Field Trip - A Small, But Meaningful Victory for Mommy

I won't lie.  Working full-time stinks.  Only a few short months ago, I had the chance to work three days a week and spend the other two with my son.  It was perfect.   I could earn some money to help pay for household expenses, spend valuable time with Lewie, and find some hours in-between for myself and my own well-being.

Working full-time, for me, has changed everything.  I have less time for Lewie, less time for myself, less time to clean the house, and just less time in general.  Everything has turned into a very tightly wound schedule--one that can unwind at a moment's notice if one detail falls out of sync.  Doctors appointments are strategically planned, personal days are requested months in advance, and weekly chores are prioritized on a level of 1 through 10.  Grocery shopping, of course, gets a # 1 rating; whereas, mopping the floors is a # 10.  (Mopping the floors never happens because I never have time to move past level # 5.) 

I find that with this type of schedule, I have to start rewarding myself for small victories.  Yay, I was able to put up Halloween decorations a week before the holiday, or yay, I was able to squeeze in a quick walk during my lunch hour at work!

This week's small victory was being able to go on my son's field trip.  After rearranging appointments at work and promising to make up my time by staying late during other nights of the week, I was able to spend three glorious hours with my son and his teachers and classmates. 

You see, ever since I started working full-time, Lewie has felt the effects of Mommy not being around as much.  As I drop him off from school, he usually begins his chorus of requests...

"Mommy can you stay at school today to read us a book?"

"Mommy, I wish you can work here."

"Mommy, can you pick me up early?  Can you pick me up after lunch time?"

The requests go on and on, and the mommy guilt presses on me like carrying a 350 pound bag of sand on my shoulders.  I know I'm not unique; many moms have to work and trade in treasured moments with their kids for banal hours with irritating coworkers and demanding customers.   I know I will eventually adjust...he will eventually adjust.  We're just not there yet.

So, in the meantime, I'm happy to share these prized pictures of Lewie's field trip.  It was a memorable day because it was a day where once...just once...I could say "yes" to one of Lewie's tender requests.  "Yes Lewie, I can stay with you at school today, and yes we will be able to have fun together." 

Lewie, me, and his little class on the hayride.  (Lewie found an interesting piece of hay...)

My little boy and I.  (Wish he was smiling...oh well.)

The view (right from over my little boy's head).

Cows coming toward us.  Evidently, the thrill of this hayride is that the cows get to eat...

Right from our wagon...  That's one of little Lewie's classmates feeding them.

Lunch!

Lewie preferred to watch the cows eat instead of feeding them himself.

Miss Nicole writing Lewie's name on his pumpkin.

Om my...what is Dennis the Menace up to now...?

Lewie's little Kokopelli preschool class.  They were all angels.  Honestly.

Driving through the muck to get back.

We were seriously going through two feet of water... I won't lie; I was nervous we were going to get stuck!

Made it!  Whew!

Goodbye Schreiber's Farm!  Time to return to our van.

Our Second Field Trip!

This month has been a complete whirlwind!  Every weekend we have celebrated somebody's birthday.  After celebrating mine on the third, we then celebrated my sister-in-law's, my mom's, my six-year old niece Sarah's, my husband's boss's, my father-in-law's, and now my mother-in-law's.  Then, sprinkle in a few more kid birthdays parties of Little Lewie's friends.  I think Little Lewie now expects that we have a birthday celebration at least once a week.  Just yesterday, he started asking about when he can have some more birthday cake!

This month has also been quite busy at Little Lewie's pre-school.  There have been projects for us to complete at home, an Open House, and a field trip!  Since I volunteered to chaperone, which basically means I volunteered to watch my own kid, I made sure I took the day off from work so Little Lewie and I could have some mother-son bonding time.  I knew he was going to enjoy taking the school bus from the last field trip we had, but other than that...I had no idea what to expect.

Enjoying the school bus ride!

The farm.

Hanging out with Miss Kim (Lewie's teacher from daycare last year).

Bonding time.

Lewie and one of his little "pumpkin" friends.

Nice horsey.

"Hey, you can't eat my sleeve!"

Driving the apple truck.

Picking out a pumpkin.  (Mommy had to pick it up since it was "too heavy.")

I love my boy!

First game of "Duck, Duck, Goose!" 

In some cases, this field trip was a lot like the one we took in the spring.  Little Lewie loved the school bus, he still got impatient with the 15 minute hayride, and he didn't always listen to given orders either by his teachers or by me.  However, there were signs that he's getting older too.  This time we used the potty, and Little Lewie had a chance to test out his camera taking skills.  (He's become just as fascinated with the camera as he is with the phone--hmmm...I wonder who he's learned that from?)   He also learned how to play "Duck, Duck, Goose" for his first time.  When he was picked, he didn't know what to do, so I had to ask him to stand up and show him.  Unfortunately, like all kids, he didn't want his turn to come to an end, so even when we told him it was time for him to sit back down in the circle, he still continued to tap everyone's head.  Evidently, his little friends didn't know the exact purpose of the game either, so then some of his other little boy classmates got up and started chasing each other around the circle.  It was pretty silly; only the girls stayed in the circle and actually followed the directions (Ha!)

It was nice to have some mother-son bonding time at his school.  Ten years from now, I picture myself chaperoning his field trips to NYC or his first school dance (gulp).  Okay I'm going to stop thinking about that for now...