Balance

This is our little Princess, lazing in the sun by the front door. She is actually R's dog, but thinks she's mine. Of course, I am the person who gets up at 5am to walk her, so perhaps she is justified in her thinking.

I had two "girly days" with my girls this past weekend. Friday C and I went to the mall to Libby Lu, which is the biggest rip-off since Chuck E Cheese. She had been asking for a "makeover" and LL was the closest thing I could find to a makeover for a five-year-old. Was I only imagining the disapproving looks from other moms as we trotted through the mall afterward? She had eyeshadow, colored lip gloss, and an "updo" complete with hairpiece. I felt like a traitor to feminists everywhere, which is silly since I loved to play dress up and use makeup when I was young -- heck, I still do. Here she is after the process was complete.

After the makeover we shopped for new clothes, rode the carousel, had ice cream, ate dinner, saw the Bee Movie (mediocre but not horrible), and played at the treehouse play area in the mall. As I put her to bed, exhausted (me, not her), she proclaimed the treehouse to be the best part. Of course. It was free.

On Saturday R and I had manicures, pedicures, shopped at the mall, had ice cream, and raced home so T and I could rush off to our monthly CORE meeting (CORE=Continuing Our Retrouvaille Experience). R adored having a pedicure (as did I, for that matter).

At CORE, we had a Tai Chi instructor explain what Tai Chi was and then lead us in a few moves. My ears really perked up when she said it strengthens your leg muscles without stress on your joints. She's starting a new series of classes in January and I could take the one on Wednesday mornings at 10am, since I work on Wednesdays from 11:45am-8:15pm. I'm kind of excited about the idea. Of course, that takes away my alone time on Wednesdays, but let's face it -- all I do is housework, pay bills, and take the dog for a second walk. Or eat.

I'd like to take yoga too, but I hesitate because I feel selfish, as though that's too much time spent on myself. Why? I used to belong to a women's organization that met monthly, another that met weekly, attended scrapbooking crops monthly, etc. and never felt guilty. That was when I had only one child though -- and before I knew that being alone with the children for an extended period of time makes my dh stressed (he's a great dad so I don't know why that is!). I'm determined to find a balance because in spite of my best intentions, I'm STILL not making enough time for myself these days. So Tai Chi is a definite and I'm seriously considering yoga.