Meet the new co-workers

It is the Friday of my first official week as a say at home mom!

I was laughing yesterday as I had butterflies in my tummy as we headed to the first toddler library time. Between working and running to doctors/therapists Jilli and I have never been to a toddler playgroup, or frankly any real gathering of mommies and kids. I know the moms at therapy, we know each others kids and encourage developmentally appropriate interactions between them, however most of our conversations involve getting our kids to do that they need to do. Thankfully with this group of moms (the kids who have had therapy around the same time as Jilli has changed over the last year) I have never felt like it was a show or trying to impress each other, our kids all have special needs, that is why they are there.
Our church has Mops but it is during the day so we have never gone and in the summer moms get together at a beach but with Jilli's needs a beach is not a good place for her, so we have never joined in that either. It just is what is, and part of having a kid with different needs as the typical kid. This is not a feel sorry for us kind of thing, it is just the facts of life.
It probably sounds funny but I was nervous to go to our first toddler story time at the library. We live outside of a ritzy tourist town with people who make a lot more money then we do. I was also bringing a child who is different. It is not hard to tell she has special needs with the oxygen and feeding tube lines running out of her shirt and attaching to bags.
I had everything all set to leave the house, we were running early... and then I spent a long time looking for my keys... they had fallen into the box of oxygen! So we got to the library about a minute after story time started so we tried to sneak in.
Jilli loved story time. It was all about frogs and by total chance she had frog stickers on her oxygen line that day so she was really proud of that. She mainly just observed the other kids but she did join in some. It was fine. The moms did not really interact with each other, not in a cold way, just everyone was focused on their kids.
After story time was over we walked to the farmers market and got some fresh food to make dinner.
As I was leaving town (we live out in the country) I was thinking about how my nerves were like the jitters you get on the first day of a new job when you are meeting everyone new.
I thought the whole time that I felt jittery that my feeling that was was pure crazy! It is not like I'm a new mom, I have been at this for a little while now, and it is not like have have not spent my fair share of time with children (I have been babysitting since I was 11, and started teaching a  3 year old Sunday school class at 12!) The kid part of this stay at home mom gig is not what scares me, instead it is the other moms... and the house work.
Little side tangent... I am going to have to figure out a way to get past the "I'm a stay at home mom now so my house much look like it is on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens" It is Friday and honistly my house looked a lot better on Wednesday then it does today. I made a fun dinner with stuff I got at the farmers market and it created a lot of dishes, and Jilli and I made a garage for her toy trucks out of a cardboard box so there are crayons all over because she is two so we have colored on it multiple times today. I will have to find that mental balance of getting things done and having the motivation to do so, but also not beating myself up about the fact that if a photographer walked into my living room at the moment I would probably cry.
So I met my first round of new co-workers... the moms at toddler library time... next week it is the moms at the zoo for zoo class! 

Playing the Disney Jr version of twister... it is funny to watch because 90% of the time she sat on her butt and pointed to what she was suppose to touch... she had a great deal of fun though

I have had this abc thing for a while but forgot about it. I am trying to find my pin trading lanyard before we go to Disney so I am cleaning out my office and stumbled upon this. She really enjoyed it.

We worked together to match all of the big and little letters and name them. Then she had to go back and put the little letters ON the big letters... she is so funny about things sometimes

She looked like she was up to something in this picture... she fell asleep in yesterdays close and had not changed yet so she looked a little of a hot mess... but hey, why not!

Our cardboard box garage. I wrote "Jillian & Mommy" on it, she picked up a crayon and told me she wrote "bumpa" on it. She then went back over our names. She was so proud of her writing. Good pre-writing skills!

ps: I worked out with the Wii Fit today for the first time in a long time (it said 401 days... I don't feel like it has been that long!) My goal is to go to Disney and come home and not see tummy pouch in pictures and not need to wear spanks with skirts... so I am determined to tone around my waist and legs at the same time I become a stay at home mom and don't have to move as much as I did as a teacher... I will do this! My little fitness couch today was so cute. Jilli would clap if I did something correctly. She also tried to do everything that I did, which was cute, got a little interesting what she fell on the Wii fit board at one point but when you excessive with a two year old you have to be a little flexible. :) Hopefully we will keep up exercising and get in better shape this summer!