.....this weekend I rattled off my intended schedule to Stefan for the day over our morning brew......
......Gym with the girls for Ultimate Workout class, home to shower; could he help with feeding the girls lunch on a study break, btw?, Target with Elsie while Callie naps because I had a list a million miles long, home to drop the goods off; put them all away later, run to a late afternoon birthday party with Elsie and then leave before pizza to meet up for our family Mexican dinner at the new joint that just opened on 84th Street......
......Stefan just looked at me with a blank face reminding me that it sounded like a long day for a weekend.....then he proceeded to tell me that I am really pregnant, reciting out the wrong week of my pregnancy; but I knew his point......and I reminded him that it was a drop in the bucket and that it would be a good, productive day.....
......and instead of Target, my oldest and I had quiet time together......nestled and curled up in my bed, I watched her suck her little fingers furiously to sooth herself.....and just when I thought she may swallow them whole, they popped out of her mouth and her breathing became rhythmically slower.....inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale......so peaceful and tranquil......reminding me to slow down and to enjoy these tiny moments of weekends or any day for that matter......and although I could not will myself to sleep, I rested with my eyes closed for an hour.....forcing out of my head the to do lists for baby, the gripes of discomforts as its head or an elbow or some newly formed body part smashed into one of my organs on the lower right side of my body......willing out the urge to get up and be productive around the house......instead, I quieted my mind, occasionally opening my eyes to watch my oldest sleep so undisturbed......and it was a much better way to spend the afternoon.....
.......although, we did make it to the birthday party......
......and I am glad that Elsie had her nap because she was hot and sweaty after leaving this fun house.....
......and although all was good once we arrived at dinner, she did not want to leave the party......even to meet up with Daddy and Callie.....but she found her niche once she arrived.....one time an avid avocado lover, she now has to be forced to eat them.....which left more guacamole for the remaining three of us......so Elsie loved to scoop and feed to participate in the ritual of appetizers......
.....until it got to the point that we were all being force fed so fast that Stefan had to take the guac and set it in his lap and call out a slow down, girls at the table......a theme that seems to keep resurfacing in our family.....
.......and my husband is known in our house for reminding all of us to take a moment to breathe.....it's one of the things I love most about him.....he's our balance.....I'm ying, he's yang.....
.....so some musical chairs and chocolate ice cream later, we were jolting back home, running frenzied from the cold to wind the day down......
......and even then, Daddy picks us up to remind us that we are running too fast......
......and so we slow down, we cut our to do lists in half, I remind myself that I don't have the energy of my usual spirited self.....and that's ok.....
.......because we eventually make our way to Target.....a small taste of suburbia we get to experience up in Harlem.....still a treat for my two girls to score a double cart that holds both of them perched up high to be my shopping helpers......
......persuading me to throw that pair of pink tights we need for ballet into the cart, as well as the family sized box of fruit snacks.....
......as well as new hair jewels I don't find until we arrive home to try them all on at once......
......and we slow down for Elsie to practice taking pictures.....a joy she loves and explodes in hysterical laughter after each click......
......documenting the nothingness of the weekend......the time we take to hang out and talk and laugh.....smile, baby, smile.....
......and I take time to slowly unwrap my first spring purchase as the snow quietly fell this weekend.....reminding myself that with the warmer weather and new life that spring brings, our family will also welcome our new addition.....and that is a bright and cheerful thought.....
.....so a Momma must dress the part.....
I found it rather difficult to snap a photo of my feet with the protruding belly.....
.....and so we start off this week reminding ourselves to slow down, to stay in low gear.....
......and to enjoy every minute of it.....
......ever so slowly.....
