Staying Busy

I never realized how hard it was to fill an entire day with a one-year-old. And a rainy day? Forget about it. It's a lost cause. Take full advantage of nap time because that's the only bit of sanity you're going to have. I was at such a loss for what to do today that I took Robbie for a walk in the rain. Twice.

Now, in all fairness, I didn't mean to take him for a walk in the rain - either time. This morning I just didn't have it in me to go to the gym. I couldn't face forty minutes on the treadmill. Instead, Robbie watched me attempt to get through a Jillian Michaels workout on On-Demand. My compassionate son laughed the entire time. Still not feeling like I'd quite earned my breakfast, I decided to take Barkley and Robbie for a walk. When I do this, I've found that it's easiest to put Robbie in the Jeep baby carrier (similar to the Baby Bjorn, but Justin's all about Jeep...) and have Barkley on a leash. It's do-able with a stroller but much more difficult to maneuver. It still took a good five minutes (and a full body sweat) to get the child strapped to my chest and the dog on his leash. When we got outside and felt the raindrops, I couldn't bear to let myself admit defeat. So, although it was a short walk, we took one. Around the block. Once.

By this time, Robbie was ready for yogurt and a nap. He helped me get caught up on So You Think You Can Dance, rocking his head in time to the music (this makes for difficult yogurt-feeding). By the time he was down, I was ready for a nap myself. But, there was a house to clean, friends to chat with... You know, all the tough stuff. Plus, I knew I had to gear myself up for the afternoon, which was full of emptiness. And, as we all know, an empty afternoon is a dangerous afternoon.

Robbie took a generous three-and-a-half-hour nap and was raring to go by 1:40. Since it looked like the sky had cleared a little, I figured we would walk to The Meat House to get steaks for dinner. It was a mile and a half each way, which would make out for missing my run in the morning. We loaded Robbie in the stroller, bounced him down the stairs, and off we went, rocking to the music on the iPod. And the clouds rolled in. I kept expecting to see lightning bolts a few blocks over. Not that it would have kept me from my walk. There was no way I was sitting in the house with Robbie all afternoon. Especially since he's discovered drawers and pulling everything out of them. It's absolutely maddening.

We got the meat, stopped for a little iced coffee, and headed home. Incidentally, Robbie enjoys iced coffee. He kept watching me drink it, and I kept promising him that he wouldn't like it. Except he did. A lot. Ever since he figured out how to use a straw, he's been unstoppable. Now, don't go panicking on me. He didn't drink too much. But I was surprised that he drank any of it.

It started raining when we were a block or so from home, so we ducked into our local florist. Really, we probably could have made it home (the downpour didn't start until we'd been there for five minutes), but I knew it would still be two hours until Justin was home. Instead, Meg chatted with us, showed Robbie all the toys she had (I may be back for that puppet!), and made a gorgeous arrangement of flowers for our dining room table (I can't just stop in to talk all the time!).

Robbie and I survived today. And we have plans tomorrow afternoon, rain or shine! I think we'll be filling the rest of the summer with lots of fun mother-son activities.