Parent Practice

Last weekend Jason and I took a little road trip to Vegas with 5-year-old Mateo. He's never been away from his parents overnight, especially so far away. Luckily he's best friends with Jason so it turned out to be just fine and there was minimal homesickness. I really don't know what parents did on road trips before portable DVD players. Mateo wouldn't even speak to us unless he had to pee, which made the trip pass surprisingly quickly. We ate breakfast at Babycakes Cafe TWICE because once just wasn't enough. Let me tell you why you need to go to there: Red velvet pancakes. Whipped cream. Chocolate crumbles. Cream cheese syrup. Got it? Good.
This picture makes me swoon because Mateo just loves Uncle Jason so much. He has three Uncle Jasons to choose from, so it's a pretty big deal that Jason's the favorite.
We had a lot of fun with cousins but we were all glad to come home to some cooler weather and a mom that missed Mateo too much.


Things I learned from being a pretend-mom this weekend:

• You should always have Kleenex in your purse. Always. You never know when a double-barreled snot rocket will come out of a little nose. Also, snacks are good to have in your purse (sometimes for Jason, sometimes for Mateo).
  
• Sometimes you have to wipe a kid's butt and it's gross, but holding your breath makes it easier.
• When a child misses his mom in the middle of the night, saying a prayer with him will put him to sleep immediately. Maybe it's the Spirit, or maybe it's that the prayer was super boring. Either way, it worked this time. Scooby Doo episodes are also a good alternative.
  
• Kids are a lot of work. They eat and drink a lot, you have to brush their teeth, you have to change their clothes, give them baths, wash the sheets when they pee the bed, etc. It never stops! Being a mom is exhausting. I'm going to sleep as much as I can these next three months until I'm not pretending to be a mom anymore.