Playdate Update

Well we were up bright and early yesterday morning to catch the bus for our playdate. It didn't start until 10:30, but we had to catch the first bus at 8am! Although it was bound to be a confusing and long bus ride (we had to catch 3 different buses), I was very excited about our day. To me, bus riding seemed like an adventure. In the towns I grew up in there weren't any buses to ride...you either had a car or someone with a car...or you were stuck at home. So I was actually excited to see how a bus system worked. Of course, with my wandering brain and plenty of time to think while riding the bus it made me think of my grandparents who had met at a bus stop so many years ago and fell in love. How romantic that must of been! Of course, if some guy had attempted to get my attention at a bus stop in this day and age, I probably would have wished for some pepper spray!

I could tell right away that the bus drivers and other passengers weren't nearly as thrilled as I was, but nonetheless Anistyn and I were still excited about our day.

We quickly amused ourselves with little games and looking at the sights....and me with people watching which is something I am quite fond of. Oh the people that ride the bus...never dull!

When we finally got to the Del Monte Center where the restaurant was, we still had about an hour before the playdate began. The Del Monte Center is a great little shopping center though, so we just perused some of the shops and stopped and got Anistyn some hot chocolate since it was a little chilly that morning.

This is how happy hot chocolate makes little girls;)

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous before going in to the restaurant. I am very outgoing, but am so ready to meet someone that I just 'hit it off' with. So what if the girls were snobby...or what if this wasn't the type of group that I meshed well with?

When I first walked in I introduced myself to one of the moms, who was a really nice army wife with a little boy and another one on the way. Then we took our seat and they were beginning the tours of the kitchen. They were doing tours in groups, so everyone had already went and they only had enough room for all of the moms around me...just not me. So, I was left at the table alone....and believe me, I almost started to cry. I don't know why...I guess its just because for that moment I wasn't "fitting in". I told myself then, that I was sure I had made a mistake and shouldn't have come...but then, a girl named Michelle walked in with her 2 kids. A baby, and a 3 year old. She sat by me and we just clicked. She's older than me, and has 4 kids. Two in school and then the younger two. Her husband is in the Navy, she's been through 2 deployments, moved, and was just so interesting to talk to. We talked about being a wife and mommy and everything that goes along with it. It was so great to be able to talk to someone who is in a sense a "pro" at it. She's been married for 9 years, runs a household and lives by a schedule, which is vey admirable. It made me think of what a newbie I am to this life. Here I was, a single mom with not a minute to spare in my day due to work, school, and taking care of Anistyn. Now within a matter of months I'm married, far away from that life that I knew, and I get to stay at home and have all the time in the world with Anistyn. Thats not me complaining...I've been so blessed and I love this life that I lead. I am so grateful and thrilled to be able to spend my days with Anistyn and have an amazing husband that comes home to us in the evening. It is so new to me though, and I just want to do the best job that I can.

We went on our tour of the kitchen, which looked like any other kitchen this ex server has seen, but Anistyn loved it and the staff really got into making it look cool for the kids. Then,  they got to sit down and make their own pizzas which was so great.

Anistyn's finished product before being cooked...

And after...she had already dug in!

It was such a great idea for the kids to be able to do and Anistyn just loved that she was able to eat something SHE had made. She kept asking me if I wanted to try some...which I did. I told her she should be the cook at our house now since she did such a great job!

We all ate and talked some more and I was able to meet more of the moms, which are mostly military wives. They were all nice, which made me feel dumb for jumping so quickly into a negative nancy at first...but I guess it was just me feeling like a fish out of water! The only downside was that there weren't really any kids Anistyn's age. They were all younger, but I'm hoping that maybe some of the other moms just weren't there. Michelle even offered to drive us home, but we were happy to take the bus back. She wants me to go to another meetup they're having this Friday so I think we'll go.

The great thing about the mom's meetup site that I found is that there are ways to get in touch with moms that have kids the same age as your child. I've already had a couple of e-mails about meeting up at the park from other moms with kids Anistyn's age. So I'm just going to try it all out. I'll still go to these little meetups just to get out of the house and have something to do, along with some nice girls to talk to, and we'll still be able to make playdates with the moms who have kids Anistyn's age.

We only have a few more months here, so its hard to get too attached when we know we're leaving soon!

In other news...Josh has his airborne physical at the end of Februrary. Yes...MY husband will be jumping...out of airplanes. Something so odd to this girl who sweats when even thinking about being on an airplane. I am perfectly fine with my two feet on the ground. I am quite jealous of people who aren't afraid of flying...I wish I wasn't! My thrill seeker husband has to do SOMETHING exciting...so this is what we agreed to. Believe me, the other options were far worse!