Unfortunately, as much as Daddy hated it and had planned for it (or at least hoped for it) - he was not able to go with us yesterday. I think it was much harder for him that Noah. ;(
And, remember, this is a first for me. No big party. No themed details to plan, no lists to cross off (well, not written by my hand at least), no balloons to order, invitations to mail, etc. etc. And, as even though that made me a tad sad, I also looked forward to relishing the time with him because guess what - no house to clean, no details to attend to, no games to coordinate......so that part - I was anxious for. A day with just the boys and Noah's list.
Despite the forecast for a dreary day with rain, we excitedly set off. It did not take long for our plans to be derailed somewhat. After stops for gas, money, and snacks - we headed for IHop as planned, then a quick unexpected change of plans (I should have KNOWN better) but Noah decided it would be better to have pancakes at McD's because then they could play also. Two birds, one stone. Of course the nurse/mom in me had a few moments of panic realizing we would be in a public play area in the height of flu season. I had to remind myself they both attend school/MDO/church every week and are exposed to the same in those settings. Okay, we'll go, after all, I had three a bottle of handsanitizer and a couple hundred wipes, but that's beside the point. The three of us ran through the rain, okay, two of us ran through the rain while I juggled 33 pounds (on a good day)on one hip, a suitcase/purse on one shoulder and a stadium umbrella by my toes I think? Whew.......we were in line at 10:24. No guess, I looked at the clock. We were okay. Then, there was the obviously new employee who had stayed out a little too long the night before and could not figure out who had been waited on and who had not or if she was even on the planet. 10:30, "may I help you", I ordered. "Sorry, we are no longer serving breakfast." The clock read a precise 10:30 - no matter I had been standing in line while she decided she worked there. Ugh! Off to IHop. A bustling, busy, twenty minute minimum wait. Noah wanted to wait. 10 minutes into the wait, he decided he didn't. I was getting a very strange feeling about the day.
Back to the car in POURING rain, this time without an umbrella. Then he decided, we would just eat in the car. It was too much trouble. A birthday lunch per the memorable drive through at McDonald's. I was still too upset to eat at the one we had just left, so I drove to another. They ate in the car. I drank iced java as I had a funny feeling I was going to need ALOT of energy for the day.
A quick trip into Hobby Lobby for some projects Noah has been wanting to work on. He loves the train/model car section, imagine that. ;)
On to the mall. Again, a run in the rain. They loved it. I was drowning. First stop, Candy Craze. Enough said. Then, to the Cookie Company for a snack. And, just what was I thinking? Indoor Play Area for a long, good while to allow some of those calories which were rapidly turning into energy to be utilized. He had just received $$ from his Auntie so we stopped by Hallmark (actually, it was the second one we stopped at as I drove to the first, no luck, it had closed) - yeah, that was just after the first McDonald's incident. He bought a sweet little Webkinz - I think it may be a German Shepard type dog? Maybe? But, the sweetest part of that visit was as we walked by the card section, he pulled a card out that had an old red pick-up truck and said we needed to get that for Daddy, then he read it to me (that still amazes me) the inside read "I thought you might need a pick-up today". Ahhhh......
It continued to pour outside. Back to the vehicle and then we attacked Chuck E. Cheese with the other 1.6 million parents and children. After that state of confused play, we exited to a monsoon. Why, was I not carrying my umbrella? Well, remember that 33 pounder - well, after the candy and cookies, he was up to at least 78 pounds. That in combination with keeping up with Noah as he's a little to brave in parking lots and I'm a bit panicky in parking lots. And, I did have my "bag" filled with candy, a webkinz and all the other necessities of my life - the umbrella was the first to go. After all, it barely sprinkling when we entered. Stupid, stupid me! Let me just say that we were so wet by the time we made it to the car, we almost packed up to go home. But, we had friends meeting us at the theater. Off to see the Bee Movie. Surprisingly it was warm. The kids thought the movie was cute and even though we did not get to see the very end of it (a thunderstorm moved through [imagine that!] and knocked out all power. Generators had to be fired up so we could exit without breaking a limb. I kid you not!
Oh, we were tired, cold, wet and hungry again. But, when Noah checked his list for the ice cream shop - he opted out due to all of the above. We made a trip to our local zoo Petco to enjoy what Fort Smith has to offer. We actually left without any new pets, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! But, that was not without refusals to begs and pleads. Hmmm.........library was next on the list, but, we were still pretty wet and cold and Evan was past the point of remaining silent. Way past that point. Noah agreed, probably not the best place to take him. They definitely wouldn't keep him.
So, off we went home, in the rain. to a dry house with a warm fire. We set up our campsite in the living room and watched Flushed Away, ate MORE popcorn and Daddy joined us as we slept until the next storm nearly blew the house away. A GREAT day!
As crazy and exhausting as it was, it truly was a wonderful day. Because between the downpours, there were plenty of puddles they jumped in, between the rude clerks and cashiers, there were alot of warm smiles from other parents who also toted along kids with wet heads, because between the seven trips to the bathrooms and complaints of wet clothes, there were lots of belly laughs, because between stops, Noah told his terrible non-funny jokes - which makes them hilarious. And, the most important thing, I got to spend a day with my boys with no phones or emails or files - I had no other children to entertain, no goody bags to hand out, no pictures to take (although all of that credit goes to Missie over the last several years) - I just had my two. And, ultimately, he was very happy with it and is happy we did it. After all, he got a "raincheck" for the library and ice cream shop. Can't give up those sprinkles!!
Unfortunately, guess who is running 102.3 right now? Let's hope he is better by Tuesday.
