Here's a question for all of the stay-at-home parents out
there with multiple kids. Actually, on second thought, any parent can probably
answer this as well. How soon did you work up the courage to break out of the
house, just you and the kiddos?
For me, considering Bethany's only been at work for two
weeks, it's actually more times than you would think. There's already been park
trips and story times. We've also made several car trips with the sole purpose
of calming down a screaming Ethan. We've even made a trip to Sam's Club,
Target, and the bank. I guess that I should probably mention that those three
trips were accomplished using the drive-thru or pick-up lanes. If you haven't
taken advantage of those services, you definitely should because they're
amazing!
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| This gif has the gift of foresight. |
Of course, none of those times marked the first solo outing
with two kids. The first outing was a week ago Thursday as the three of us met
my sister-in-law and her two boys at the Deanna Rose Farm. On second thought, I
guess that wouldn't technically be a solo outing. Although it should really
count for something that I successfully got Ellie, Ethan, and myself all
dressed, out the door, in the car, and down to Overland Park by 10:15.
One thing I learned rather quickly on this little outing is
that being a parent to two small children requires a lot more preparation for
going out and about. For one thing, it's beneficial to actually know something
about where one is going. For some weird reason, I had this misconception that
the Deanna Rose Farm was a glorified petting zoo. Therefore, my plan for the
day was to strap Ethan on in his carrier and to just have Ellie walk. Well, you
can imagine my surprise as I watched Nicole unload her double stroller and
plunk both kids inside. At this point, I was definitely afraid my lack of
foresight was going to make for a rough day. Lucky for me, Nicole had prepared
for my unpreparedness and packed an umbrella stroller as well.
While this kind of outing with Nicole was nothing new, the
presence of Ethan certainly changed things a bit. I didn't realize just how
much carrying an extra 15(?) pounds on my chest would impact me. For one, I
underestimated how much heat the little man would produce while strapped to my
chest. By the end of the morning, I had pretty much sweat through my entire
t-shirt. For another, Ethan's already longer than Ellie was at that age meaning
that I pretty much had to have my chin tilted up or my head cocked to the side
to avoid striking him with my face each time we took a step. Never an ideal
circumstance.
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| Don't be scared little man. I promise I won't dent your head...much. |
It wasn't all bad though. It's always fun to see Ellie and
Elbert get to play and interact with each other since they're the same age.
It's also enjoyable to be able to catch up with Nicole and hear about what's
happening in their lives. To top it all off, I even got to see a bald eagle in
captivity. So what if it had a hurt foot; it was still cool!
Even if my first solo outing with both kids didn't go
entirely according to plan, it taught me a multitude of lessons. Chief among
them is look up information about where online if I don't have any advance
knowledge of what to expect. Oh, and I should also pack another t-shirt for the
ride home on hot days like that. My car still smells like gross dude sweat.
#DaddyWrite
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| Because I can. |
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