My conversation this morning

MJ: good morning how was your sleep?
Me: great
MJ: how many times did you feed BJ?
Me: not since you went to sleep (slight concern on my face)
MJ: that was eight hours ago. is she alive? (slight concern on his face)
Me: I think so
MJ: I am going to check on her
(mj goes into the nursery; bj starts to wail; I breathe a sigh of relief & laugh)

Successes of 20 April

1. dropped off MJ's mom at the airport
2. saw off my parents
3. BJ napped
4. I napped
5. BJ slept on time
6. pedicure
7. 1 load of laundry
8. put down the iPhone so I actually got a lot of sleep
9. 7 thank you notes
10. hung out with MJ
11. took a shower
12. picked up dry cleaning
13. dropped off dry cleaning
14. put out the garbage
15. put out recycling
16. blow dried my hair

The Crying Room

Happy Easter! MJ & I brought B to mass for the first time. We weren't sure where to sit, in case she cried or got fussy. I was kind of nervous about it, actually. When we saw a family I know from ECFE class in the 'crying room', we moved there.

Bad idea. I think the room was designed so that there was a place to bring your kids when they act up during mass. Instead it is a free for all. Kids are playing with toys and running amok. How can the parents concentrate on mass? Why bother sitting there at all? You are better off watching mass on TV in your living room, if that is the case.

The room spares the rest of the parishioners the grief of hearing disruption, but sends the wrong message to the children that are in there. We do not go to church to play. We are there to reflect on how we can be better people. Sitting in the crying room isn't something a small child should want to do. There shouldn't be any toys there. Parents should not let the kids just run wild. Otherwise, the little ones would always want to be there instead if joining the rest of the parish.

MJ & I decided we will no longer sit there unless B is actually fussy. And if she ends up there, she is not allowed to talk or play with the toys or kids. It is a punishment to be excluded. Only ill-behaved children go to the crying room.

B did great, by the way. No crying. A few baby squeals and lots of smiling. We better enjoy it while we can.

The IN Crowd

For the new year, I made it a priority to meet other moms. The first step was to join an early childhood and family education class. I like it, if for the only reason it keeps me from thinking I am completely insane and there is something wrong with B because she sneezed.

But it has been hard to actually make new FRIENDS... Moms are busy women. There are activities to bring the babies to (yes babies!) and scheduled playdates, etc. So, as much as the women in my class are really nice, it is very difficult to establish a friendship outside of the community center.

I stumbled on a mom & baby group on the Internet and attended an event at a children's gym. B had a blast, but the other moms weren't my cup of tea. I think that you don't automatically bond just because you are stay at home mothers. I didn't have much more in common with these women. I was older and more life experiences that these ladies. As a result, I make very different decisions than they do. My priorities seem a bit different to them; not only do I consider how much things cost, buy also what we do not gain from missing opportunities. Thus, I assign a different value to activities and things than those women.

For whatever reason I did not fit in, I am not so sad about it. I found a group of parents that I have a bit more in common with, not only do they have little babies at home, but they also practice yoga. Namaste.