It was all planned out. We would get ready and be out the door at 8 am sharp so we could get to Red Feather Lakes, buy our permit, and be the first ones out there with our saw to cut down a perfect Christmas tree. Kelly and I were starting a new tradition and we were super excited to have a day-after-Thanksgiving, Christmas decorating bonanza.
At about 6 am the alarm went buzz, my hand went directly to the snooze button, and my head went back into dream land. That process repeated every five minutes for an hour! You would think the annoyance of being woken up every five minutes would be enough to get us out of bed, but it was so warm and cozy under the blankets and so cold and bright out there in the real world. Eventually we gave in to the relentless alarm and got moving.
As we were collecting everything we would need I started thinking about the baby that would, one day be in our house. Maybe all you parents out there can give me some insight, but it really seems like you would have to get up about five hours in advance to go anywhere. All we had was ourselves, our dog, Duke, and a desire to be out of the house for an extended period of time to cut down a tree. With those few things, it took us a full hour to collect all the pieces we needed from the packed lunch and drinks to the saw and the rope. I really think we are in for an eye-opening experience!
We weren’t the first ones out there, but I bet we walked the farthest to find the perfect tree. We ended up seeing a lot of Charlie Brown trees in our two hour search through the snow, but found the one that fit us best when it was all said and done. All in all we were gone from the house for nine hours so I have a question for all you parents out there: What does it take to get out of the house with a baby?! I would love to hear any funny or crazy stories about your adventures in parenting when it comes to planning a day away so leave us a comment and until then, Happy Holidays!
It will take an extra hour at least. You see, you get the baby,fed, bathed, changed, snow suit on, all ready, everything packed, yes including the "suitcase" full of extra cloths for any "accidents" ;-). then after you have spent the first few hours packng and getting everyone bundled and ready to walk out the door........baby poos or pukes.....then you go back and strip him/her down, almost giving and sometimes deffinitely giving them another bath, change of cloths.......Of course by now it has been 3 hours since they last ate ........time to eat again! LOL! But honestly, it was worth every single one of those moments. you just have to keep a sense of humor and remember back when you used to just slip on your shoes, grab the car keys and off you went...Hmmmmmmmmm the good old days! ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt takes a lot of extra planning and time. When I had to drop you and Kyle off, Kelly, at the sitter and/or nursery school when I went to work, it meant getting three people ready instead of just myself. Packing everything, getting dressed, eating breakfast, ETC...Sometimes it meant two stops before I was on my way to work. And, I remember a couple of times, getting a call to come and pick you up just as I walked in the door to work because you'd gotten sick. Your life is no longer your own with children and I found that basically everything I did centered around them...YOU. Having children for me was THE BEST and whatever I had to do, no manner how much longer it took, etc., was so very well worth it. It becomes a routine and you get used to the extra planning and time and really don't think anything about it after awhile. People told me and I'm sure will tell you, too, and I'm sure I'll tell you again, how fast the time will go and you'll probably think that isn't true...but it does go fast. Remember that when you're up all night with a teething baby. One day you'll be telling someone else how fast the time goes and to enjoy them when they're little because they grow up so very fast. You'll have more patience then for people who reminisce about when their children were little. :) Much love, Mom
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