Most of the time when I write a blog post I have an idea ahead of time of what I want to write about. These past few days I haven't been able to focus on any single thought or coherent series of thoughts. Two nights ago this was ok because I fell asleep before the kids and Geoff wrote my blog post for me. Last night I was really tired and just couldn't think of what I wanted to write about so I convinced Geoff to watch another episode of Downton Abbey (he wanted to watch too but we should have been sleeping) and we vegged out instead.
I was half looking forward to today and half dreading it. I was excited because it was the first time in what seems like a long time that I had just E home with me. Don't get me wrong, I missed Ella too, but E has always been that kid that can entertain himself for long periods of time and takes gloriously long naps. Ella is more into trying little bits of everything and power naps. Add her new passion for climbing and throwing things when she doesn't get her way and well, I was excited for an easy day.
I made the mistake of telling E last night and he was really excited too. So excited he stayed up well past his bedtime singing and talking to himself and his stuffed menagerie about all the fun we were going to have today. I promised to play trains and do crafts and anything else he wanted to do.
The only catch was I needed to preserve energy so I could handle both kids by myself in the evening while Geoff was teaching. Normally this would seem like not too big of a deal but the kids can be a bit of a wild card these days, as can my energy level.
As it turns out, today was pretty much perfect. E and I did play trains. We did crafts yesterday with Ella and he decided he wanted to play instead today. He played with me and without me and I took the opportunity to hang up some pictures in our bedroom while he was playing. Then he and I hung up a little shelf for some of his trains in his room before nap time. He ate everything I made him for lunch and was essentially the perfect child. Then he napped.
I thought he would be up by 4, but he wasn't so he missed our special visitors of the day. We had dinner brought to us by someone I took doula training with a few years back. She brought her two adorable children with her and I fell madly in love with her babe that I have been Facebook stalking the past few months. Seriously, I am just drawn to this little guy, and her daughter is everything I want Ella to grow up to be.
It was a wonderful visit. We talked and both cried. The birth world is a small world. Much smaller than I ever realized when I took my doula training course in 2011. At the time I had just had a devastating miscarriage that made me realize that it was my calling to "be with women." It's funny because midwifery was the original reason I went to nursing school, but then I fell in love with cardiac nursing. When I had my miscarriage everything changed and by the time I was pregnant with Ella a month later I had taken doula training and enrolled in a statistics class so I could apply to midwifery school in a few months.
The doula training was a weekend workshop here in Madison. I hoped to make some friends but I never could have guessed the impact some of these other women would have on my future life. What really gets me is that I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with my friend from today but I am just drawn to her. I could say so much more on this but I fear I'm sounding too much like a stalker.
Regardless one of the sweetest things she did was bring some toys that her children were gifted by someone else and had outgrown. E was very excited when he woke up from his nap and found new toys...Ella hasn't even gotten to play with them.
Geoff brought Ella home from daycare before heading off to teach. I immediately packed her and E back up and we headed out to the stable. Our lovely dinner that was delivered tonight is to be our dinner tomorrow night because it was decided earlier today that if I brought the kids out to the barn with me, a couple of my friends would meet me there, we would order a pizza, and then groom Aggie.
This turned out to a really fun way to spend the evening. E and Ella helped shut the chickens in for the night. E and I practiced walking one of the little ponies. Then the kids played in the barn aisle...E rode his bike and Ella played ball. We had dinner upstairs in the "party loft" and then the kids brushed the tractor (their idea not mine) while the rest of us furminated/deshedded/groomed Aggie. In the end I left with two very tired and dirty kids and a very clean and gorgeous horse. We headed home straight to the bathtub and then to bed.
The big, beautiful, full moon was the icing on the cake...well, that and the deer and raccoon I saw from a safe distance while driving home. Now Geoff is home and its time for us to snuggle into bed too.
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