CMH Day: Part 2

"Reading" her new book.

The haircut, plus a bit of accessorizing (thanks, Auntie Cheryl!).

CMH Day was a success! (And no, I’m not trying to trump MLK. Geez. We’re celebrating Charlotte’s birthday early because this working stiff has to work on January 30th, okay? Just because I didn’t quote MLK on my Facebook status AND called today CMH Day doesn’t mean I don’t dig the guy. He just happened to be born in January, like my Charlotte.)

We started the day with a haircut. I told Karen that we needed bangs, but lord-have-mercy-PLEASE don’t give her the perennial toddler mullet.

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean,” Karen said. “People start these kids’ bangs way in the back of their heads, and it just looks . . . bad.”

“The toddler mullet,” I said again, nodding.

Thus, Karen gave Charlotte just the right amount of bangs and trimmed the back. Voila.

Next, we went to Chick-fil-A for the best fast-food-style chicken nuggets in the world. Despite being a mom for (almost) 2 years, I’m utterly inept at juggling a kid plus tray. I’ve never taken Charlotte to a fast-food restaurant sans Chris. (And really, the last time she went to a fast-food restaurant period was this summer in North Carolina. So all those people who say working moms fill their kids with fast food because they’re so strapped for time? I just proved you wrong.)

(Now, let me get back to telling you how I filled my kid with fast food.)

(But it was [sort of] her birthday.)

(And Chick-fil-A’s nuggets are all-white meat, and their waffle fries are hardly processed at all.)

(Just saying.)

So, as I held the tray with one hand and Charlotte’s hand with the other, I realized I was one hand short to get a booster seat or high chair. “Eh, whatever,” I said to Charlotte. “You’re practically two! Let’s eat like a BIG big girl today, yes?”

She looked up at me with those big brown eyes that told me she had no idea what I had just said, but she was game.

So, we slid into a booth, pulled the table a bit more toward us, and ta da! She was eating lunch like a little person! A big girl! After I stared at her, shaking my head at how fast she’s growing up like the overly sentimental nut job I am, Charlotte and I enjoyed a genuinely mommy–daughterish lunch. Even if she did steal one of my chicken nuggets when I turned around. Seriously, she was so perfect and we had such a good time together that I realized we should do this way more often. Fast food really IS the way to go.

Next, we went to Barnes and Noble. Charlotte ran into the store shouting “Book! Book! Book!” while I chased after her. She then stopped dead in her toddler tracks and pointed to what appeared to be some sort of canine-related memoir. “Doggy!” she cried. “Doggy! Doggy! WOOF!” Eventually, I steered her to the children’s section and we picked out what I expected to be one book but what turned into three. And wow, buying three books NOT at Amazon adds up. Quickly.

At home, the kiddo napped, and when she got up, we had snack time, coloring time, Lego building time, dolly time, unload the dishwasher time (she LOVES to help unload the dishwasher), and we Skyped with Nana and Papa, who happened to both be at home for CMH/MLK/Snow Day. We also read her new books about 87 times.

Sometimes I view days like these as trial runs for if I ever chose to be a stay-at-home mum. It was fun, not having to be anywhere (except a hair appointment), and having Charlotte fed and dishes done before Chris even got home. But of course I have no more insight than I did before, as it was totally fake. I still had lunches to prepare for tomorrow, email to check, and the sweet, sweet knowledge that I most likely would not be the one changing that child’s next poopy diaper. And there’s the glaring fact that most things are lot more fun when you only do them once in awhile, rather than day in and day out.