Good Boys!

As most of you know, Peter, myself and the rest of our little family have been living at "home" for almost 2 years now (as a side note, we are planning on moving out in the next few months!) and we have had the unbelievable privilege to have a "in house" babysitter...also known as Abuelita (grandma in Spanish) Usually anytime we want to go out with friends, or just go to an event "kid free" we are able to without a problem! When it was just Rocco, and as long as someone was home, we would leave him in bed and head out the door care free. There are even some mornings where my mom would just say "go back to bed...i'll take the boys" Those are the most beautiful words a mother can hear! Especially when you have a newborn and then your other child decides to wake up at 6am! Tonight though, we did not have that luxury. We had been invited to a BBQ at a friends place and originally my mother had offered to babysit but something had come up and she was not able to be home in time. So, we decided to take the entire family. Peter and I were a bit nervous not knowing how they would behave, and to make matters a little worse, Enzo had a bit of a crying fit before we left and didn't finish a feed. For sure I thought this was going to be an early night! We got there, we ate, we laughed and even talked! It was wonderful! Of course there were moments when Rocco had to be entertained, but he made a new friend and played "cars" with him! He even sat on my lap for a while and read some of his books! Enzo was held by some people and then hung out in his bouncy chair the rest of the night! I was pleasantly surprised how well behaved our boys were and realized that it is very much do-able to take them with us wherever we go! And it is good experience for us and them to learn how to be in different environments. We did leave at 9pm b.c Rocco was having a meltdown b.c he wanted to go to the playground across the street, but I would have too if i was the only 2 year old there stuck with adults! :) and it was WAY past his bedtime!

Commited to Parenting

Last night I went out for coffee with a good friend of mine and we came to the topic of kids. Naturally of course, b.c i now have two and she is expecting her first. We began to discuss the great things about kids and that when people have 2 kids it's for sure "commiting to parenting" It does not mean that if you only have one child that you are NOT committed, but with 2, it seems that the word "comitted" takes on a whole new meaning. With only Rocco in our lives it seemed that we lead our life almost the same way as we did before we had him with. We could still go out late (as long as we had somewhere to put his playpen so he could sleep or he stayed home with Abuelita), we would still, for the most part, be able to do what we wanted at home, and life was still pretty simple. Now that we have Enzo, it seems that adding one more person in our family has made life a little more crazy and also a little more difficult to take time for myself...and for my husband. I see now why there are so many articles out there talking about the importance of not revolving your life around your kids and really taking the time to be with your spouse and making an effort of spend some quality time together, without children. Also, being a little selfish too I think is more than ok. I realized that i need some "me" time in order for me to be a good parent to my boys. I need to go and get a pedicure, or go out for supper with a friend to feel refreshed and energized. I need to remember that I am not just a mother now, but still a wife and a friend!