Today I am in Nashville attending the Blissdom Conference!
But don’t worry, I have a great guest poster for you!
I “met” Elissa on Twitter and you are going to love her and her “Snow Day” Story!
My kids are almost 2 and almost 4 (their birthdays are in February) and they are really good kids. They both say please and thank you, and my oldest also says excuse me, and even “bless you” if someone sneezes. Since they were born, I’ve stayed home with them numerous times for a sick day plus some vacations. In October I even took them on a four day “girls only” vacay to Branson for museums, shopping and fun! So it’s not like I always have my husband right by my side to help with this kids – although I usually do, because he is a GREAT dad! How great? He’s taken them on a couple of vacations on by himself…just him and his girls; trips that involve long car rides and multiple stops. Seriously, he’s a GREAT dad.
Anyway, St. Louis gets snow. I mean, it’s winter in the Midwest. Not a lot of snow, but we get snow. My husband is away for work (we both travel occasionally) so while a major snowstorm would be an inconvenience, it really wasn’t a big deal in my mind – other than knowing that questionable weather brings idiots out in droves to drive on the roads! Little did I know that not only was this storm going to bring LOTS of snow (about 10 inches at my house), it was also going to turn my 2 year old daughter “Gracie” into something that resembled an escaped zoo monkey more than a child.
Bright and early I started appreciating the talents of single parents. Talents, because I’m sure it doesn’t take a single parent much time to figure out how to shovel the driveway and still keep the kids safe inside. Well, it took me a little while before I convinced myself that with the kids eating breakfast in front of the television it was safe for me to venture outside. Yes, there was plenty of snow, but I still had plans for us to go to work and daycare. Once I got my driveway shoveled I realized that I wasn’t going anywhere…my subdivision hadn’t been plowed yet and there was no way my husband’s “man van” (GMC Acadia) was getting us out to a main road. So I went back inside, told my kids they could stay in their jammies all day if they wanted and set up my computer to work. This is when the fun started.
My “desk” for the day started out as the island in our kitchen. I couldn’t put my computer on the table because I’ve already learned that when I do, and Gracie is around, she silently lurks and waits for me to get up from the table before striking…climbing up to the computer and sending random tweets, instant messages and e-mails to unsuspecting followers and colleagues. The island worked for awhile until Gracie started climbing onto the island via a barstool. Time for a new location…I now had to move to the counter.
I set the computer up by the kitchen sink and Gracie decided it was time for water play. This was fine as she would keep occupied for a while. That was fun for a while and then she moved on to playing with her older sister. Great! It was time for some conference calls so I was excited that they were playing quietly together.
Too quietly it seems. I turned around at one point and discovered that Gracie had gone into the pantry, gotten some icing sugar and opened the bag. She was covered from head to toe and our hardwood floors were white too!
Uh oh! Alarm bells started going off in my head as I realized it was going to be “one of those days!” I still had no idea…
Well, for the rest of the day, as hard as I tried to concentrate on work, Gracie was always getting into something. Toilet paper, water (when I stopped letting her play at the kitchen sink she moved to the bathroom), markers, play doh – the list is endless.
But there’s always naptime, right? Um, right. Today was the day that Gracie decided to start climbing out of the playpen she sleeps in. She stopped sleeping in a crib months ago because her legs kept getting caught in between the bars but was not willing to sleep in a toddler bed, so she has been sleeping in the trusty Pack N’ Play. Until today. Three times I put her down for a nap, and three times she climbed out of the playpen, opened her closed door and walked downstairs. On the fourth time she fussed for awhile then settled down. Success! Silence! Until 10 minutes later when she started screaming at the top of her lungs. I went to check on her and instead of finding her in her playpen, I discovered that she had gotten out, climbed up her change table, and was now stuck, unable to figure out how to get down. Ugh! There goes nap time.
All through the day, I was tweeting away about the crazy things my youngest was doing and detailing the fun over instant messenger for my husband. When I made a plea on Twitter for a wine delivery, my colleagues knew I was cooked! And I think there was a point that my husband didn’t actually believe that all this was happening. It couldn’t be. Gracie is a pretty laid back kid…an adventurous, inquisitive little girl, but she’s 2 (almost), so that’s to be expected.
But really, I can’t make this stuff up!
Needless to say, I couldn’t wait for bedtime. I fed the kids dinner, they had a nice warm bath and put on cozy pajamas. By 6:15 p.m. Gracie had given into her exhaustion and gone to sleep…finally!
Now, 90 minutes later I’m watching TV with my oldest daughter by a warm fire, and giggling as I write this. I giggle because I know that I am so wrapped around the fingers of my little girls. Days off with my girls are rare, especially days off with NOTHING to do. And as crazy as the day was, it was hard to give Gracie trouble because she’s so darn cute and I am just so in love with both my girls.
The plow has finally made it down my street so tomorrow we will be going to work and daycare. I repeat, we will be going to work and daycare — no more snow days for us! As for next time, I’ve already warned my husband that he gets snow day duty!
About me:
Personally, I am a 34 year old, married mom of two young girls; and professionally, I am a corporate brand marketing manager for one of the top casino gaming companies in the United States. I love my husband, I love my kids, I love my job…I love my life! Follow me on Twitter @eplastino.
LOL! Sounds like most days around here. Kids always seem to know how to get our attention. I live in STL, too!
P.S. I also love casinos:) LOL Going back out to Vegas in March.
Thanks April…it was crazy but really pretty funny! Have fun in Vegas…March should be great there!
This sounds like my days! I can never turn my back on the twins because they will leave a path of destruction!!
Twins? Amy, you're my hero!
Elissa – Awesome story! Sounds like a crazy day! 🙂 Your girls are precious too.
I'm still laughing over our small world connection! Too funny! I can't wait for Melissa to get back from Nashville so we can fill her in on the scoop! 🙂
I am your newest follower. I hope you will check out my blog and follow me back.
-DP
Hip Chick's Guide to PMS, Pregnancy, and Babies
Thanks Carrie, it is a very small world! Yep, I was already following your personal account (through someone PR related I'm sure) and then found your blog through Melissa! Happy Friday everyone & I'm so glad you enjoyed the blog post!