Sanity

Just like every other stay at home mome, I spend a majority of my day in one-sided conversation with a little person. I also pick up the same 40 toys and books everyday that she loves to pull off her shelves. The highchair is never clean. The car seat is always crusty. The stroller is filled with food. Her clothes are always stained. And I fold those tiny clothes over and over again.....only to come back to a big pile on the floor. It's not a new story, you all know what I'm talking about.

So what is a stay at home mom to do in order to keep from losing her mind???

Enter The Playdate.

Initially, it had nothing to do with Skylar since all she did was sit there and drool. Playdates are more about moms. It's how we keep our sanity. I usually schedule 3-4 a week. Over the last year, the playdate has become more than just a social hour though. It's a chance to see other moms in action, to learn from each other, to encourage each other AND to commisserate. It was worth having a baby just for all the mom friends I got out of the deal.

Now that Skylar's older, she actually gets something out of too, so that's a nice perk.

One of my favorite get-togethers is with my long time friends Jess and Edi. All three of us met and dated our husbands at Spring Canyon. We knew each as teenagers before we were wives or mothers, and I think that is so cool! I decided they deserved a little blog time.

I've known Jess since the summer of 1996 when she was on paid staff at Spring Canyon and I was a lowly volunteer. Even though she's only a year older, she terrified me. Then several years later we were on permanent staff together. She had married Peter and had a newborn, Jude, at that point. We lived in an isolated little bubble so we really only had each other. She and Peter were very generous with their home and always reached out to the single people at camp. Now that baby is 9 and she has two other girls!

I think I met Edi sometime around 1998. We worked together in the summers. She was fun, motivated and really talented with children. Although I've known her for a long time, it's been fun really getting to "know" her as a mom this past year after she and her husband Travis moved back to Colorado Springs.
This past week we decided to meet up at America the Beautiful Park so the kids could play in the fountain.
Ashley Crum:

Ashley and Aravis:

Chubs McGee enjoying the water:
Edi's daughter Hailey is the cutest little thing ever. I didn't get any pics of her son Riley because he was off playing the entire time.

The carrot sticks and banana I brought for Skylar were no match for everyone else's yummy treats. Skylar stole everybody's snacks!
Hailey shared her chips with Skylar and even fed her one at a time.
Jess always packs a cute little basket for her kids. It all very Martha Stewart-esque.
This is Jude, otherwise known as mini-Peter. He is the spitting image of his dad.

I'm so going to miss these ladies when we move!