My Son After Day Care!!

Yesterday my son started his new day care. I wasn't overly worried throughout the day and I only called once to check on him. The baby sitter told me she had taken him to the school to pick up another child and when they got there my boy saw a lady with the same hair cut and color as me and ran over and embraced her. After a minute the lady said "Sweetie I'm not your Mommy". My little man took a few steps back, looked up at this Mama look alike and began to scream realizing he had just hugged a complete stranger. The baby sitter took him and quickly calmed him down and he was fine. How cute/sad!! He missed me, yay!
When I went to pick him up he was in the backyard with the other children playing in the little "house". At first he didn't see me so I observed for a few minutes. He would open the door to the house and talk to the other little boy in their special language. Then he would close the door for a moment before opening it again to do the same thing. It was cute and made me wonder what he was trying to tell the other child. Finally I walked over to the house and looked through the small window. He didn't see me at first as he was gazing through the other small openings. I whispered his name and he almost did a back flip! He immediately started laughing and ran out of the front door right into my arms. This amazing moment was short lived as he wanted back down to play...sorry buddy time to go home!
When I got him into the car he made a few sad sounds as he hated leaving his new pals, which was also very cute because he doesn't have boys to play with at home. After placing him in his seat I began to drive and through the rear view mirror I could see my cute, clean little boy was not so clean. He looked like a real boy that had been playing like boys do. For the first time he had grass stains, dirt on his pants and cheek and messy, sweaty hair! I was kind of appauled but quickly realized it meant he had fun getting down and dirty in the backyard with his new friends.
Bath time!!!!!

So this whole being a single Mum is easy.....isn't so easy to say anymore.
Don't get me wrong my son is amazing and very well behaved but he is learning the sneaky little "toddler" tricks.
Bed time is not so easy anymore! He now understand he can refuse to sleep on command and stand up in his bed, jumping up and down and yelling for Mummy's attention. He can get mad when he doesn't get what he wants when he wants it, this causing him to sometimes throw something or do a few rolls on the floor while whining. Now all of this is normal I am sure, but not easy to deal with on your own.
Its the bed time thing that gets me the most. I have to work in the morning so when he decides he doesn't want to sleep...I get a little frusterated. I dont have someone I can roll over and look at and say, "You deal with it this time!"
I do ignore him and let him jump his way to sleep, but there is still the odd time when he just wont go for it.
Taking him to restaurants is not as fun anymore either. He used to just sit in his car seat, drink his bottle and mind his business. Now we are in the high chair wanting food IMMEDIATELY, which of course, at a restaurant I have no control over. The coloring and occupying only lasts so long before he gets anxious and loud, drawing all eyes on me! I just think in my head, "Its normal for kids to make noise in public," but at the same time I want to crawl into my shell and hide.
I guess we will just be putting the restaurants on hold until he can understand, "Your food is on the way sweetie. I would not make you watch fifty other people eat just for the fun of it."
Don't get me wrong, I do love the single Mum thing and I love him more then anything...just saying its not as easy as it used to be!!
I am already nervous about the teenage years, lol!