in between the open houses and all during the week, doing my continuing education and more clients getting on board...and that's just work stuff... I'm beat. I'm very lucky to have some great friends that are there to help us pick up the slack and are willing to do crazy stuff so we can keep up with our schedule.


Then there are days like today. Nothing on the agenda, a free day to just be a mom. It was perfect and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Grout Daddy had an overnight job at Bella's Pizzeria and didn't get home until 6am. Super Destroyer the Noise Maker of the Century woke up to find our guest, Josh, sleeping on the couch after staying at our house to watch him and then working through the night, regrouting the most disgusting floor I've ever seen. Think years of old food, dirt and sludge, mixed with old grout, acid cleaner and rancid water. Every diaper I've ever changed dimmed in comparison (ick, I helped scrape it out earlier in the evening and was thankful when I left). Anyway, kid goes crazy because he wants to play, Josh doesn't even stir at the deafening sound of Elmo's voice but that only makes Super more determined and he tries to wake his dad... I decided we needed to have breakfast out. We went up the street to Chick-Fil-A and shared a chicken biscuit and some hash browns. I was so proud of the big guy. He carried our food (in a bag, of course) to the table without getting sidetracked or dropping it, climbed into a chair and chatted with me while we ate our breakfast (I can't get enough of his babbles). No food fell on the floor, no fits, no wandering away. I did have to remind him to sit on his tush but I'm not splitting hairs. He got two balloons from a nice lady that worked there and was in heaven. We played on the play set and he got to hang out with a few other children, one a boy his age. When I got tired of hearing all of the screams echo, I took him to the park and played in the sun. We were both done after 15 minutes so I decided we needed to hit Starbucks for some refreshments. One organic vanilla milk and my usual Grande Double Blended Mocha Frappuccino later, he picked out our table and, again, climbed into the seat and proceeded to tell me how good his milk was. Then again it was no spilled milk, no crying, no climbing the table to get to my whipped cream. This is me dumbfounded. I could tell he was antsy so we took a brief walk outside with our drinks and then sat at a table out there. It was hot and he wanted to stand in the middle of the road but I didn't have a battle when I directed him to the patio and he climbed up on the chair.

It was like going out with a friend that can't talk to you. He was smiling and pleasant, a few strong willed moments but we survived with no pain. We were out for 3 hours and it felt like nothing. We got home to find both men still passed out so we read some books and played on the porch. When both the guys woke up it was time for Supers nap... little did I know that that was NOT going to happen today but at least I got to see my husband for a little while. An hour and a half later, he's playing quietly in his pack n play but still awake and cheerful. It was lucky that he didn't sleep because a friend of mine needed some road assistance urgently and grabbing the boy and heading out was easy. On the way home from our heroic efforts in getting gasoline and battling Buckhead, we stopped at Subway for dinner after Big Sis mentioned it on the phone and I decided I didn't want to cook. We shared a sandwich and some chips, he got to wander around the empty store and I think he realized that when he doesn't mess with stuff, I don't come chasing after him. He is cautious enough that when a new person would come through the doors, he's run back to me but he chatted and pointed at stuff with this old guy that worked behind the counter. He was such a charmer today! Still no nap when we got home but I really needed to make some phone calls for a client so in went Meet The Robinson's. I didn't have any interruptions except me checking in on him and I got everything done really quickly so, at his request, we went for a walk around the neighborhood with him in the stroller. We came home, read some books, played a little game of chase the vacuum cleaner cord and it was time for bed. He was so tuckered out after our day and while I got some whining, he was probably asleep before I made it out the door.


It really was a great day with him. We are trying a new discipline method that expands the boundaries. He's gotten older and we had to adjust to the significant changes happening so I'm letting him explore more and making him face the consequences of his actions. Mommy isn't going to make sure you don't fall, if you climb the couch, be prepared for it to hurt when you fall. If you insist on touching the stove, it's going to hurt when you get burned. He is so much more well behaved. We have our moments and he is a child and has tantrums but I've seen him work the issues out in his brain and I have a much more peaceful household. But the doubts still creep in that he's setting me up. I don't know if it was just a good day but this child seems to have transformed and I can't help but wonder, is this the calm before the storm?