Thursday, June 5, 2008

A Fun Morning

I hosted my very first playdate today!

A few times, I've had one of my girlfriends over with her child. That's different.

Today, I had three girlfriends over with their four children, ranging in age from 16 months to 2 1/2 years old. It was a blast! We all splashed around in the pool for awhile, then when the kids got hungry, everyone got out and we all sat down to lunch together. The kids all played in the house while the mommies got to chat about grown-up things. (It's nice to not have to refer to yourself in the third-person!)

I think we'll be doing this often! Lance and I get in the pool pretty much every day anyway. My friends all brought their own lunches over, so the only work I really had to do was, um, open the door and let them in.

They all had a great time, too! It's nice to have a break from your routine, especially when you are a stay-at-home mom to a very young child. It is work to keep up with a toddler all day *and* care for your house, so when the kids have friends over, they keep each other entertained so your mommy brain can get a little rest!

I have come to realize that caring for a toddler is much more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting. I realized this when I was washing dishes. Previously, washing dishes was a fairly mindless activity. I could sort of just "shut down" and put myself on autopilot, allowing my mind a short respite. Now with a toddler underfoot, your brain is always on the alert. Always paying attention. You don't realize how important those few minutes here and there of brain-rest can be until you don't have them anymore!

Anyhoo. It was a fun morning. Our kids had a good time, we got to laugh and chat with each other.

A very pleasant morning indeed.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Playdates! Good times.
I find having a few things that only come out at certain times - maybe colouring in his chair, maybe a fun puzzle - helps me get things done, but you do get used to that "always busy" feeling, I guess.

Anonymous said...

We especially loved it when you served up margaritas and did the macarena.

Wait, we were at the same house?

Hee hee.

Thanks for having us over.

Anonymous said...

You first playdate? I think I organized my first one when Hadley was still in the womb. :-)

Anonymous said...

This is something I simply never was able to do when my oldest boys were younger...connecting with other "Mommies" simply did not happen for me. I feel like I missed out.

So glad that you have this network.

Enjoy!

:-) Susan

Anonymous said...

I completely understand when you talk about washing the dishes.

You'd think you could zone out but you stand there thinking uh-oh the kids are quiet. I should check on them. Now. Okay now I should check on them. Really, any second now. And on and on while I push the limits to just getting one more plate washed. I do this until I'm frantically careening around the corner certain to find the children maimed or dead. - I'm kinda morbid this way. Seen too many accidents. I should just check on them when they get a little quiet. Save me a lot of heartache.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the successful playdate. I personally live for playdates, it enhances my performance as a mother!

Anonymous said...

so understand the mentally exhausting bit . . . and we get this energy back . . when?
Sorry I missed seeing you do the macarena!
LOL