You brought Baby Bart to a brewery?! Pre and post four kiddos me

Up until I had Josie I was working full time.  After Josie arrived, I cut down to three days a week.  And so with each child I have cut down more and more on the career I went through school for and focused instead on the career which I have dreamed about since I was little, but in no way could completely prepare for and there really is no school for except the university of experience- full time mom.  I know that I will someday go back to my job in Child Life(at least in some capacity) and that for now, I am just temporarily retired.  But there are certain things I find that I miss and I am sure most stay-at-home parents would agree with me on these.  I miss having concrete tasks that when completed produce tangible results.  With parenting there is such a large sea of gray and it seems that every choice has so many variables to take into account and ultimately there are a thousand different outcomes.  The decisions you make as a parent are not all as simple as what to feed your child or what diapers to buy(though you learn quickly that some just don’t hold the poop in!).  The bigger, more challenging decisions leave you wondering two things: “Is this the right choice?” and “Am I screwing my child up forever by doing this?”  The other thing I miss is feeling relevant- outside of the realm of mommy and wife, being able to relate to other adults and still feel in the know with the world.  Thus when opportunities present themselves to me where I can interact more with adults and accomplish specific tasks, I leap at the chance.  If they happen to incorporate some interaction with my children where I get to do something special with/for one of them, then all the better.

Josie’s school holds an annual auction fundraiser and each class is in charge of creating a basket which will be auctioned off as well as a craft project.  The room mother who is the mother of one of Josie’s best school friends was having trouble finding any takers for the job of craft and basket coordinator.  I have wanted to volunteer in Josie’s class forever, but cannot commit to a regular gig due to wild boys 1, 2, and 3.  So this is perfect as I only have to go in a couple times to the classroom, but I will get to see my Monkey in her new world of kindergarten and in the school she will be at for the next several years.  Email sent back to the room mom who asked if I was sure I knew what I was getting into.  Of course!  Well then we need to come up with a theme for the basket ASAP since it was due yesterday.  I rack my sleep-deprived brain and decide I will search through my list of friends on facebook to see what people have connections I can use.  Also make a frantic call to one of my best friends who seems to know just about everyone in the D.C. area and is an event planner so she is sure to have some ideas.  Send a couple shameless emails to friends who may be able to help me out.  Remember a friend from high school is starting a brewery around here so call him up.  Timing is off for his brewery, but he hooks me up with the owners of another brewery nearby.  Thankfully breweries have hours conducive to crazy moms’ schedules and I get hold of one of the managers there and she is awesome and says she thinks we can work something out for a donation of either a tasting party or something along those lines.  Get forms sent to her and email some of the guidelines.  All hell is breaking loose in the house since this is all happening yesterday evening around 6 and it is probably the worst time to do anything involving sane phone calls or emails that actually make sense.

This tangent leads me to explain how Bart and I arrived at a brewery at lunchtime today.  I have been emailing and emailing the main basket coordinator to get a final okay on the theme and also realized late last night that I have to send a letter out to the parents in Josie’s class today.  Let’s put it this way, it will be a day late!  I can’t send the letter until I have the final okay from the brewery owners.  The house I am teaching art at today is not far from the brewery and I will only have Bart with me since my mother-in-law watches the other two while I teach.  Awesome!  After class, we will pop by the brewery just to expedite this whole process.  Alright I may have been the one who wanted to go, but Bart really looked like he thought it was a great idea too!  Of course as luck would have it, all three of the appropriate people to speak with about the auction were out when we arrived at the brewery.  But they were supposed to be getting back soon.  Bart and I hang out with one of the employees and I am eying all the growlers just waiting to be filled and the line of taps at the bar where I am standing.  MMMmmmmmm beer!(to quote “the Simpsons”).  So I end up buying two growlers, get one filled with a lighter ale for me and one filled with a stout that is Bourbon infused for A.J.  Bonus is that I got a tasting of the stout! 

Stand around a while waiting for one of the owners, praying that Bart will stay calm because it would be pretty awkward to have to breastfeed him here at the brewery despite the fact that my best friend who I have been texting thinks that tactic would definitely get me some sort of donation!  Finally one of the owners arrives.  He is very cool and happy to help out with this fundraiser.  Though there are a couple technicalities I will have to work out- thank you Virginia ABC laws.  I leave Bart with the brewmasters as I load my growlers in the Gray Goose promising I will come back to get him. 

Bart and I head home, growlers next to me in the front seat, the sun is shining and life is good.  Til I remember I am heading home to my wild ones and mother-in-law….thank God for beer!

Big shout out to everyone at Lost Rhino Brewing Company in Ashburn, VA.  Please check them out and patronize them!  They are awesome and the beer is delicious.  Check out their First Wednesdays- very cool concept.  www.lostrhino.com