Just because you're a mommy....

A month ago I met a dad at the dog park who was pushing his 10 month old (who was bigger than Stella!!) in a little tricycle. We chatting pleasantly for a bit and then he mentioned that if I stayed at home with Stella during the day, he had just joined a "baby group" that gets out and does cheap/free activities with others around town. Great, I said - I'll look into it. Now that Stella is way past the "larvae stage" (as a friend calls it) I feel bad that our weekly outings usually consist of trips to the grocery store, the post office and the swings. Now don't get me wrong - we are at the point now where if we even DRIVE past the playground in our neighborhood, she has a freak out if we don't stop. (And don't even get me started on what happens if we walk with Scupper past there... let's just say that Mommy is a sucker and we usually go on the swings).

Anyway, so I go on their website (sponsored by the larger "meetup.com" which actually seems like a good website for connecting with people) and join. I look at the calendar and they do quite a lot. trips to local museums, storytimes, walks in the park, etc. Most of the kids are 2 and younger, so I'm thinking, this is perfect!

So I go to my first one last week - a meetup at the local YMCA pool/aquatic center that has an awesome baby pool/fountain/slide thing. We're a little late, but I find the coordinating lady in the shallow end with her big black straw hat. "HI! - You must be Aimee! So excited to meet you, you know I am just so happy about this group, and I was SO excited to meet another mom that I haven't met before. You know, this is Michaela and she is just over one and we have been in swimming classes since she was 3 months, I mean, she just loves the water!" [look down, see baby crying softly, obviously not enjoying this at all] "I live around here, isn't this neat? Oh my, look at the straps on her bathing suit, you know, you never can tell about sizing, and boy, i guess i'm going to have to fix these straps, Oh Michaela, it's ok, you LOVE the water, right?"

Woosh. Take a deep breath. "Um, hi. Yes, I'm Aimee, this is Stella."

Finally, the lady took her daughter out of the water and wrapped her up in a towel and she immediately stopped fussing. (Duh). Then the questioning started, so what do you do? Oh that's right, you said you were a student. What do you do again?

Word to the wise. Saying that you're finishing up a PhD in theater is a big conversation ender. I think I just should have said i was a part-time teacher. That may have been more accessible. But let's just say that the conversations that followed were just awkward. They were talking about some new thing, and I admitted that i was in Babies-r-us for the first time in almost 6 months and that Stella and I were amazed all that the crap that you could get for your kids. (oops.) Then I wiped Stella's running nose with the hem of my sundress because I ran out of tissues in our swimming tote. (oops.) I was handed - no joke - a "boogie wipe." Literally, a baby wipe that is supposed to be for the nose and face so that kids don't have a fit when you wipe their face. "Grape flavored." Seriously? I couldn't get the "Grape" smell out of my fingers for two hours after I was offered one to try.

I guess I sound all high and mighty, (and terribly judgmental) but what the "Adventure" put in stark relief for me was that just because you're a mom and someone else is a mom doesn't mean that it is enough to form a friendship. (I guess I should have learned from my daily outings at the dog park, since not all people at the dog park are amazing people either...)

But i did learn one thing - don't drop the PhD bomb. Oh, and I guess that maybe you don't want to wipe your daughter's nose in public with the hem of your dress. I guess they could have gone home that day thinking i was a pretty horrible mother. ;) yeah for boogies.

From the bad mommy files...

So Stella has been enjoying being outside lately. The weather here has basically been around 70 and sunny... so why not be outside most of the time? I have been transplanting tomato seedlings, aloe babies, and other various plants... weeding... playing ball with Scupper - and Stella has been digging with her plastic rake in the dirt in our container plants and crawling about the yard. What that basically translates into is: Stella has been trying to eat dirt and grass and has been getting grass-stained and dirty.

But this week - everything changed. I bought Scuppy a new outside water bowl b/c his plastic one finally cracked and broke (probably from the past two summers of sun). Let's just say that this video below was not the first time that day she enjoyed the water...

Stella's new smile

So somehow Stella's lovely smile turned into this...

She's learned to squish her eyes all tight and thinks that a "cheesy" grin is the new best way to smile. Oh dear. But I have to say, it makes me giggle every time... and when you're having the week we're having, giggling is a welcomed respite.