The Importance of Mommy Friends

Today Mason and I had our first "play date", What a good time we had! my little guy is such a flirt! It was fun to go and hang out with another stay at home mom! Sometimes it is hard to get out and plan something when you have a little guy in tow. My friend suggested a GREAT rule of thumb that she has been working on - it's the 20/80 rule. What this means is 80% of the time I can focus on our routine and keeping on schedule while the other 20% of the time we should try something different, challange ourselves and know that it is going to be okay. For example friends of ours in NYC invited us to come over for dinner at 7PM - this made me nervous because it is when I normally put bugs in a bath... but I decided to go (20%) and he ended up being a TOTAL superstar!
This 20/80 is very sound advice for me. I am constantly worrying myself with scheduling naps and our bedtime routine, that just the thought of breaking the pattern kind of freaks me out. However, when I do challenge our mold my son useually suprises me with how awesome and adaptable he is! It is me who is all neurotic!
I also can recognize that Mason benefits from being in new situations and challanges. DOn't get me wrong we go out and play alot of the time but it is difficult for me to want to go out during bedtime or some of our more scheduled times of day because frankly it is easier for me to stay at home and do our routine!
So having mommy friends is important for so many reasons but today it's because they remind me to take it easy and try something new and to not be afraid! I WILL BE OKAY :)