Simple picnic

July 19, 2010
I'm pretty sure Jeff thinks I do absolutely nothing all day. But I'm telling ya, it's exhausting to get two kids over to the park (so what if it's just across the street) for a picnic. Not only do I have to time it so Cole is hopefully full before we leave, but I've got to make the sandwiches while trying to keep Pearl from eating her weight in fruit snacks and chips. Then we've got to pack the diaper bag for all the "what if's," find Pearl's own picnic blanket, strap on the camera, find my picnic blanket, drag out the stroller, run back inside for a water bottle and potty break, then jam everything into the stroller, strap Cole down, and tell Pearl she can't ride her bike because you can't keep track of one more thing. Even when we're moving, we aren't totally out of the woods yet... you've got to keep Pearl motivated to keep walking because she is crying "my knees hurt" and "I can't walk" and "I'm tired." Then you have to avoid the swings, while secretly praying they are all taken by the big kids, so you can find some shade before Cole totally freaks out and eat your lunch. Once seated things go much smoother. Picnics somehow bring out the best in Pearl's eating habits and she happy lays on the blanket munching away - after stealing your sandwich because it had a tomato on it. Cole attracts stares from everyone at the park, including a pair of boys ages 7-10 years old who have the following conversation while running a bit too close to him for a better look.

Kid #1 "Look at that baby's hair."
Kid #2 "It's awesome."
Kid #1 "Yeah, he has more hair than you do."
Kid #2 "How does he have that much hair?"
Kids in unison "Mom, look at that baby's hair. It's awesome."

It's flattering, really, but when you have a kid who seems to attract attention wherever you go, it makes nursing in public a bit more hard. It would be nice to not be noticed as you try to feed a baby and keep your boobs covered.

After three full tummies, you can't avoid the begging anymore and give in... time to head over to the swings. Pearl insists on pushing her baby brother in the stroller and you spend the next five minutes sneakily steering the stroller as to avoid a crash into the trees. A few super underdog pushes later and bribery to have a Popsicle at home, and it's finally over... sort of. The unpacking begins with a baby who feel asleep, a toddler who happily announces she has opened the chest freezer by herself, and a tired mom who is wondering why on earth a simple picnic required so much stuff. Distracted by Pearl pulling out all the Popsicles within sight, you forget to push the stroller back in place and Jeff runs it over when he gets home. Nice. With Popsicles in hand you proceed outside to the swing in the back yard to rock Cole back to sleep and hopefully cool down from the recent workout. Then it starts to rain, downpour actually, so you yell at Pearl to run over to the swing and wait it out. Luckily it didn't last long and no one is completely soaked. You make your way back in the house only to have Cole wake up from his nap and Pearl fight you on taking a nap. Nap... oh that would be nice after a simple picnic like this.

And Jeff wonders why I'm so tired at the end of the day!