Happy Fri-Yay y’all! First of all, the weather is GORGEOUS today! It’s supposed to be like this all weekend, 74 degrees, low humidity, partly cloudy. This is the weather I live for! It reminds me that Fall is right around the corner. I gotta admit, I love all things Fall… pumpkin pastries, fall scented candles, jeans and hoodies, apple everything, campfires, all.the.things!
I was excited this morning because we really didn’t have much on the agenda for today, aside from heading to the lake after nap. So I decided we would do something fun this morning! After rolling around a few ideas, I landed on going for donuts and coffee and then a walk down the River Greenway. We would get some sunshine, we would get out of the house, P&K could look for ducks and fish and birds on our walk, I would have an excuse for Crimson House, and well, donuts. Winning for everyone! Right?!
Well, I’m sitting on my couch typing this, still drinking my coffee that started off hot then cold then reheated and reheated again and second guessing my decision to try and be a fun Mama.
And here’s why…
1. too sleepy for donuts
P&K had been asking to go get donuts all week. More specifically, they had been asking to “go inside and pick my big donut my own.” Translation: they wanted to go into the donut shop and pick out their own donut from the case. They did not want to mess around with the Hostess mini donuts, nor did they want me to pick out their donuts for them. No, no, no.
So here we are, at the donut shop. And they are fast asleep.
Now what? I mean you don’t wake up a sleeping dragon. But, donuts! Not to mention, it’s only 9:30, way too early for a nap if I know what’s good for me. Now, if I don’t wake them up, they are going to be quite unhappy with me when they do wake, which, honestly, will likely result in a second trip to get donuts. (Listen, don’t judge me, I pick my battles, okay.)
I really should just join them, right here in the parking lot. I mean I’m missing a heck of an opportunity here. But I didn’t. I sat in my car and waited for the little sleeping beauties to awaken.
2. Runaway stroller
So after everyone was awake and fueled by the sugary goodness of cake donuts, we drove to the Greenway for our walk. I had gotten the stroller out of the back of the car, gotten Peyton out of her car seat and was working on putting Kayden’s shoes back on. (Can anyone tell me why toddlers insist on taking their shoes and socks off immediately after entering the car?) I heard Peyton talking but didn’t really hear her, ya know.
“I need my Mommy.”
Okay, so that’s kind of a strange thing for her to say. I think this to myself as I turn around to see the stroller rolling down the parking lot hill, through the alleyway towards the road! I see her precious little face looking to Mommy to save her. Her voice was calm as she repeated, “I need my Mommy. I need my Mommy.”
I sprinted after that stroller like Usain Bolt with Tyson Gay on his tail!
“Stroller ran away. Me need my Mommy.”
Yes, girl, you did. You did need your Mommy.
I gave a friendly wave to the onlooking gentleman across the parking lot as I hauled the stroller back to my car. I’m sure we will be talking about this one for a while.
3. Runaway apple juice with a splash of coffee
P&K are safely in their stroller, mama’s heart has slowed down slightly, and we are ready. I slowly guide the stroller down the hill and onto the sidewalk. Now, can someone please tell me why the sidewalk needs rumble strips? I mean come on, are we really texting and walking that much? Or is it to alert the mamas right before their stroller runs off into oncoming traffic? Whatever their official purpose, today they served to splash my coffee all over my phone, keys, stroller and shoes.
Thank you sidewalk rumble strips.
I’m now uttering profanities under my breath, trying to lap up the spilled coffee from the reservoir in my coffee lid like a dog while simultaneously trying to wipe my phone on the backside of my jean shorts (of course I didn’t bring any baby wipes… apparently I don’t always heed my own advice) when K starts screaming.
“My juice! My juice!”
I look up to see his Bug Juice rolling across the street…
4. The fight
Bug juice recovered. Coffee wiped (or licked) from my phone, keys, stroller and shoes.
Okay. Deep breath. I should have just turned around at this point, but I’m stubborn.
