Getting Into The Swing Of Things

This week was sprinkled with firsts for me. My first time shopping alone with a baby; my first not-rushed dinner/shopping date with a good friend; my first somewhat (or totally) illegal dumping of our collection of recyclables into the Killeen Mall dumpster. Fear not, that last one will be explained. But, more than anything, for the first time I feel like I can really manage on my own again. I thought it would be so difficult to juggle a baby, household chores, and a social life, but, really, all it take is a little fine tuning and a heck of a lot of upper body strength. And, in the case of the illegal dumping, two people and a very fast car.

I'm a rule-follower. I like to think I hold myself to a high personal moral standard. That said, milk cartons, even rinsed, in 90+ degree weather turn into stink bombs of death. We had stopped a couple of places before we were going to head to the Commissary to recycle. When we got back into the car the second time, the stench was unbearable. And, lo, there was the mall, a shiny beacon. Having worked in a mall before, I knew exactly where to go, so we went. I think the funniest part was when "Living La Vida Loca" came on the radio just as we were pulling in, as if we were acting out an action scene in a movie and it was on the soundtrack. I probably won't do it again, though, as it does technically cost the mall money to have the trash taken away....

Is it weird that I see movie scenes/hear soundtracks in everyday acts? No? Good.

Shopping alone wasn't bad. It was slow goings, for sure. When you're rocking an 18 lb. baby on one hip and only have the use of one hand, loading a cart is tedious. But it sort of felt liberating being able to steer a full shopping cart and keep my son happy at the same time. Of course, when the husband gets home, I will not be so keen on the solo trips, if only because I like not looking like a crazy person conferring with a drooling baby about whether or not we need more air freshener.

Next week, one of my friends is having a baby shower. I am so excited to be in a room full of adult women; it's been so long. I'm especially excited to see someone else sporting a cute baby belly. Let's just hope I don't get the baby bug. Though, as young as Alex is, I doubt I'm susceptible.