Brave

 I braved the playground with the kids by myself.  No 'Hubs', no Gigi, no friends.  Just me and 'the littles'.  For those of you who know me well, you know that this is a big deal.  (Because I hate don't exactly enjoy the playground.)  It was a hot day (too hot, actually) and 'the Hubs' was working from home.  The kids were all over him and he wasn't getting much done so I knew I had to get them out of there if we were ever going to see our Daddy over the weekend.

So, I scooped up our sand toys, said a little prayer, and off to the park we went.  Dreading it as much as I was, it turned out to be such a perfect morning.  'The littles' had my full attention and I got to enjoy their giggles and adorable isms all to myself.

My sweet boy, who would rather yell "hey, mom, look at me", than play with other kids.

 

I looked.  Every trip down the slide.  Every climb up the rock wall.  Wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

We enjoyed snacks...that I packed.  It's a miracle.  I'm turning into one of those mom's that I didn't want to become but have realized how important it is to be.  My former self would feel very intimidated by my ability to tote kids (and snacks) around town.

My baby boo, who is so content to gnaw on sand toys and watch her brother run all around.  It's difficult to army crawl in the sand.

She was so intrigued by the sand and the next thing you know, she face planted right into it.

She didn't seem to mind much.  I think she was more annoyed with the baby wipes all over her face that came after.

"Hey, Mom", I'm walking up the slide the wrong way.  Totally breaking one of your rules.  But I see your busy trying to keep sister from eating a pound of sand for snack.  Don't worry, "I'm okay."

She swung for a long time.  So content.  You'd never guess that she hated her baby swing.

A teething girl's gotta gnaw on something.

So happy...and covered in sandy snot.

He was such a good big brother.  Always is.  He loves her so much.  And his goldfish, too.  He held onto those like he might never get a snack at the playground again.

Still holding on.  He ate a few in the beginning of our trip and then held onto the closed bag for almost an hour.  Then they spilled in the sand and he had a meltdown which, of course, was the indication of the end our happy play date.

It was happy.  And I am so happy to be their mommy.  Nothing compares.

I resigned from my job (which I haven't actually done any work for in over a year).

I am officially a stay at home mom. 

Now, that's brave.

And I couldn't be happier.