Girls' Night Out!!!!

One of the things that continues to shock me is how opposite Lily and Skyler are.  It's almost like they have this secret code that says, "Hey, I'm gonna do this if you do that.  That way Mommy will never be able to satisfy us both at the same time.  Mwahaha!  We're so awesome!"  *fist bump*

But in all seriousness, it makes my life harder, and sometimes I think it makes their lives harder.  For example, Skyler would be perfectly content to spend 90% of his day in my lap, giving me hugs, kisses, and snuggles (also the occassional kiss on one of my zits because he thinks they're boo boos.)

Lil, of course, is the opposite.  I try to give her a kiss, she runs away.  I try to give her a hug, she screams, "NOOOOOO!"  I pull her into my lap to snuggle, she squirms away.  So while Skyler claims me as his territory for a good portion of the day, Lily will sit off by herself, happy to be far from us.  But she still watches as Skyler and I give each other kisses.  And that's one of the toughest things for me to experience as a mom. 

I don't want Lily to feel like I love Skyler more than her, because I don't.  I just couldn't and wouldn't.  But in the eyes of a 3 year-old, I'm sure that's what she sees.  So, in the midst of mine and Skyler's snuggle-fest, I decided Lil and I needed a Girls' Night Out  -- Lily style. 

Now GNO Heather style usually involves me going over to another friend's house with a few others and gabbing until the wee hours of the morning.  Since Lily's bedtime is 7, I knew it would be different.  Besides, I didn't think she'd be interested at all in hearing my birth stories for the 20th time as is customary at GNO's.  But it did involve chocolate.  And that, I can say, was superb.

After dinner I whispered to Lily, "Do you want to go shopping with Mommy?"  Her eyes lit up and I told her to put on her shoes.  "Shhh. Don't tell Skyler.  He's not coming.  It's just you and me." 

Lily: "SKYLER!  BYE!  I'M GOING SHOPPING!"
Me: "figures..."

Lily's 1st request: "I want to sit in Skyler's car seat."  Done.  They're practically the exact same size.  It works.
2nd:  "I want to hold your hand."  Suh-weet!
3rd:  "Let's jump over puddles."  Umm... Okay.

So I put her in the wrong car seat, held her hand, and we jumped over puddles in a packed parking lot.  We grabbed some items that I'll be needing for the parade on Saturday (expect a post about that one next week.  Assuming it doesn't kill me.)

Then we went to Wendy's to get Frosties.  I let Lily choose where we got to sit.  She placed me right next to one of those big yellow "Caution: Wet Floor" cones that was abnormally huge.  I was about two inches away from it.  Of all the empty tables in Wendy's....  We ate.  We gabbed.  We took pictures and laughed at Lily's funny faces. 

Then I put her back in Skyler's car seat and she was shaking like she had just spent an hour in a Rexburg winter without a coat.  I had to turn on the heat in the car.  It was 70 outside. 

"Turn the music up loud!!!" was request #4.  I turned it up.  And we jammed.

Then I turned it down when we got to a commercial.  Lily informed me that she was going to sing me the pony song.  So she sang her little heart out and it sounded like a mixture of a toddler song and an Irish one that someone would dance to on top of a table in a pub.  Or at least, that's what came to my mind. 

When we pulled into the garage I aksed Lily, "Do you want to have another Girls' Night Out again sometime?"  She said, "yes."  Then she looked at me and told me what she does every day, "I love you too much, Mommy."

And I love her too much, too.