Quality Time

Yes, I love day care. I love where Johnathan goes. I love his teachers. I love all the new experiences and challenges he faces. I love that every day when I pick him up I see a huge smile on his face. I love it all . . . .

There is, however, a part of me that feels like I only get my son "part time" during the week. I get an hour more or less in the morning and a few hours in the afternoon, and not much more. And while there are days that I am so grateful to have him out of my hair so I can really concentrate on work and get things done. There are also days where I want to keep him home and just play and go to the beach or the park or just read books and watch Elmo all day. Work is always there, will always be there, I will always have a pile a mile high of to-do's, but I would love to find a pause button to just enjoy days of doing nothing but hanging out with my son.

So, when he is home with us in the afternoons and on the weekends, I really try to squeeze as much fun into every minute as possible. Does it always work? No. There are the afternoons where I beg Jeff to take Johnathan for a walk so that "I can just finish this one last thing". And then there are afternoons when its quiet and we get to be us and be happy . . .

My inquisitive little boy . . . he examines everything, wants to see how it works, what makes it go . . .

He pushed the buttons and watched the wheels turn over and over and over . . . I'm nearly certain that one day I'm going to come home and there will be an entire car engine or refrigerator taken apart to a million pieces just because Johnathan wanted to understand it better!

Hmmmmm, what else is in Mama's bag . . . .

On another day, we played the game of running into and out of our bedroom . . . . Hello . . . .

Bye-Bye . . . rinse and repeat! :-)

Weekend mornings are the best! The BEST I tell you! We sleep in to a very late 7:00 (ohhhh) and then Jeff gets Dunkin Donuts for us . . . Johnathan gets munchkins and LOVES them!!! We watch Mickey Mouse fun house and do whatever we feel like!

He loves the "hot dog" dance!!!

Tubby time!!!!! That's all I have to say and Johnathan runs to his bathroom and tries to climb in the tub with all of his clothes on. He loves splashing in the tub! It's always a really fun way to end the day!

So even if I only get my son "part time" right now . . . I'm making it work. I'm enjoying the time we do have together. I'm finding that I make myself be very present and allow myself to not think of anything other than what's going on right now. I look forward to and cherish my time with my son and maybe, just maybe, it's even made me a better mom. One thing is for sure, my son is loved and knows his Mama and Dada love him very very much!