Pain to Gain Ratio

Growing up, I hated running errands.  The word "errands" was synonymous to a baseball bat to the forehead.  I have memories of sweaty afternoons driving all across town with my mom, trying fruitlessly to take a nap while my head leaned against the vibrating car window.  

But, today, I have a kind of "love/hate" relationship with errands.  I crave the freedom of leaving the house and finding any opportunity to distract my little man.  Not only do errands serve as an "educational tool" for my son by exploring colors and shapes of the jewelry at Target, it is also retail therapy for Mommy Dearest!! 

This is what I feel like most of the time!!

As much as I love getting out and about, I loathe what I like to call the"trial of transitions".  These are the 10 minute increments of time pre and post errand that can turn a 30 minute trip to the store into an hour and a half epic crusade....... (more on "trial of transition" later)

But today, I had to really evaluate my pain to gain ratio.  After schlubbing my child all over creation, in and out of stores, dragging my purse, diaper bag, and cart cover behind me, I finally got in the car and headed home.  I was barely out of the parking lot onto the highway when I realized I left my sunglasses in the cart at the store.

Now I am the cheapest (I won't even try to class it up by referring to myself as frugal) person in existence, but in that moment I did a quick calculation of the pain to gain ratio in my head.  Were those $12 sunglasses worth the effort of turning around and pack-muleing it back into Hobby Lobby?  Not even the threat of cornea damage and premature eye wrinkles from squinting at the sun could turn my mini van around.  So long tortoise-shell Mossimo sunglasses... you were a faithful friend.

Treasure Hunt

Getting your child out of bed in the morning is like a treasure hunt.  You never know what little treat is in store for you. 

Sometimes, it is the array of stuffed animals and pacifiers that litter the ground around his crib.  It's as if he was on a sinking ship and he threw out any non essential items in order to lighten the weight of the ship.

Other times, my little Picasso has created a new "print" on his sheets in poop.

But my favorite surprises are the little treasures I find in his jammies.  Frequently, I will find a pacifier or two lodged somewhere inside his footed pajamas. 

But, my favorite has to be the gem I discovered the other morning....  I had fed Colton and was in the process of changing his pajamas, when, lo and behold.... a quarter fell out.  Now, I know my kid has a million dollar smile, but I had no idea he could make change.  The best I can figure, is that during the wash, a coin became lodged in the foot part of the pajama.  Some magicians can pull coins out of their ears, but my boy can pull a quarter out of his foot!!

Morning Workout

I treasure nap time.... It is the few precious moments of the day when I can pretend I am not a mommy (not that I don't love being one :)  But my little darling feels the complete opposite about nap time... he loathes it!! 

But lately, due to his new mobility, he has decided to use nap time as  his own person work out time:

• He practices shot put by tossing his pacifiers out of the crib.

• He summersaults around the bed.

• He practices his trampoline routines on the mattress.

Maybe I should be  grateful that he is honing his athletic ability, because that may be the only way he can pay for college.....

The view from my monitor every morning...