Play Dates

Earlier this week we had a play group with a bunch of other women and their children. I always enjoy going to these things because it gives me time to be around other people who are going through many of the same stresses that I am. My kids are either older or younger than all of the other kids there so in some cases they look to me for advice and in other cases I look to them.

Although I have gone through the baby stages with Tyler, Lily is like a completely opposite kid so it is nice to have people tell me what to expect with the maniac. I'm also learning that children of opposite sexes usually have a certain way of behaving. It seems that boys are more into puzzles and girls are just into everything. They have different ways of learning, which I had always heard but never could I have imagined how completely opposite my kids would be. I think the only thing they have in common is they like to beat the other up.

It has been a while since our last play group so needless to say it was very needed. Although at points it seemed a little more stressful than it was worth. I was the only mommy of our group with two walking children. While having two children is hard enough as it is, it gets so much worse when the second starts walking. You can no longer keep her locked up in the stroller or just carry her around, she has to get down and be in the action. This of course makes it harder to keep an eye on both children when they both are wandering off in different directions.

But no play date would be complete without the judging or the comparing. Not that I have any harsh judgments towards any of the other women, truthfully I couldn't pay enough attention to their parenting to even make an assessment. But there was defiantly some comparing going on. And if any judgments were to be passed they may have been on me. While the other moms had water, homemade smoothies, and fruit for their children I had juice boxes and gummies. I try to get the healthiest form of juice and snacks possible that my kid will eat (which is not much). And although I would like my kids to be healthy I'm not going to ask anything of them that I don't do myself.

I admire those other moms who make their own bread and drinks to serve their kids the healthiest foods but I am just not that type of mom. I spend my time doing other, less productive things, like writing this blog. And I knowingly leave myself out for judgment by the other moms but I am ok with it, because if the most they can judge me on is my kids eating habits (or lack of) then I think I am doing a damn good job!