April | 2014 | The Introverted Mom

… jiggety-jog. Home again, home again with my groundhog… Despite the fact that we have zero groundhogs, Doodlebug added that line years ago and now we always say it when we get home from a trip. Our latest was to New York during spring break, preceded by four days of playdates and errands and general running around, so I’m glad to back to our regular routine. Including my internet routine — I was offline a lot more than usual, and while I wasn’t completely unplugged, I definitely didn’t have time for my normal round of blogs and those random cool things you just stumble upon. Now that I’m caught up, I thought I’d share some of the good stuff I missed. Call it the first Introverted Mom link roundup.

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First of all, this piece on tech timeouts from Fit Bottomed Mamas! How… timely. (Sorry.) I have a thing about posting on Facebook when it’s clear I’m away from home — I’m always paranoid that our house will get robbed. Sooo, I wasn’t posting every little thing about our trip as we went, and even that small pull-back made a difference. I checked in on my friends from time to time, but it was nice not to have that constant “Did anybody like my post?!?!” brain nudge. Something to remember.

Social Hacking for Introverts over on Lifehacker.com (h/t to Sophia Dembling’s Twitter for the link)

I’m not sure I agree that most introverts are bad at interacting with people, but I definitely liked the reminder that being yourself in social situations can lead to those real, meaningful relationships introverts enjoy so much. The app that can pull all of a person’s social media posts off the web for you… uh, that’s just kinda creepy.

From Mashable: Stop Treating Introversion Like a Trend

GIFs ahoy! (Is that a hedgehog floating in a bathtub? Cuteness overload.) A list of what introversion is not, plus some good tips, especially the part about not spending too much time on the internet. Ahem.

Rainbow Rowell is going to be in the UK in July! I share this in case you, too, will be lucky enough to be in the UK in July. And to remind you to go read Fangirl if you haven’t yet.

The Handmade Home’s Lazy Gal’s Survival Guide: Craving Simplicity

I almost didn’t include this one, since I didn’t think it had much to do with being an introvert. But then I decided it absolutely does. The more stuff I have, the more stuff I have to wrangle. That takes time away from things I’d rather be doing — hanging out with iDad and Doodlebug, writing, eating Nutella while watching the Daily Show…Dealing with stuff is stealing my downtime. Yard sale season is almost here, which will help with things we’ve already accumulated, but I want to be much more conscious of what we bring in to the house in the first place. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the posts in this series.

— Kathy

Doodlebug is an only child, so playdates are a way of life for her – if she wants to see another kid outside of school, we have to find one. For me, though, they’re definitely a mixed blessing. When they go well, they can be a nice little mini-break. When they don’t, they can drain the life right out of me. Here’s a list of playdate experiences you may recognize, in order from ahhhh to aughhhh!

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The Holy Grail – you drop your kid off at the house of a friend she loves. They play for several hours while you go home and read, or nap, or do whatever you want.

The Family Affair – you are friends with the parent AND your kids like each other too! The kids play peacefully while you and your friend talk about Orphan Black. (NINE. DAYS!)

The Lunch and a Movie – you and a friend take your babies to one of those special movie showings for parents with little ones. You get to see a movie for grown-ups and maybe even have lunch, hopefully while the kiddos nap throughout. (Okay, this isn’t exactly a playdate, but those were good times.)

The Happy Surprise – a new friend comes over to play with your kid and they get along beautifully. They make crafts, share the toys, and eagerly eat whatever snack you offer. (Am I the only one who is paranoid about snack? Like the kid will starve if they don’t eat something in the two hours they’re at my house?)

The Coelacanth – your kid calls a friend herself, then they run around outside the whole time and you never even have to see them. (Fine, this has never happened at our house, but this does still exist, right?)

The Hit and Run – “Can I drop Molly off for a while kthanksbye!” (I love advance notice. I really, really love advance notice.)

The Nap Eraser – the playdate lasts longer than you thought it would and your kid conks out for ten minutes in the car on the way home. Then they’re up and cranky for the rest of the afternoon – goodbye, downtime. (Doodlebug hasn’t napped for about four years, but just typing out that scenario makes me want to cry.)

The “Preschool teachers should get paid more” – your house is full of kids fighting over the same toy. Everyone ends up in tears. Then they find the drums and maracas and decide to have a parade.

The Ninth Circle of Hell – The playdate has no pre-set end time. Your kid and her friend start fighting after five minutes and you have to wrangle them for who knows how long. Outside. In August. In 90% humidity. This one will require pizza delivery for dinner and days of recovery time.

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So which ones did I miss? Tell me about your favorite and least favorite types of playdates in the comments!

— Kathy

The Introverted Mom

You know who you are.

Monthly Archives: April 2014

Home Again, Home Again…

Playdate-palooza