This weekend I had my first successful outing with all three kids by myself! I know, not a huge deal for seasoned parents. And of course I knew that by having more children I would have to handle more children when we left the house. (I have considered just staying home forever. I don’t think that will end up working out well.) My first few outings with all three are going to be small, manageable events. I like to set myself up for success. These first few are important in confidence building.
This first trip just the four of us was pretty simple. I was taking Ben to get a haircut, and then we were going to hang out at Meo and Omi’s house. Very easy. We take Ben to a place just for kids for his haircuts. Yes, it is a couple of dollars more than just going to Super Cuts or somewhere like that. (That’s what Pat and I do for ourselves) But I think it is worth the couple of extra bucks to have the fun chairs Ben likes. Plus he gets to watch a show while they cut his hair. Overall I really like that they are used to dealing with kids. The stylists can get in and out quickly to get his hair cut with minimal fuss. Plus, since it is a kid place I didn’t think anyone would mind the giant boat of a stroller that the girls ride around in.
We didn’t make an appointment, and I knew it could be crowded, as we went on a Saturday morning. I loaded up the kids and headed that way anyway. Pat wanted the house empty to finish building shelves and rearranging our living room. We had to find some semblance of order in all the toys and baby gear. I totally understood this was hard to do with the kids actually up and around. So off the 4 of us went!
I was right, there was a wait for walk ins. I was ready to go ahead and leave. I mean, Ben could last longer before getting his hair cut, so no big deal. I was happy I got everyone out of the car and in the store. We walked back to the car, and Ben got upset that we hadn’t gotten his hair cut. I explained to him we would have to wait awhile, but he didn’t seem to mind. He just seemed so sad he didn’t get his hair cut, so we headed back inside. I’m sure the check in girl thought we were nuts, but we were back. The store has a nice play area, and Ben happily played for a good half an hour. Having three kids is already showing to be good for Ben and me. Normally I am one of those people who would be right in there with Ben, playing and trying to make sure he had a perfect time. Now I stood back a bit to be with the girls. I was nearby when Ben needed help, but otherwise he was free to play on his own. He seemed to love it! There were other kids in and out of the play area, and Ben interacted with them pretty well. It is good for him to have to deal with social situations on his own. And it is good for me to have to stand back and let him.
The actual hair cut itself was uneventful. Ben got to sit in a race car and watch Mickey. He did well. Of course he didn’t like the whole thing, but there were no major tears or melt downs. That’s a win. After we finished there we loaded up the van and went over to Meo and Omi’s. Nothing too exciting there. We are lucky they let us use their place as a hang out away from our own home. It is easy to bring the kids there right now. Ben loves going over there. And it gets us out of our own home for a bit. Wins all around.
Overall, not a big deal Saturday. I mean, how many other people were out and about, getting errands done. But for me and the kids, it was important. I know getting all three out is actually pretty easy right now, the girls tend to just sleep the whole event. When they perk up things will be different. But that’s okay. Every successful outing is a win that makes me feel more confident. Every failed outing is a good story for the blog, right? 😉
A few shots from our successful day.
Playing hard like a champ! |
I kind of wish I could get my hair cut in a race car. 🙂 |
The girls. |
Okay, the last picture isn’t actually from the hair cut outing. But when we bring the girls out this is what they look like. You can’t really see them, and they just sleep. So it works.
Next outing is a library program for Ben. We’ll see how it goes!
–Kim