Last Sunday we tentatively planned to go out to lunch, as we
often do. As mid-morning passed, though,
Baby B began to whine, “I don’t want to go out to lunch…I want to stay here!” And Baby A whined in response, “I want to go
out to eat!”
Daddy stepped in and suggested that he and A go out to
lunch, and B could stay at home with Mommy.
While Mommy might have felt a little slighted at missing a trip out to
eat, I knew that was a great (and rare) opportunity for some one-on-one time…which
is probably exactly what our whiny babies really needed.
Baby A was super excited to get dressed to go out with
Daddy, and Baby B was very thankful to be staying home with Mommy. While Daddy and A had a fun time out, B and
I got some great hands-on time together.
She helped me every step of the way in making strawberry bread, and then
we snuggled and read some books, and then I made exactly what she wanted for
lunch…a butterfly-shaped sandwich, fresh veggies, and grapes.
Daddy reported what a fantastic time he had with A. He just raved about how well-behaved she was,
such a little lady. And she was all
smiles telling every last detail of their “date”. While I may have salivated a little bit,
hearing about the mushroom and artichoke pizza they shared, I knew it was so
good for the two of them to have shared that experience.
As this weekend rolled around, I wondered if the girls would
both agree to the switch, as we had talked about last Sunday afternoon. To my very pleasant surprise, the girls
brought it up themselves on Saturday morning.
“It’s my turn to go out to eat with Daddy today!” B
exclaimed. And A piped in, “I get to stay
home with Mommy!”
Daddy and B had an equally good time to what he and A had
last weekend. And A got to help Mommy in
the kitchen again, this time making one of their favorite things to “cook”,
Monkey Munch.
I have been so impressed over these two weekends…impressed first
by each of the girls’ behavior in these one-on-one situations…and impressed even
more so at their maturity in taking turns.
It’s a great reminder how important these special times are…worth
Mama giving up a share of gourmet pizza, for sure. (But I need to think of some better kitchen
exercises…we can’t be making all these sweets every week…the calories saved on
pizza do not offset dessert every day of the week!)
3 comments:
we definitely need to do better about scheduling one on one time. we have time with just mommy or just daddy and the kiddos...but no real mommy-m or mommy-t time. (unless you count going to the doctor!) ha.
b makes "yogurt cake" with the kids. it is a little less sweet (and less calories) and the kids LOVE measuring everything out to go into it!
bread is another thing that they like to help with. we've also dipped strawberries in chocolate, made an egg casserole or baked oatmeal to have for breakfast all week. :)
How fun! Often times, our one-on-one time is grocery shopping or visiting the hardware store with one of us or the other, but even those mundane things are fun when it is switched around. :)
I love times like these! We don't get it all that often, but when we do have some one-on-one time, it is so sweet.
My M especially needs some extra individual attention at times. Once every couple of months she will ask to go home with my mom from church. I know those afternoons are so very special to her, and I'm so glad she gets the opportunity to do it! (And Addison gets to soak in the feeling of having the full attention of TWO parents--which almost never happens--HA!)
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