A Perfect Day, or, One Hot Mama

Today is already a fantastic day, and it’s going to get even better. It actually began in the wee hours of the morning, at 1 am. Katie was wide awake until then, but at 1am, she fell sound asleep, and so did I. She slept until 4:15am, ate without any hysterical slurping or stopping to cry mid-nurse, burped quickly and completely, and promptly fell back to sleep so I was back in bed by 5am. She didn’t wake up again until 8:15am, at which time my wonderful husband (after offering to give her a bottle himself so I could sleep) brought her in to me so I could nurse her without getting out of bed. Once again, she ate, burped, and fell back to sleep immediately so she was done by 9am.

My husband planned to visit his parents in the morning and had offered to take both kids with him so I would have my morning free. Being in desperate need of a haircut, I took him up on that offer. I took a long, hot shower (I even shaved my legs for the first time in – well, I’d rather not admit how long), got dressed, and headed for the hairdresser. There was no line, so I got my new ‘do within a matter of minutes and headed off to breakfast.

Going out to breakfast is one of my very favorite treats. I love going with family or friends, but sometimes it’s a special treat to go alone, just me and my Kindle. I chatted with the waitress while I savored my steaming cup of coffee, thinking how nice it was that I didn’t have to drink it from a closeable travel mug and periodically rescue it from a curious two-year-old asking, “Hot?” and attempting to dump it out all over the couch. I dunked my fluffy pancakes in syrup without sticky fingers poking at my plate and a small voice piping up hopefully, “Bite?” I read my book on my Kindle without getting any “help” turning the pages or someone pushing my hand aside to reach the buttons. It was wonderful. (Let me just say here that I love and adore my son, but he can be a bit exhausting and I love him even more when I get a break from him now and then. And I’m sure he feels the same about me.)

After breakfast, I headed over to my beloved Dress Barn. Oh, Dress Barn, how I’ve missed you. I love Dress Barn clothes, but since they don’t carry a maternity line, I’ve been in withdrawal for nearly the past year. I’ve been away for so long that I got a discount for re-upping my store charge that I haven’t used in more than a year. And since I was getting a discount, it only made sense to pick up some jewelry to go with the dresses I bought, right? I found a beautiful, flattering dress for church and more casual wear, and then I hit the jackpot: the perfect post-maternity date dress.

This dress probably wasn’t intentionally designed for the post-partum figure, but it might as well have been. My years of watching Stacy and Clinton on “What Not To Wear” (sorry, sweetheart) have taught me many tricks of how to choose flattering clothes, and this dress hits all the right notes. Slimmest part of dress at slimmest part of my figure? Check. Hemline hitting right above the knee? Check. Silhouette skimming my body without being tight? Check. Little design pouf falling right over (and therefore camouflaging) my post-baby pooch? Check. Sufficient support for current generous endowment of the girls (Stacy’s term, not mine)? Check. Plus the added bonus of being a gorgeous, rich color that compliments my hair and brings out my eyes. Throw in a pair of great shoes and the perfect accessories and hubba hubba, I am one hot mama!

And the best part of the day will be going out for a romantic, child-free (see “loving my children” comment, above) dinner with my husband tonight - putting on my beautiful new dress and my beautiful new bling, topping it off by wearing makeup for the first time in a month, and maybe even a spritz of scent, and watching my husband beam with delight, not only because I look fantastic, but because he’ll be so pleased that I splurged on myself.

Wait a minute, that’ll be the second-best part of the day. The very best part of the day will be when I come home, kick off my fancy high heels, and slip into my children’s rooms to give their angelic sleeping faces a good-night kiss before giving my husband a good-night kiss and slipping into bed myself. THAT will be the very best part of the day.