Building The Village

So many things have gone by the wayside since having Isla...yard work especially!  We used to have the best yard on the block.  No more!  Yesterday I told Isla she just had to help me do it. 

Not that we accomplished much, but we sure had fun trying! 

But guess who was out there this morning at 7am, in the rain, trying to rake all of the leaves from the yard before the freeze?  Crazy neighbor Damie.  My neighbor came out and asked me "What in the hell was I doing?"  I responded, "you know I have a baby and can't get this stuff done like a normal person!" 

I was thinking about the juggling act that I often have to do on an hour to hour basis to accomplish the minimum.  What really helps me is to keep a positive attitude and to surround myself with great support.  That has meant adding and reinforcing supporting people in my life.

It is true that it takes a village to raise a child.  Too bad we don't have that village mentality anymore in today's society.  Everyone is so busy, spread out, and independent!  I would have never known any different until I needed my village.  

An extension of our village has been daycare.  Isla has been going 2 x week now while I work, but we are upping it to 4 x week in January.  I tossed and turned with the decision at night to send her more frequently to daycare, but, if I am going to work, someone has to take care of Isla.  I felt better about my decision when I picked her up from daycare yesterday and she was all smiles.  I am so grateful her teachers are loving and positive.  Being a stay at home mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world that you can't comprehend till you do it, but it is so wonderful too.  I love spending time with my daughter.  My goal that I am determined to make happen is blending the stay-at-home mom with working mom so that I get to spend as much time as possible with my daughter while still working for my family. 

Another big acquisition to the village was a professional dog sitting service for when we go out of town. It is expensive.  When people say kids are expensive, it is not really what you buy or do for the kids.  It is the way you have to change your life that may involve some different expenses to keep things running.  But, when the dog sitters came over, they were so great that I knew it would alleviate a whole level of stress from us when we go out of town.  Now we have the freedom (at a cost) to take Isla places.  It helped that one of the girls was in the class below me in high school! 

And thank you to my friends this week for being another great part of our village.  I wanted to go to book club this week and see my friends, but Dave wasn't going to be home until 8:00pm.  So, I just took Isla to book club with me, and my friends were wonderfully receptive to having a new member. 

Isla was clearly thrilled with her new book club membership as well. 

So, we are continuing to build our little village here...ideas are appreciated.  And babysitter referrals are great too!!!!!