The first "date" was with our neighbor, M and her son O. O is four months older than Dominic and he's always up for an impromptu playdate. M emailed me last night about us meeting at the mall for some window shopping. Dominic and I got there around 10:15 and noticed that the local library branch was having a Toddler Storytime session at 10:30. We decided to sit through it.
To be totally honest, it was pretty fun. I've noticed that when there are a lot of kids around Dominic tends to hover and cling to me. He was definitely paying attention to the lady running the event, though. After about 20 minutes I was ready to bolt. There's only so much positivity I can take at 10 in the morning. Looking around, I found that I was trapped! Strollers and children and moms on the floor were blocking me in. So we had to tough it out.
M asked if I wanted to go get lunch at a local haunt. It was such a beautiful day and I decided I wouldn't turn down any invitations unless absolutely necessary. So it was off to the restaurant. We sat outside and the boys had great fun coloring and making a general mess.
M is probably one of the most interesting friends I'll ever have. She was born in South Africa and lived there until she was 22. She moved to London where she lived for 6 years and met her husband. They moved to the States and have been here since. Her sister still lives in South Africa. She has the cutest British accent! As a mom she is much more laid back than I am. We went to Oktoberfest this past September and her son was actually eating sausage and sauerkraut! He was only 16 months old at the time!!!
D fell asleep on the way home. I was able to securely remove him from the carseat, take off his shoes and get him in bed without him waking. Two hours later we were on our way to our next "date".
This time it was off to the park. I had emailed L and her son A on Monday about possibly getting the boys together sometime this week and she suggested that we meet at the park that's close to her house. We accepted and were on our way to meet them.
L and her family had just returned from a vacation in Destin and I was anxious to hear all about her trip. We had been to Destin the week before and she had emailed to get our suggestions for places to eat, etc.
I found out a few tidbits about their trip. They loved the city. She enjoyed laying out while A was napping. She likes crab. I found out that they like to bike.
While we were there two other neighborhood playgroup girls showed up with their sons. One of them is pregnant and due in June. I hate to say it, but seeing her is just a visual reminder of the miscarriage I had in November and I know it's kind of put a mental block on me getting to know her. So I told myself to get over it already and started to find out more about her. Basically I found out that she was an elementary art teacher before having C. She is an A&M grad and graduated from high school in 95. So she is two years younger than me. Not exactly the most interesting information but three things more than I knew before.
On the way to the car I ran into J and her two sons, I and V. I met her at Starbucks over a year ago and for a while we would talk shop while my husband and I sat outside with our dog, Annabelle. My husband knows her husband and we were introduced when they showed up to get a coffee and ran into us. She knew me before baby and watched as I grew each month and would give me friendly motherly advice. A few months after Dominic was born she found out that she was pregnant again. Their weekly trips to Starbuck's slowed and eventually came to a stop.
She goes to my church and we've run in to them a few times after Mass. It was really good to see her again and we spent some time catching up. I hope to run in to her again soon. Maybe this time I'll be brave enough to ask for a phone number or invite them over to swim. Today I felt like I had stepped out of my comfort zone enough and didn't really want to accost the poor lady with my desperate attempt at including myself in her inner circle.
I did manage to get an invitation to join L and the other two playgroup gals this Friday at a local library event. Even though it's a public event we'll be meeting there so I guess I would call it a "date". Would you?
Oh, I almost forgot: The neighborhood playgroup needed a new coordinator for the toddler group and I volunteered! I got it!!! This should help me remember names and be more involved. Yeah, me!!!
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