Still catching our breath from the beautiful Royal Wedding, the girls and I quickly got dressed to attend our Women’s Day brunch celebration. In most cases, this event is typically for tweens and older but when your husband is away for work, your family who normally keep the kids are out of town, and your two babysitters are both attending the same event you are, there is only one thing you can do…dress you and the girls in the themed colors, grab the diaper bag, and make your way to a wonderful event with a smile. A few things I did to make it as smooth as possible:
- Delayed my arrival time. The doors opened at 9am and the event began at 10am. Typically you want to arrive at an event like this early so you can check-in, pick up items, and select your seating. This time, it’s the opposite. When taking the kiddos, you want to reduce the lag time prior to the start of the event, eliminate the wait period in long lines, and be able to walk right in and get seated before the program begins. The girls and I smiled as we entered the venue.
- Select convenient seating. With mostly everyone seated for the event, it was easy to identify the empty chairs. I selected a table in the very back by the exit door. This would allow the kiddos to have the corner if they needed to get up. But most importantly, permit me to step outside quickly if either of the girls became antsy.
- Sit with reinforcement. With my godmother to the left of me and my babysitter to the right of me with my oldest daughter between the two of us and my youngest on my lap, I had the help and support needed when one of them needed something or to watch my oldest while I stepped out with my youngest. This eliminated me having to get up repeatedly with bathroom duty, fixing plates, or tending to needs.
- Scan the program. It’s always helpful to familiarize yourself with the flow of show to determine how to plan the girls time and keep them engaged. Since the meal was after three speakers, I allowed my oldest daughter to watch KidsTube (which I typically don’t allow her to do at a dinner table except extreme occasions). I kept my youngest one entertained on my lap during the first two speakers. During the third, I stepped out before the attendees were released to fix their food during the buffet style meal. This gave me the opportunity to feed her and put her to sleep and also enjoy my meal in peace. She slept the duration of the program and woke up from her nap towards the end. Once she did, I took her with me to the dedicated vendor shopping room which gave her the freedom to walk and run around in an open space.
When you are a busy working mom, adjustments are absolutely necessary. Integration is key and ensuring the comfort of your children during the process is priority. Additionally, it served as a wonderful experience for the girls to learn more about womanhood which is important to me as I strive to raise my young ladies to be phenomenal women.
Until next time,
Xoxo