What a Difference a Day Makes

I woke up this morning determined to have a better day with The Boy than yesterday. I was going to be proactive and try and break the cycle. I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to do it, but damnit, I was going to do something. So when The Ex called and cancelled on her time with The Boy (she takes him for a couple hours every Saturday morning) because she was sick, I got on the internet. And I found the perfect thing.

The Boy has been having a great time drawing and painting lately. He is really into his artwork. So I decided to take him to this place where you can buy a piece of pottery and he can paint it to his little heart's content and then they fire it and polish it and make it pretty. Not only was I going to take him to do something that I really thought he would love, but I wanted to do it just the two of us. I wanted him to have some one-on-one time with me and get some positive attention. Being a single mother, that happens way less frequently than I would like to admit (just the two of us hanging out without his sister). So I called my mom and begged her to watch The Girl and made an appointment. It was raining outside so I let him wear his boots and raincoat so he could splash in all the puddles he wanted (see yesterday's post) and he and I set out on our adventure.

I decided he could paint on a coffee mug that he would give to his Mom (The Ex) for Christmas so we could knock out two birds with one stone. I hadn't picked out anything for him to get for her for the holidays yet so this was perfect. And he loved it. I let him choose the colors of paint, his brushes, the cup, everything. He got to rule the day. And as a result? We had the most wonderful day. He painted his masterpiece like only he could. I painted the edges of a little dinner plate and then at the very end stamped his hand print in the center of it and painted his name around it. That knocked out a gift for my mom as well. He was very proud of his cup and can't wait to go and pick it up in a few days. Here he is completing the project...
After that was done we headed next door to a little candy shop and I let him pick out a candy. We drove back to my mom's house to pick up Peanut and he chatted the entire way home about how Mommy and [Boy] had a day all to ourselves. Mental note: Must really make time to do this more often. Then the best news? When we got back to my mom's house he asked her if he could take his nap there and she said YES! So I picked up The Girl, left The Boy at her house and headed home. I have spent from noon until 6:00pm today with only one of my two children. And it has been glorious. It is so nice to have some one-on-one time with both of them. My mom helps me so much during the week I hate to ask her to take on anything extra. And most of the time she just comes with me with both kids to do everything. But this has been a wonderful day of spending time alone with each of my kids individually. I feel refreshed and great and 100 times better about life and parenting than I did yesterday. What a difference a day makes, indeed!