New kid on the block... at the gym.

During yesterday's playdate with Jenny & Maddie (which basically consists of our girls staring at one another... Ava following Maddie like a lost pup... running around in the yard... and best of all, lunch) Jenny was telling me about how great it is to escape to the gym, drop Maddie off at the gym's daycare and proceed for a little "Mommy time". She told me that she'll often work out for an hour or so and then shower there/ get cleaned up for the day. Roughly two hours later, she goes and gets Maddie from daycare and they go on about their day. 

Now that Ava is slowly backing away from taking her morning naps, this sounds pretty enticing. I mean, how on earth am I supposed to entertain this kid for 7 straight hours (without strapping her to a chair in front of the tv)??? So I checked into some nearby health clubs. I stumbled across Lifetime Fitness. I called yesterday and scheduled an appointment with Dennis to show us the club, gimme details on pricing, etc.  

Let's just say... These places are insane! The building itself is over 160,000 sqft (I know this because I paid attention on my tour like the good student I am). They have an outdoor pool that will be great for the summer, indoor pool (swim lessons for AJ!), tons of equipment and not to mention, the facility is so clean and nice.

When we first arrived, I had Dennis take me straight to the daycare facility, considering that was the most important part in making this decision (I wanted to make sure they weren't a bunch of crackheads watching my kid!). Well, let's just say, this place is INCREDIBLE.  They have EVERYTHING.  It's a far cry from our old gym's daycare which was a 12' x 8' room... and a ball. This place is like McDonald's Playplace... on crack.  They have a basketball court, jungle gym, indoor-tube-crawling-thingy (similar to what gerbils have), and a HUGE matted area for the ones under 2 years old.  It's got a flat screen in there as big as a house, playing Disney movies.  It was perfect... and all of the girls working there appeared to be off the crackpipe.  

There were a ton of other kids which I actually liked; it's important for me to socialize her with the other kids.  She was a little timid at first.  But then a little boy, about her size, walked up to her and literally did the "Girls Gone Wild" lift of his shirt, and then ran away.  Ava smiled, let go of my leg and chased him (wobbled quickly) around the room.  That is until she found another little person that was interesting.  I watched for a few minutes, slowly stepping out of the scenery, keeping an eye on crazy boy and his man-boobies (Moobs or Mitties, as I like to call them).  Seemed as though she didn't miss me at all.  

I squeezed in a small workout... don't want to overdo it the first day (I'm incredibly lazy).  I then took Jenny's advice and showered there, changed into some clean clothes and even (halfway) dried my hair.  I felt like a normal person again!  My showers now are right before bed... so you can imagine the nest (that is... my hair) in the morning.

I was so excited to see her!!  I walked in and she was keeping busy, pushing carts, running around, trying to escape.  I said "Hi Avey!!!  Mommy's here!"... she literally dropped the toy she was holding and RAN to me, arms reached & a HUGE smile.  I got the best hug and squeeze from her.  I was so humbled.  Little angel.  So now that we have an outlet to allow me to recharge my batteries, you can bet, we're going!