Curing The Everyday Routine Blues

Last night I worked until 7pm, caught the 7:55pm ferry, and arrived home a little after 9pm. The kids were already asleep, I was feeling particularly lonely, and full of mommy-guilt, and I just simply ached to spend time with them.

I nursed through my bought of sadness by slipping into my bed and tried to distract myself from what seemed like the heavy weight of my working-mommyness with a new book that had arrived in the mail. Perfect timing. I drifted off to sleep at 10:30 (early for me!) with the book in my hand.

When I woke up, the world seemed slightly brighter. I worked from my mom's house which allowed me to spend some extra time in the morning with the kids. The highlight of my morning is always walking into the boys' room to find Ryan standing in his crib, desperately clutching his blankey, just waiting for someone to come in an attend to him. His special bear is usually on the floor having been tossed, in usual Ryan-fashion, from the crib (he likes to throw...everything). Ryan will smile widely through his binky when I walk through the door Then he will look expectantly at my empty hands and bleet in a craggy, baby-lamb voice, "Baah baah?"

"Good morning Baby!" I always shriek excitedly.

Ryan just continues to stare at me. "Baah baah? Baah baah? Baah baah?!" He becomes suddenly offended that I have failed to bring him a warm bottle of milk. I pick him up and march with him into the kitchen to prepare his bottle. He loves to watch as the microwave light goes on and the bottle spins dervishly beneath it.

At this point, Jacob is usually bouncing off the sofa cusions in the living room, moving along to one of his favorite PBS Kids shows. I'll occassionally catch a glimpse of him pumping one fist into the air, his signature dance move. By this point the living room is usually littered with a granola bar wrapper, a sopping wet pullup, and three of four different layers of clothing that Jacob wanted at one point only to discard in exchange for his birthday suit.

These are my mornings on the days I work from home. I absolutely love these mornings.

After I arrived at my mom's house with the kids, I snuck out for a five mile run along the same path that I used to run every summar day in highschool in preparation for the upcoming cross country season. The path smells, looks, and feels the exact same as it did when I was younger. If it weren't for the absence of the family on the corner that I used to babysit for regularly, I could have misled myself into thinking I had momentarily slipped back in time. A time when I felt so positive and optimistic about the fact that I was going to do important things and perhaps even change the world a little. My five mile long daydream ended when I arrived back at my mom's house. I gave the kids another hug and kiss, snuck in a shower, and then began my workday.

When the clock his 5:30pm, I folded up my laptop and, with dread, prepared for the usual evening monotonous routine. I wasn't ready to go home to a housefull of chores to face the task of turning a handful of ingredients into something edible while my tired kids whinned and tugged at my feet. So, I simply didn't. Instead, I whisked the kids on a spontaneous trip to go play putt-putt golf. It was awesome. And it was probably the highlight of the kids' week.

Jacob's grip and stance has improved greatly from our trip last year. Last year, we ended up playing golf-bowling as I let Jacob roll the golf ball down the green. This year, I could barely keep up with him! He did it the big kid way!

Ryan loved walking around with the putter in one hand and the golf ball in the other. At one point he threw the golf ball at the upcoming green and hit another golfer in the ankle (sorry man wearing a kilt!)

Jacob did some super fancy putting stances. His spotlight was quickly snatched away by Ryan's comedic relief. The thief was mid-swipe!

 

Taking a rest.

 

By the end of our trip, Ryan had watched me enough times that he actually tried to his own hand at golf. I was nearly rendered speechless by his ability to hold the putter and swipe the ball across the green. Turns out his sports skills are not limited to one sport. 

 

We ended the trip with some popsicles. Because what's the point of putt-putt golf if you don't enjoy some nice refreshing popsicles in the parking lot?

 

"Nice baby!" Jacob is not really petting Ryan here. He is actually making sure that he does not fall backward. He was very concerned that Ryan wouldn't stay put.

Love these guys. Also, I love pictures of kids with popsicle. Also, I love popsicles.

Ryan's popsicle fell on the floor right after I took this picture. I picked it up and handed it right back to him. There was only dirt on one side. He's eaten worse things in his short life (*catfood*).

 

Because we spent all evening at the golf course instead of slaving away in the kitchen, I stopped by our favorite thai spot to pick up dinner. The 1 star chicken curry was too "spicey" for Jacob. Ryan, on the other hand absolutely loved it, potatoes, carrots, and all.