Another day, another park. Meg and I woke up to sunny skies and a warm, warm Georgia spring day. I slept good knowing that I was 100% caught up with work . . . at least until my next shoots on Saturday. Meg and I were ready for a fun day. So, off we went to meet Ryan, Daniel, and my buddy Tricia for a morning at the park.
Meg learns a lot when we are enjoying the park . . . gross motor skills, how to take turns on the equipment, how to socialize with other kids. But today, it was Mommy who had some learning to do.
What I learned today was: it’s really hard for one mom to take TWO kids to a big park.
Tricia (my dear friend) is the mom of two fantastic boys. Big brother Ryan, age 4, and little brother Daniel, age 1 ½ . They both loving playing at the park, no doubt. But . . . Ryan loves playing on the ‘big kid’ equipment, while Daniel (whether he likes it or not) must play on the ‘little guy’ stuff. Ryan is an independent kid, while Daniel is still a toddler in need of some assistance. This scenario was hard to manage, to say the least.
Daniel would get to climbing up a toddler ladder or venturing down a slide, and Tricia would lose sight of Ryan. She’d have to stop Daniel, locate Ryan, then let Daniel continue playing. Ryan would wander off . . . Tricia would scoop up Daniel (pissing him off immensely in the process) and take off to find her older son. Tricia would put Daniel down, he’d wander too close to the swings while she was scouring the playscape for Ryan . . .and some stranger would have to get Daniel out harm’s way.
Lather, rinse, repeat . . . for the nearly 90 minutes we were there.
Meanwhile, it probably looked like Meg and I were frolicking in a meadow of daisies . . . all calm, collected, and enjoying the park together. We stopped and had a peaceful snack, chased each other around the playground . . . had a great time. I’m sure Tricia looked over at us with much disgust and disdain while we skipped and hopped all over the equipment.
I felt terrible. I had no idea what I’d drug Tricia into. Note to self: three kids, two moms, and a huge playground FULL of families is maybe not everyone’s idea of a ‘day at the park’ (pun intended).
I learned a lot this morning . . . I learned that I should think of the TWO kid scenario next time I conjure up some grand plan for a morning with Tricia and her sons. I learned that big playgrounds may be fun, but they prove to be quite a supervisory challenge . . . maybe a smaller playground would be a better idea.
And I learned that I have a LOT to learn when it comes to taming TWO kids.
Boy OH Boy. Or, in our case, Girl OH Girl. What am I in for in just 11 weeks??
Meg learns a lot when we are enjoying the park . . . gross motor skills, how to take turns on the equipment, how to socialize with other kids. But today, it was Mommy who had some learning to do.
What I learned today was: it’s really hard for one mom to take TWO kids to a big park.
Tricia (my dear friend) is the mom of two fantastic boys. Big brother Ryan, age 4, and little brother Daniel, age 1 ½ . They both loving playing at the park, no doubt. But . . . Ryan loves playing on the ‘big kid’ equipment, while Daniel (whether he likes it or not) must play on the ‘little guy’ stuff. Ryan is an independent kid, while Daniel is still a toddler in need of some assistance. This scenario was hard to manage, to say the least.Daniel would get to climbing up a toddler ladder or venturing down a slide, and Tricia would lose sight of Ryan. She’d have to stop Daniel, locate Ryan, then let Daniel continue playing. Ryan would wander off . . . Tricia would scoop up Daniel (pissing him off immensely in the process) and take off to find her older son. Tricia would put Daniel down, he’d wander too close to the swings while she was scouring the playscape for Ryan . . .and some stranger would have to get Daniel out harm’s way.
Lather, rinse, repeat . . . for the nearly 90 minutes we were there.
Meanwhile, it probably looked like Meg and I were frolicking in a meadow of daisies . . . all calm, collected, and enjoying the park together. We stopped and had a peaceful snack, chased each other around the playground . . . had a great time. I’m sure Tricia looked over at us with much disgust and disdain while we skipped and hopped all over the equipment.
I felt terrible. I had no idea what I’d drug Tricia into. Note to self: three kids, two moms, and a huge playground FULL of families is maybe not everyone’s idea of a ‘day at the park’ (pun intended).
I learned a lot this morning . . . I learned that I should think of the TWO kid scenario next time I conjure up some grand plan for a morning with Tricia and her sons. I learned that big playgrounds may be fun, but they prove to be quite a supervisory challenge . . . maybe a smaller playground would be a better idea.
And I learned that I have a LOT to learn when it comes to taming TWO kids.
Boy OH Boy. Or, in our case, Girl OH Girl. What am I in for in just 11 weeks??
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1 comment:
LOL....simple answer to your last questions: You have NO idea! But you will learn quickly, find a routine and ways that wourk for you and the girls and everything will just fall into place...probably with some bumps and bruises along the way for all!
It's NOT easy....try 4 kids at the beach this summer...none knowing how to swim! Uhhh, I am dreading it! But, we'll manage and make sure we get some extra arms to help!
You will do wonderful.
xoxo
Tiffany
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