This was my expectation for our walk: Me, pushing the stroller with ease, sipping my coffee, as P&K enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. Fun times, fun Mama.
This was my reality: Me, fighting the stroller because, apparently, the Greenway was crafted at just such a slope towards the river that when pushing a fully loaded stroller, one must constantly steer the stroller slightly at an uphill, sideways angle to avoid plummeting into the river. This would of course result in almost certain death. This slope is not noticeable when taking a leisurely stroll, just in case you were wondering. So, needless to say, I did not get to sip my coffee. And there were no sights or sounds of nature, only the whirl of passing cars.
5. The Fight, round 2
After walking an impressive mile, I decided it was time to turn around. I still hadn’t drank my coffee and I was starting to sweat. We did a U-turn and started on our journey back. As we were nearing the car, I started to talk to P&K about how our walk was almost over and we were going to go home so we could take a nap before we went to the lake. I thought preempting them would help to avert a meltdown.
Hahahahahaha. Nope. Wrong again.
Kayden, my normally well-mannered, go with the flow, easy-going, precious baby boy, turned into a fire breathing dragon.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO”
He apparently did not want our walk to end.
I had one more trick up my sleeve. Or so I thought. There’s a giant Adirondack chair that we passed at the beginning of our walk. “Let’s go sit in the big chair!” I tried to sound super enthusiastic, even amidst his evil glares and scrunched up nose.
“No!”
Well, okay then. “Me wanna sit in da chair!” Peyton exclaimed. At least someone was feeling my enthusiasm!
After multiple failed attempts to get Kayden to climb up on the chair too, I gave up and we made our way to the car. And this is where it gets super fun… Kayden starts screaming like a banshee. A wild banshee.
“No! No! No! No! No!”
I am trying to take him out of the stroller to put him in the car, and he is kicking, screaming and trying to slap me in the face. I wrestled him out of the stroller like Steve Irwin trying to take down a prize winning croc. I finally got him buckled into the car seat. I had won. (At least that’s what I tell myself.)
As I loaded up the stroller and P, the screaming continued. By this time, we had onlookers. Of course, these onlookers weren’t sympathetic moms. Nope. One gentleman trying to enjoy a peaceful lunch, and another gentleman who I think may have been the witness to the runaway stroller earlier.
Between the stroller escapade and the WWE match between me and K, I’m sure I looked like this was, at best, my first rodeo, and, at worst, like I had just abducted these two tiny humans. I hurried up and got in the car before the cops could show up.
I was still aggravated and annoyed by the time we got home. I spent the majority of the drive lecturing K on how we weren’t going to do fun things anymore if he was going to throw fits when it was time to go home, and how it makes Mommy sad when he acts like that. I was totally regretting even stepping out of the house today. Yep, I was totally nailing my “fun Mama” goal.
But then I started feeling guilty for ending our fun morning with such a negative tone, so I told them I love going on adventures with them, and I love them. I asked them if they had fun, to which P told me, “I had fun Mama. Me no frow fit.” Kayden shook his head yes, nose still scrunched up. Hey, I’ll take that at this point.
I’ve finally finished my coffee, and I think P&K have finally fallen asleep for their nap. I don’t regret taking them out today. I’m glad I did. Because we did have fun.
They were beaming in the donut shop as they got to pick out their own donuts.
They were so excited on our drive to the Greenway. “Me goin’ on a walk!” they both kept singing.
They pointed out every bird and even the willy worm. They loved the sound of every “big truck” and “motorcycle” that passed us. (There were no motorcycles.)
P loved the Adirondack chair so much that she smiled for a picture (a rarity these days).
K loved our walk so much that he threw one heck of a fit when it was over. Not because he didn’t have fun. But because he did, and because he’s two, and he is still working on managing those big boy emotions.
So, yeah, I’m glad we went out today.
With love, Amanda
Amanda says
Amazing how a simple perspective shift for yourself changes everything! I love that you were still glad that you went and how you could emphasize that their responses showed that they really did have fun! โฅ๏ธ Momming is hard; youโre doing it right, mama!