Me: Can you ask NICELY?

Sam (in a very sweet voice): Nicely?

Me: **giggle, melt**

I am so in trouble with this one.

(Just for the record, he didn’t run into me or the camera or anything else – this time – regardless of how the end of the videos look)

So, be honest, aside from him being brutally adorable, does he look like a future athlete? Or more like Grover on the “near…far” opposites sketch on Sesame Street?

Saturday was a baby shower for a friend of mine. This baby was much prayed for and is already so loved and cherished – oh, and did I mention this baby is a girl arriving in a house of boys? Clearly no ordinary gift would do. So, since I’ve dabbled with sewing some baby blankets, as soon as I knew of the little princess’s pending arrival, I found some adorable fabric and binding and had great plans to make a blanket way in advance.

Well, you know about best-laid plans…

So, of course, I didn’t get it made WAY in advance. On Friday (yes, the day before the shower), I pulled out my fancy new-to-me sewing machine, and proceeded to make two of the UGLIEST baby blankets in the history of, well, ever. Don’t worry, I had planned for this contingency – sort of. I was “practicing” on two blankets for Sam (sorry, son). After ruining the first one, and breaking the machine on the second one, I gave up. I pulled out my trusty avocado green Kenmore sewing machine that’s older than I am. I finished up the second ugly blanket for Sam (to reacquaint myself with the machine). Then I made a perfectly lovely girly blanket for Miss Shelby. I really was quite proud of how it turned out. (Of course, being the ever-prepared person I am, I completely forgot to take pictures of it. Maybe if Makala reads this, she can send me a pic of the blanket and I’ll add it here. )

Since I’d already done one blanket for Miss Shelby, I decided the other part of the shower gift would focus on Shelby’s Mommy, who I happen to know will be joining the ranks of working mommies after her maternity leave. So, I put together a Working Mommy’s Survival Kit (full disclosure: I came up with the idea, but needed help from Cris Waters and Ashley Bearden to flesh it out).

Just so you have an idea, the contents of the kit are to be kept at Mommy’s office (or desk, or car, whatever is appropriate) and includes:

• Desk picture frame and Mommy brag book (for purse or portfolio) – to show off those adorable baby pictures
• Coffee Go-cup – because there’s no such thing as a leisurely morning anymore
• Desk-sized toiletry bag with toothbrush, toothpaste, hand sanitizer, deodorant, lotion, wet wipes – because there WILL be mornings that you forget to brush your teeth or put on deodorant (not that I know any of this from experience, of course).
• Tide to Go and Target gift card – for, ahem, late breaking changes. Tide to Go takes care of little “oopses.” Target card is for buying a simple wear-with-anything top to keep in the car or office for bigger spitups, leaky diapers, or “other sharing” that your little angel blesses you with when you have NO time to go home and change.

So, I’ll repeat that I’m not a crafty person overall, but I think this gift was a pretty crafty idea. (Bryan is convinced there’s a “Working Mommy Survival Kit” market out there…what do you think?)

Not THIS sweet face!

Sam, holding my phone up to me: Mommy phone!

Me reaching for phone: Yes, thank you, baby!

Phone clatters to floor, into three pieces

Me: Oh sh– [stop short of saying the actual word, quite pleased with myself for restraint]

Sam (smiling as cute as I’ve ever seen him): Dammit!

Me: shocked face

Sam: Dammitdammitdammit!

Me: laughing hysterically.

Guess I need to be even more careful about my words lately. Though I probably shouldn’t be surprised; not the first time he’s showed us a new vocabulary word. *oops*

You know you can barely contain yourself with the adorableness displayed here. No, no formal training (yet), just Pure. Raw. Talent.

Sure enough, once Hayden got there, the two were off playing together, chasing each other, bouncing on the dog’s bed, playing peek-a-boo. After cake and ice cream, we took the boys to the playground across the street from Bubbe and Zayde’s house (wasn’t it smart of them to move to a house with a playground rightacrossthestreet???) where they climbed and ran and slid down the slides–all with some fabulous help from Jacob, Caleb, Bubbe, and Zayde, of course! (Yes, we were hoping they’d run off a little of the sugar high).

Oh, and they stopped to check out the flowers, too! (Thanks, Rachee, for snapping this one!)

Two blonde boys checking out the flowers

Watching Bubba's first basketball game of this season.

The lovely people at the Texas Health Resources Momblog have been kind enough to post another of my semi-organized ramblings today. (Thanks, btw!)

And like I said, before you throw things at me or state (the obvious) that I’m being a whiny-baby and that lots of other parents/families have a harder schedule than us, let me say that I DO realize these things. And I DO realize that the sports and the activities are good for the kids. And I DO ENJOY the games (95% of the time – hey, I never claimed to be perfect). And I DO feel a tremendous amount of guilt when I have the admittedly selfish when-do-I-get-my-weekends-back moments.

I also am 99.9% certain that other moms and dads have felt this way, too. So, what’s the solution? Is there one? Do you just suck it up and deal? Do you limit the extra-curricular activities to one at a time? (Though, if you have more than one kid, even one activity at a time can be busy.) Do you rotate activities? What about when there are conflicts in schedule? Do your obligations or “want-tos” (like the yoga course I’d been looking at) fall away every time so the kiddos can make their activities? Do you team up with another family to help each other out (you take the kids, they pick up; you drive one week, they drive the next, etc)?

It won’t be long, I know, until we’re juggling 3 sets of extra curriculars, so I’d love suggestions to be filing away for that time!

He’s a genius. Clearly.