Today was Max’s BabyNet evaluation. We’ve had concerns about his speech and have looked into getting “services” to help him out with that. Here in SC, BabyNet is the answer to IDEA for kids under 3. Anyway, to make a long story short, after two hours of Max playing with Miss Patty she said that she’s unsure if he’ll qualify. To qualify he has to show at 33% delay in one area or a 25% delay in two areas. Which is a good and bad thing. Good if he doesn’t need speech therapy. Bad if he needs it a little but not enough to have it paid for us by the state. Fortunately, only his speech seems to be delayed. He’s performing at or above average for other areas of development. We should hear her recommendation by Monday. And we’ll make a decision to go or not go forward with his speech and hearing evaluations after that.

It was rather fun sitting with him for two hours and seeing how his little brain works. This last year has been such a busy time. I feel like I don’t get to sit down and play with my kids like I should. It made me really see how good he is at certain things. Things that I hadn’t really noticed in all of the craziness of daily life. When it was just Lucy, I had time to patiently sit with her and point out animals in board books. When I had Max, that sort of activity fell by the wayside. I need to make room for it again. Today made me see how spending quality time playing makes a difference in my kid’s development.

It’s time to start setting the alarm. My kids need a mom that’s ready to go when they get up. I’m going to set my alarm for 6:30. Shower, makeup, devotion. We’ll see how this little experiment goes.

Back when we went to Mt. Tabor, they had something called Tetelestai Day at the end of Clemson finals to celebrate. Think a big free BBQ dinner after church. Tetelestai is the word that means “It is finished.” I think it’s Greek? Maybe Aramaic. Jesus said it when he was on the cross. Anyway, I’d totally forgotten that celebration and only remembered it today when I was driving away from West Campus and thought, “It is finished!”

Today was our last MOPS meeting of the year. I stayed up late to do crafty meeting related stuff and was relieved to have it all over and done with. The only thing left is to show up for the Junk Swap on Saturday. It’s going to be nice to not have to be busy with MOPS stuff this coming month. I guess in June I’ll start thinking of it again. But who am I kidding, I’m already obsessed with how the fellowship hall is going to be decorated.

Of course, as one thing is scratched off your to do list, another is added. Today at our meeting we “showered” Little Steps, a Simpsonville based organization that helps young moms get it together. And I started considering volunteering with them. It could be really fun to be a mentor. Becoming a mentor is a real commitment and don’t want to do something like that without really thinking about it. One major plus is that when I mentioned it to Alan, he was all about it. It would be two nights a month and so he would be left with the kids. He didn’t even bat an eye. He’s so wonderful. He just said, “Well, that’s why I go to work.” I can always count on Alan to be selfless like that. He mentioned doing good things vicariously through me. His willingness to take care of the kids so I can be involved in MOPS and possibly in Little Steps is something I often take for granted. It’s definitely behind the scenes. He’s wrong about doing good things vicariously through me–we’re doing them together. He makes me being involved in just about anything possible. He’s such a good guy.

The theme for MOPS next year is “Adventures in Mothering.” Their theme is theme park based. But when I think of adventure I think of Indiana Jones and that sort of thing. One mom in steering said she’s reminded of super heroes. Either way, I need to figure out a way to decorate for this coming year’s theme. I really like the idea of apothecary jars filled with amusement park treats (popcorn, cheap prizes, etc.) but don’t know how that’d end up looking. I run the risk of creating a kids party atmosphere instead of a place for moms to chill out. I want something hip and cool and part of me wants to forget the theme all together to get a look that is more aesthetically pleasing than theme oriented. And this is what I spend my time worrying about. Ah! Motherhood.

Just found this strange concept when I clicked on an ad. This website, bagborroworsteal.com, rents luxury accessories. Definitely not what I need. But a pretty neat concept. I guess Carrie of Sex and the City could have greatly benefited from such a service. I just can’t see paying $60 though to carry a bag for a week. Just give me 15 bucks and I’ll run to Target and pick up some functional bag that won’t require insurance (an actual option) or a weekly bank draft. It would completely stress me out to carry something that was expected to return in the same condition it came to me. I wouldn’t be able to take it into public bathrooms or carry sippy cups in it. Definitely not for real life mothers. Possibly for high school reunions.