I have put all of the baby's toys back in her toy basket and she is busy unloading them again which should give me 5-10 minutes to write. I am kneeling at the coffee table where I can see the whole living room, though she likes to crawl around the back of the couch where I can't see her to mail her toys into the boxes there that haven't made it all the way to the garage yet which renders this vantage somewhat wasted. There's a cat on the couch over my right shoulder, snuggled up next to my camera, and a tea cup with the sticky remains of lemon tea that I drank a while ago by my left hand. Strewn across the surface of the table around my laptop are the the parent end of the baby monitor, a crumpled tissue, two sippy cups, a plastic toy car, the cover for my iPad which is in the other room on the charger, a DVD from someone's stocking, a travel book for the trip we are planning, a handful of Trader Joe's Sesame Sticks, and my iPhone. I crave tidy surfaces, full attention to words, clear sinuses. None of which I have right now. Instead, I snack on Sesame Sticks and kneel at the coffee table pecking out the best words I can find right now, which I know are not very good.
This is the heavy part of the afternoon when the remaining day feels like forever. Back when I was working in an office, this was the same part of the day that my energy would flag and I would head for the vending machine. The baby is bored. I am bored. When the weather was good this was when I would head out the door for a walk, but it is cold out there and frankly I don't have the energy. I have made all the silly faces that I have in me today, read all the books (twice), and retrieved her from trying to put toys in the toilet and investigating the litter box more times than I can count. I despair of what we do between now and bedtime, now that the toy basket is empty and she's here at my side again looking for Grandpa inside my computer screen.
Mamas, what do you do to get through the draggy part of the afternoon?
Wish I had been there . . . you could have taken her to Grandma's for a couple of hours. But then, you knew that already and were being kind enough not to mention it in your post. :)
Posted by: Mom | Saturday, January 07, 2012 at 09:57 AM
A few ideas just popped in...
Take a bath together :) paint on the wall or yourselves with washable nontoxic paint. Your already in the tub. Easy clean up! Or...
Color a picture (you) with crayons while she toddles (or tries to eat the crayons). This is what I did today when I was feeling seriously dozy (I'm a nanny for a 2 year old these days) we sang Farmer in the dell while I drew pictures of the characters and she peeled paper off crayons. (i think shr was trying to smoke the white one :/ ) Or...
YouTube Caspar Babypants. One can not stay bored & dozy with Caspar in the house! Googly Eyes? Yes please!
Tomorrow looks 64' & sunny, sounds pretty good from my Pacific NW perspective. Bundle up and hit the beach. Sounds like a good day for digging holes in the sand, toddling or just inhaling some salt air while your toes curl into the sand. (wishing I was there!)
Posted by: Niki | Wednesday, January 04, 2012 at 10:58 PM
At the moment I have no answers or mama wisdom, even though ive been throuh it 3 times. It's been "one of those days ". Just wanted to send you some love and a 'I totally get how you feel'. It is 10:28 "Cupertino time" (pst) and my wish for you is that by now, you are cuddling in front of a fire with your sweetie enjoying a glass of wine and some time where you are needed by nobody. Quiet time :)
Posted by: Niki | Wednesday, January 04, 2012 at 10:33 PM