Single mama's & field trips

My respect goes out to all the single mama's out there. Seriously, it is SO MUCH WORK... and i'm only a single mama for half the time. My former boss (whom I loved) is a single mom to a 14 year old boy, (and was single since the baby was an infant). Anyhoo, her life always seemed like such a struggle, and my heart really went/goes out to her. So to all you single mama's out there, I tip my imaginary hat to you.

So, onto my single-mom-hood... I've found that the only way for me to get through the days are to pack them full of field trips and activities. This is what we did this week, while Sean was away ...

Day 1 (tues)- Trip to the Dinosaur museum at thanksgiving point, then off to the deli for a free toddler ice cream cone. Dixie loves the twinkle stars at the very beginning, as well as the motion exhibit. Oh and the toy store too.

Day 2 (wed)- Dixie's Toddler gym class went on a trip to the Farm at Thanksgiving Point. Feeding the goats, cows and duckies is a real favorite for me and my girls. I'm pretty sure I get more joy out of the baby calves then they do. They are so cute, and I want to have a cow one day.

Day 3 (thurs)- Trip to the Aquarium in Sandy and then off to Arctic Circle because it has the most toddler friendly play place of all fast food joints around here.

Day 4 (fri)- Trip to grandma's house to "help" her in the yard and garden. Dixie LOVES helping in anyway she can, and especially outside.

Day 5 (sat)- Trip to Kangaroo Zoo & then to Target in search of treasures in their dollar bins. Plus I may have picked up a bag of Cadbury mini eggs to get me through the rest of the day. And PS- Kangaroo Zoo is the absolute WORST place to go with a 2 yr old and a 9 month old. The blow ups are all too big for Dixie to maneuver on her own, so i had to hoist her up onto everything, while also carrying around baby lulu. That might just be my workout for today!

Along with all of the above, there has been much Dora (dixie's new favorite, she dumped mickey last week), and lots of playing outside since the weather has been so nice. We have the best neighbor kids across the street, and dixie just loves to play with them.

Its all really quite exhausting, and by the end of my 13 hour days, all i want to do is plop my big butt onto the love sac and watch my recorded shows on DVR. Again, no energy to work out, sew, cut hair, organize, clean or anything else that is actually productive.

To get through it, I have this AMAZING babysitter that I owe my soul to. She is a niece of one of my very best friends and she's a college student with her very own car (priceless in babysitting land). Anyhoo, she comes to my place for 2 hours a day when I'm on my own, and I usually work out, take my self to lunch, or go shopping during my break. Without this break, I'm pretty sure I would have moved back to Cali already, Ha!

What fun things do you do with your kiddos to keep them engaged, learning and active??

XOXO
Eve