Ronan and I have spent the last two days running around like… well, like Leslie Quilter. (Rogers. But you will always be Quilter to me, babe!)
This is funny, because Leslie has been nearing the end of pregnancy for ages, hauling her (GORGEOUS) ‘torpedo’ belly around, as well as her toddler. She gets out of the house EVERY SINGLE DAY. And every day that I read her blog, I am amazed, and envious, and blown away. In other news, she is having her new baby boy TODAY, and I can’t wait to see pictures and hear his name!!!
Beside all of that, this is how our days have looked.
Yesterday morning, I got up at 8am, and left Ronan in bed. I showered, washed my hair, shaved, and then got dressed. After that, I put on makeup and did my hair. These things are amazing because I can’t actually remember the last time they happened.
I got Ronan up, fed him breakfast, dressed him, and we hit the road. First we went to Shoe Carnival, where I picked out a new pair of flats for the winter. I’ve been needing shoes DESPERATELY, so it was finally time. I new the moment we walked in the door that the massive displays of shoes, with boxes hanging over the sides and carts with wheels would prove to be too much for my busy little boy, so I snagged a bag of Skittles from the check out counter. Every time he wandered too far or touched something he shouldn’t have, I called out, “Ronan! Come here and have a bite!”
I think we left with him eating less than a quarter of the bag, and it was a very successful trip. I got some cute shoes, and I didn’t get frustrated or overwhelmed.
We packed up into the car and headed up to Mooresville. We had a lunch date with my ladies, Dana and Amanda (and baby G!). A late nap meant that Amanda and G couldn’t make it, but Dana and I sat and chatted. I find myself having a difficult time having conversations with adults when Ronan is there and constantly having to correct or redirect him. But he was actually very well behaved for the outing. He ate a TON of rice, chicken, cooked carrots and broccoli, so that was a huge WIN.
Near 12:30, we packed back into the car, much to Ronan’s chagrin, and started back home. As soon as we got in the house, I laid him down in his bed. I took his shoes and clothes off, changed his diaper, and then left him. He fell asleep immediately! Being busy is sure good for nap times.
When we both woke from our naps, around 3:30, I saw that my lovely friend Laura had invited us to go to the Huntersville Discovery Place with her. She has two guest passes, and it was a hard offer to pass up! We re-dressed, ate a snack, and headed out! This place, people, is seriously amazing. If you have kids and you haven’t gone, you NEED TO. Ronan had a blast playing in the toddler area, as well as the drive up ‘bank’ station that had a Mustang convertible that was EXACTLY his size. He sat in that thing for nearly 20 minutes. When the kids center closed at 5, we headed home with a quick stop at Chik fil A for dinner. Ronan went to bed early, and slept well… and so did I.
TODAY, we had planned to go back to the Discovery Place, but when we got there… the line up was almost a block long. Evidently today was a no-school day in the public school district. Ronan and I waited in line for about 10 minutes (which is 10 minutes longer than a toddler wants to wait for ANYTHING) and when Laura arrived, Ronan was showing his (admittedly cute) butt. I told her I didn’t really think it was a good idea to continue waiting, as it looked like there were at least another 10 minutes to go. We agreed upon a backup plan, and headed to Northlake Mall with our boys.
The playplace in the mall is hit or miss. There are either too many kids there, too few kids there, or too big kids there. This morning, however it was HIT! There were a bunch of little ones there (all at or around Ronan and Fox’s age) and someone had brought BALLOONS. It was a genius idea. Both of the boys were running around, laughing and chasing balloons. It lasted for all of 20 minutes before Ronan signed “All Done” and we agreed to go get lunch.
Mall Food Court lunch was actually successful as well. Both boys ate, sat patiently while we ate, and then played for another 20-30 minutes in the food court kid area. We had packed up our things, and then decided to take a last minute trip into Borders to check out some kids books. I have been wanting to buy some alphabet flash cards for Ronan for a while, and couldn’t find any. The Border’s childrens book area? Lasted for another 30 minutes. The boys were VERY well behaved, put toys back when they were done with them, and didn’t destroy ANYTHING.
All in all, we went home feeling tired and very successful. When I laid Ronan down in his crib, I took his pants and socks off, changed his diaper, and left. When I checked on him 15 minutes later, he was sound asleep and HADN’T MOVED. He fell asleep exactly where I laid him. Tired boy.
A great two days, even if it meant no time for blogging or Twitter. Have to work tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday night. Halloween! Woo!
