*We hope you enjoy this guest blog from The Stork Bag Archives.*
Planning. Yep, you read it right! This mom of three under three had plans and NOTHING was going to keep me from them. The snow had us house bound for the last three days but I was determined to have the last say. We were breaking free from the house and I had my mind set on a day of outside fun and adventure for me and my kiddos. I was determined to plan a fun day for myself and my young children.
The night before I had done some browsing on the Internet to find a few things we could do the next day. I found an indoor hands museum for kids and right next to it, a new ice cream parlor with all the fixings that had just been built. Plus, on the way home, we would stop off at the Dollar Tree so the kids could pick out a new toy. BINGO! There you have it! My plans were totally awesome and sure to get me “oohs” and “aahhs” from my kiddos. As a matter of fact, these plans would deem me the best mom on the planet. Darn it, I should get a star on boardwalk after all the time I put into scheduling the day. (I know I’m a bit dramatic but bear with me!). I bathed the kids and picked out their clothes the night before and laid them down to bed by 8:30.
“This mama was on a roll and quite honestly, I was proud of myself. Adventure, here we come!”
My alarm went off by 8:00AM and I was determined to be out of the house by ten in order for us to arrive at the museum by 11. As I’m scrambling to get the kids dressed so they can eat breakfast, I heard my husband yell, “Hey honey, can you make me a breakfast sandwich really quick? I’m running behind to get out the door for work.” Breakfast Sandwich? Breakfast Sandwich? It wasn’t what I had factored into my morning 2 hour timeline but it would only take about 5 minutes or so to fry an egg and bacon right? So why not! I hurried up and dressed the kids and sat them down for breakfast while I got started on hubby’s sandwich. “Mommy my hair!” my two year old Chloe reminded me. She’s a princess in every sense of the word and has to look her best at all times. “Ok Chloe. Eat your breakfast first and mommy will do your hair,” I reminded her. I managed to get all the kids seated for breakfast as well as make my husbands breakfast.
“I checked the clock – 8:45AM. I’m still doing OK.”
Once I helped get hubby out of the door, I went to the back and grabbed the brush and comb to get started on Chloe’s hair. When I called for her to come here, she answered, “I coming Mommy! I ate all my food!” Well folks, that was an understatement. She ate all her food and apparently her shirt did too! There were bananas and milk all over her face, hair and clothes. This could not have happened at a worse time! I rushed to get her cleaned up, changed her clothes and got her hair squeezed into two ponytails. Her hair wasn’t particularly a work of art, but hey, it would have to do. The clock read 9:15AM. We were cutting it close but we could still make it!
As I got the kids ready with their hats and coats on, I realized I didn’t have my wallet on me. Where the heck could it be? I searched the house up and down and couldn’t find it anywhere! After 18 minutes of searching, I finally located it under the couch. As I got ready to place my 11 month old in her car seat, this putrid smell filled the room. What is that awful smell?! I went from kid to kid investigating the source of the smell and quickly realized the baby had a blow out that went all the way up her back. It had seeped out of her clothes and into her carseat. Welp, there goes our plans. I undressed the kids from their coats and got the baby cleaned up.
“I felt deflated and defeated.”
The kids were sad when I told them we weren’t going to be able to go because I had to run Haven’s car seat cover through the wash and we wouldn’t make it in time. I managed to find some ice cream we had had in the freezer and 4 measly maraschino cherries in the refrigerator. To spice things up a little more, I rummaged through the cabinet to find some sprinkles from the kids Christmas party 3 months back and let them use those as well (don’t judge me!). After we got our sundaes situated, I popped some popcorn, and we all nuzzled in front of the TV to watch Tangled. I felt awful – as if I had let them down. Here I was with these big lavish plans to get them out of the house, and they all fell flat, leaving us bound to the house again.
Right before I was about to sneak to the bathroom to privately sulk, my son Josiah turned to me with his ice cream mustache smile and said, “Mommy I happy! This is so much fun!” Those words penetrated every frustration I had had in that moment and completely melted them away. At the end of the day that was my main purpose, wasn’t it? Here I was upset about my plans falling through. I was so upset that I almost let the possibility of creating amazing moments with my kids at home slip by. Whether at a fancy new ice cream parlor, or at home eating ice cream sundaes with Christmas sprinkles from months before, the things that mattered most to my kids were that we were together and creating another memory.
“I quickly learned to be easier on myself and give space for the unexpected things to happen.”
Plans don’t always go as planned and that’s ok. Sometimes we have to make the best of the current situation we are presented with. Don’t let the disappointments of what could have been steal the joys of what is. The kids and I had a cozy afternoon together and I was so grateful to be able to still spend that quality time with them at home. The day turned out amazing… better than if I had planned it myself.