Confession Time

The kids had preschool summer camp today and had a great day. It was so blessed hot (think 105*) when I picked them up that I really wanted an ice cream from Baskin Robbins and was pretty sure they'd be up for it too....

Before we left preschool however, I noted that Colton was holding his crotch.

"Hey bud, you need to go pee?" 

"No mom. Well, yes. But I just want to go pee pee at your house."  (He only refers to it as MY house, never his or ours. I find this kind of funny.)

Well I can understand his desire to pee in the comforts of our home and we don't live that far from preschool anyway. So we buckled up and started driving. And then I started thinking about Cherries Jubilee ice cream and totally forgot about the whole pee thing.

"Hey kids, you want to get an ice cream cone?" 

"YEAH!" (Score!)

So we all file in, and everything is peachy keen. They make their way down the displays and finally select Mint Chocolate Chip (Hunter and Colton) and Vanilla (Ethan.) {Side note-Really? Vanilla? There are 31 flavors and he selects vanilla?? So not my kid. }

Anyway, I pass off 3 little cups of ice cream and as we sit down, I note that Colton is in some serious discomfort. As in, he might pee right then, right there, ON the CHAIR. He's almost out of breath as he struggles to hold it in.

And suddenly, I remember the pee thing.  

"Excuse me sir, you don't happen to have a restroom here, do you?"

"No, sorry." 

(While I secretly think they really DO have a bathroom, I know that he's just doing his job. I also wonder if he'll wish he'd just let us USE that 'secret' restroom when he's mopping up my kid's pee 18 seconds from then.)

"Okay, thanks," I mutter.

"Kids, grab your ice cream cups and come with me!"

And without the fuss I was sure that would cause, they followed. Like perfect little ducklings.
I got them to the car, where I opened up the driver side door,  shielding us from traffic on a main road.

All right, buddy. I need you to pee right here."

"Right here, mommy? Right here?" 

"Yep. Right here."

And he did. On the running board and everything.  :) But as you might imagine, he felt like a million bucks after that! I pulled up his little pants,  handed him back his ice cream, and back INTO Baskin Robbins we went! To enjoy our ice cream in the cool, air conditioned comforts of the ice cream shop!

Did I feel a little bit guilty? Yeah. But only a little. But then I just pretended he was just a little desert jackrabbit peeing near my car, and I felt much better about the whole situation. I mean, it was just pee...and for what it's worth, I DID explain that we were only peeing there because it was an EMERGENCY and that we wouldn't normally pee in a parking lot.  :)

Sometimes, you gotta do what ya gotta do.

So tell me, what would YOU have done in that situation? :)

Library Credit Cards

All right. Even I am sick of looking at my Flight Attendant photos.  :)

So let's move on to one thing that gives me a good laugh every time-Colton and his pointy eyebrows. When he was just a baby, and was particularly interested or excited about something, his little eyebrows would raise up and instant smiles would follow! Needless to say, it still works.  All I have to do is say, "Hey, Colton, eyebrows??" And he does this. (See below!) Which, for the record doesn't have the same effect as it does in 'real life.' 

How will I break it to Hunter that hers just don't work quite like Colton's..

 She's trying so hard.

 And now she's certain they are 'just like Colton's.'

Almost, pretty girl.

Anyhoo, being that it's summer vacation, we are trying to keep the kids busy and entertained. God love the littles who've endured an entire week and a half's worth of running around our classrooms as we moved all of our stuff--No wait, let me write that again, with more proper emphasis- "as we moved ALL. OUR. FREAKING. CRAP. STUFF out of one building and into another. Kindergarten teachers are professional collectors, you know. This is because everything can be used for something....  :)

Anyhoo, they earned a proper outing.

So off to the library for family story time we went. Mary has taken my niece, Brinley, to these before and always raves about what fun it is. My immediate thoughts were "It's never as fun with three as it is with one," but I agreed to go anyway.

It was a day that started off a little more rushed than I would've liked and as such patience was thinner (mine) than normal. Colton's use of the word, "NO" was flowing freely and I was already on edge before we even got out of the car.

Looking back at these photos was actually really good for me. You see, on this particular day, as I sat there, I was feeling (and this almost never happens) jealous of the parents with just one child, or one older and one younger. The way they could just sit back and watch...

Colton has this 'thing' he does (that I realize many kids do) that is really, really unnerving. When he's mad or disagrees, he yells, "NO" or "I DON'T!" Lately, it has just gotten to be like nails on a chalkboard. We are working hard to correct this behavior, but it was in FULL FORCE on this occasion. I now can see that my frustration with that left me feeling annoyed, overwhelmed and stressed out at the time, and that amplified everything going on in these moments.

I'm pretty sure I walked out of there feeling like my kids were crazy and out of control, but as I looked back, I realized they were totally active participants. 

Ethan does have a harder time sitting still when he's supposed to and that's something we're working on, and Colton can disapprove with the best of them (ie the ridiculous use of the word 'NO'). But overall, I now realize they were actually pretty darn good. 

They danced when they were supposed to dance.

They listened when they were supposed to listen. (For the most part. But again, they were not among the crowd of kids swarming the librarian, so hey, that's something!) 

They grabbed shakers when it was time to grab shakers.

And they even put their shakers away when it was time. Without a fuss. 

They did the beanbag dance when it was time.

And so did I.   :)

And they went to get stamps on their little chicken wings when it was all over! 

When it was done, the girls drew pictures for Father's Day and the boys stapled approximately 3,214 coupon booklets for their dad. (The staplers were ALL out of staples, by the way.)

So anyhoo, even though, like I said, it FELT like a total disaster of a day, I, being the glutton for punishment that I am, chose to then take the kids INTO the actual library. Though it's a different library, I still remember vividly going the library with my mom and sister as a kid. I remember the short tables, the low shelves and it's just generally a memory I think back on, fondly.

So especially in this day of technology and iPads,  Kindles and Nooks, and digital EVERYthings...I really wanted my kids to be able to experience a REAL LIFE LIBRARY, where the books are tangible and you practice social etiquette and library manners.

Our first time was not perfect by any means,
(Don't forget I was still feeling frazzled at this point) but it wasn't bad. As usual, I was eternally grateful that my sister, Mary was along to keep track of 2 of my kids while I filled out paperwork for their library cards.

In the end, each of the kids got his or her very own library card and then helped select 2 new books each to take home and add to our nighttime reading routine.

But the best part for the kids was the 'self-check' table. One at a time, each child got to scan his card,  push their 4 digit pin numbers on the screen,  scan the bar codes on the books and then pull out the printed receipt/due date reminder!

Ethan went first.  

Then Hunter, 

And then Colton!

My 'babies' with their very first library cards. 

(Though Hunter translated 'library card' into 'credit card'  so if you ask her, she WILL tell you it's her library credit card.)  :) Who am I to argue? 

We've read all of our books already so we're heading back here in the morning to find 6 new books! Cross your fingers...