I think it's fair enough to tell this story.
Stacey and I made the best decision yet of our parenthood lives to enroll our daughter in a local co-op preschool. It's been incredible building relationships with other like minded parents and it's benefited our relationships with our children as well. That's not the point though...
A family in the co-op recently asked if they could drop their 3 year old boy and 2 twin 20 month old twin boys off for a few hours on a Friday. Stay At Home Dad Mode kicks in. I can do this. I can do anything!
Drop off was made. Find snacks. I thought my 2 girls ate a lot ... boys eat A LOT! And for good reason. They are active! From jumping off the walls, moving around furniture, and constantly getting into things they shouldn't, these little guests didn't slow down. From the 3 year old, whom I'm most acquainted with via the co-op, he's an even more energetic little fellow. It's like he ran a 5k before his mom dropped him off!
Lunch couldn't come quick enough - as the boys I was watching were vegan and I was running out of vegan option snacks. Their mom dropped off peanut butter and sunflower jelly sandwiches, which were amazing and I was holding them for lunch. So we finally dined, a kitchen full of loud, hungry, fun loving little people graciously ate vegan yummies until their bellies content.
And then it was on. Mind you, it was raining outside so throwing them in the backyard was out of the picture. The blocks came out, the balls came out, the diapers needed changing and they were still hungry! We danced to Gangam Style, and played guitar, bongos and maracas, and read books ... it was a full on daddy day care up in the hood.
1 episode of television saved the day...just to rest and calm things down. We don't want to the be the household that you drop your kids off too and they learn the Fresh Beat Theme song. Funny how kids can bond over a television show, thought ... "Wait, you know Dora? I know Dora too!!".
And then it was on again. I had to put my youngest down for a nap. She couldn't handle all the attention from 3 cute older boys. So she's napping, we're drawing, and mom arrives to the boys yelps of glee.
Pick up was a success, Indie was still sleeping, Zoe and I chilled and then we went to pick up mama.
It's funny - being a Working Stay At Home Dad you plan your days around such events. It's important for Zoe and Indie to have interaction on their home turf (and others' home turf) with their peers. I worked my butt off to ensure I didn't have much to do on Friday so I could over see a successful play-date.
Oh how I never expected myself to type that...
Cheers!
-marc
Stacey and I made the best decision yet of our parenthood lives to enroll our daughter in a local co-op preschool. It's been incredible building relationships with other like minded parents and it's benefited our relationships with our children as well. That's not the point though...
Drop off was made. Find snacks. I thought my 2 girls ate a lot ... boys eat A LOT! And for good reason. They are active! From jumping off the walls, moving around furniture, and constantly getting into things they shouldn't, these little guests didn't slow down. From the 3 year old, whom I'm most acquainted with via the co-op, he's an even more energetic little fellow. It's like he ran a 5k before his mom dropped him off!
Lunch couldn't come quick enough - as the boys I was watching were vegan and I was running out of vegan option snacks. Their mom dropped off peanut butter and sunflower jelly sandwiches, which were amazing and I was holding them for lunch. So we finally dined, a kitchen full of loud, hungry, fun loving little people graciously ate vegan yummies until their bellies content.
1 episode of television saved the day...just to rest and calm things down. We don't want to the be the household that you drop your kids off too and they learn the Fresh Beat Theme song. Funny how kids can bond over a television show, thought ... "Wait, you know Dora? I know Dora too!!".
And then it was on again. I had to put my youngest down for a nap. She couldn't handle all the attention from 3 cute older boys. So she's napping, we're drawing, and mom arrives to the boys yelps of glee.
Pick up was a success, Indie was still sleeping, Zoe and I chilled and then we went to pick up mama.
It's funny - being a Working Stay At Home Dad you plan your days around such events. It's important for Zoe and Indie to have interaction on their home turf (and others' home turf) with their peers. I worked my butt off to ensure I didn't have much to do on Friday so I could over see a successful play-date.
Oh how I never expected myself to type that...
Cheers!
-marc
Way to go, super-dad!
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