Getting into the swing of things...

It's starting to get a little cramped in this 2 bedroom apartment. So I am trying to get the boys out in the mornings, at the very least. Yesterday was "Park Day." We went back to the park that Aunt Holly and I discovered last week. As I pulled up, the very thing I was hoping for, but also the very thing I feared, happened. The park was FULL of Moms and kids. "Why would you fear this?" you may be asking yourself. Well, I don't know if it's just me or if it is most women, but it his hard to break through that estrogen barrier when several women are together who know one another. (I just had the vision of the sperm trying to break into the egg. ha) Upon approach, high school feelings of inadequacy rush back into mind. It can be SO hard to just think of that one question, make that one observation, compliment just the right child's behavior, to get a reaction from a woman that isn't a closed response leaving you hanging in thin air. At the same time, I was really hoping that there would be people there, that I might make a connection of some sort here in Jax. (That's what we call it here in Jacksonville. ;) ) There was one woman there who seemed to be the most gregarious of all. (In actuality, she was probably just the most self-confident of her bunch. I now know that the others are nice people, but they too were probably thinking, "what will I say to that new girl?") She sat at the picnic table with one of her girls while I was feeding Eli. Truthfully, I don't know who spoke first, but once the barrier was broken, they all seemed to filter over toward us to talk. Funny how that is... I am sure that there is some sort of sociological experiment out there that can speak to just this kind of situation. Anyway, having said all of that, they invited me and the boys to join them every Monday when they meet for their "Park Day." They were even trying to recruit us to buy a house in their neighborhood! I willingly gave them my email address and look forward to spending more time with them. Did I mention that there were NO boys. I would guess there were 12 girls there (not counting Moms.) So Mac may be in for a serious wake up call. :)



Today was "Library Day." There is a public library just around the corner. The gregarious Mom from yesterday informed me about this library's story times. One happened to be today, so we loaded up the car and headed off. We got there 15 minutes before the library even opened, so we drove around and went through the St. John's Town Center. It is an open air shopping mall. Oh people....I don't even like to shop, and I am excited about the stores there. From Barnes and Noble to Banana Republic to Louis Vuitton to Claire's (save the best for last). ;) Looking forward to some visitors so I have a real excuse to go there. Anyway, story time was fine. Mac actually participated in the "crowd participation" story. I even think Eli had a great time. He had a good poop while he was there and couldn't wipe the gummy smile off of his face while he watched me do the "butterfly" dance with Mac and the other families. I also met the sweetest Russian lady who watches her grandson. She only speaks Russian to him and understands/speaks broken English. He spoke Russian to her as well. It is so neat to see bilingual toddlers. We spoke, and I found out her daughter is dentist. She gave me her numbers in case we would need a dentist or if I had any questions about hygiene in Florida. The daughter started out as a hygienist. Funny how you make those connections.



(Wow, this is a long post)



So, yesterday was a Naptime Battle Royale at Casa de Headley. Mac and I butted heads for 2 entire hours before he finally relented. Today was no different. That is not entirely true. It WAS different in that I didn't lose my temper today! :) But it did last another 2 hours before I finally thought to myself... "Self, there is more than one way to skin a cat." Spending the rest of the afternoon picking him up and putting him back in bed was not my idea of productive, so I loaded up the boys and we headed out on the open road for a "Car seat Siesta." I had been wanting to do some exploring, so this was the perfect time for it. We drove for almost 2 hours and both Mac and Eli slept most of the way. I found 2 big outlet malls and drove up the coast on the A1A coastal highway. Let me just say, coming across the intracoastal waterway bridge in St. Augustine, heading north, there is a point when the ocean bursts into view, and it is spriritual.