Warning: this is long and rambling.
Ever had one of those days? It starts out on the wrong foot, and then, if it were even possible, the wrong foot gets even more wrong? End up wishing you could just move to Australia?
I mean, my day last Friday started out icky – I overslept. I had great intentions on getting up early and working out for 45 minutes instead of 30 because my post-baby pudge just isn’t budging from around my middle. I missed the workout, which left me a little off. Strike one.
After breakfast my kids all of a sudden were cranky and not listening (not a big surprise around here lately – I truly think Cutie Pie is in the terrible 3’s). Unfortunately before breakfast Cutie Pie saw my neighbor’s grandson delivering Dunkin Donuts across the street as family was visiting for his aunt’s wedding. Cutie Pie began begging for DD, actually stated “We are going there and we’re going to eat there. Outside because it is nice.” We tried to make plans with Nana because Cutie Pie also wanted to see her but she had plans, which made Cutie Pie upset. Their behavior got worse. Even though by now I was hankering for a donut, I said we were not going anywhere, we were going to play outside. You’d think I’d just taken all of their toys away the way both reacted! Strike two. (I decided then and there I really wanted that donut!)
Sweet Pea began hitting and throwing, ended up in time-out screaming, which made Cutie Pie scream and cry. Cutie Pie wanted to go on a scavenger hunt to get away from the crying. I tried to do it with him, which resulted in him leading us upstairs, while Sweet Pea was downstairs in his pack-n-play time out, with Cutie Pie deciding he wanted to play by himself. I tried to do some cleaning upstairs to make use of the time, which made Cutie Pie mad because I wasn’t playing with him…which worsened everyone’s behavior. Yes, you guessed it. Strike three.
I decided maybe we would go to DD. Yes, I know, adding sugar to the mix was not the best of ideas, but my intentions were good – a different environment, maybe the playground afterwards if they were good…you know how a change of place makes your kids behave different? Well, it worked great! They were angels! I was delighted, so I thought ‘Why not take them to the park?!’ Little did I know…
We got a block away from the park and my car overheated. We made it to the park and I tried to call Hubby. His cell phone was not on. Strike four. (Turns out it was home on the counter – yes, the cell phones we have to use ONLY in emergency!) But wait…
I called Aunt J, my neighbor from across the street (the one who was entertaining a house full of company visiting from out of town for her daughter’s wedding) as that was the only phone number I could recall and I couldn’t for the life of me remember what garage we use if I called AAA for help and wondered even if I did call them how would I get the kids and myself home…when my cell phone died. (Yes, the ones we have to use ONLY in emergency!) Strike five.
I borrowed a cell phone from another mom at the park and called my neighbor back. She sent her son-in-law, Mr C, to the rescue. He came. I told him nicely that it was really his fault. That my whole day started wrong when Cutie Pie saw his little one with the donuts. He laughed! I thought my day was getting back on track. But to continue with the story – the windows were open in Mr C’s car, which left Cutie Pie in his forward facing seat in the back with his eyes closed as tight as could be whispering ‘I’m just winking’ over and over again. We rolled up the windows, but by the time we got home Cutie Pie was crying hysterically saying something was in his eye. Strike six. An hour later he let me rinse it out and finally sat down for lunch. Again he said ‘I was just winking, really I was’.
So, how many strikes make for a ‘Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”?
Well, Hubby came home and we all went to the park to get the car. The tow truck came and we thought it was going to be strike seven…the tow truck driver said the location was out of his jurisdiction and was very grumpy – until he saw Cutie Pie come running to see the truck. The driver immediately became Mr. Nice Guy and even tried to coax Cutie Pie into sitting in the car as it was loaded onto the flat bed! Cutie Pie didn’t want anything to do with that, so instead got to push the levers to draw the car up onto the bed and again to move the bed back to position so the truck could take my car to be fixed. Strike seven averted by a very cute Cutie Pie and thank you, Lord, for a driver who loves little boys! (Unfortunately I didn’t remember I had my camera until the tow truck left…)
In answer to the question…on this particular day, it takes six strikes to make a “Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” and one trip to Moe’s for tacos and chips to make this Mama happy at the end of a long day!
I love that book! But boy – so different when the no good is attached to a real person. Yeah for a break for you at Moe’s!
Anna’s girls are the same!!! if the younger is disciplined, the elder screams in the mom or dad’s face with anger – so protective of her sister!!! and the elder listens quite selectively now and the younger pushes/hits others out of her way. They are so all the same age…and will emerge from this into whatever the next stage is!!!