A Fun Farmer's Market Visit (also, Fresh Linen and Puke don't mix.)

This was it!

Finally the day for us to go to the Farmer's Market.  Everything was ready.  I had a half day of vacation from work, John was picking Katie up early from school and he and the kids were meeting me at work at 12:30 so we could park and walk over.

He called me at 12:23 to tell me he was outside and I heard Jake crying.

Then I heard John say, "Jacob puked."

I was all, "How bad can it be?  He hasn't had lunch yet so it can't be terrible.  We'll just wipe him up with wipies and be on our way.  Easy peasy." and walked out of the office with a spring in my step.

After all, we'd only rescheduled this day five MILLion times (okay, maybe it was five... five times) with my work and finally, FINALLY everything seemed to come together and we were going to have a fun family outing even if it hurt.

I walked outside (still springy) and saw my family standing on the sidewalk.

"Oh," I thought, "How nice!  They were so excited to see me that they had to step outside to watch me as I walk out!  I wonder who's going to give me the first hug!"

My next thought was, "Hmmm, why does Katie have her frownie face on?"

And still my next thought was, "Where are Jake's pants?"

Now, these thoughts came quickly.  It didn't take too long for me to put it together.  And let me tell you...  Puke + car + baby = fussy and smelly.  Katie doesn't like crying or stinky smells.  Neither do I for that matter but I managed to keep the gag reflex down as I put my bag in the back of the car and got a whiff of Jake's shorts and just the general... smelliness that seemed to have taken over the interior of the car.

It was B A D.  And we got to "enjoy" it all the way home.

And I laughed through my grimace remembering that I thought we would be able to fix this with wipes.  I laughed more when I got into the back seat and saw that  John had already tried to clean up the mess with wipes - there were about 20 of them on the floor of the car - and it must have helped a little but even wipes were no match for puke.  If he'd had a hose or something, we maybe could have cleaned out some of the gross mess but we did not have a hose.  So the car stunk all the way home.

So, to recap, no one was glad to see me, everyone under 4' was crying, and the whole way home was pretty miserable.

Then Katie asked when we were going to the Farmer's Market and I hated to break the news to her but I had to tell her that I didn't think we would be able to go, but we would try.

She cried.  Because if there's one thing she dislikes, it's not being able to do something (or not having a definite and right - in her book - answer on something she's had her heart set on, and this was one of those things.

We got home and put Jake to bed.  John took off the car seat cover and I threw it in the wash.  Katie walked around chattering away and asking questions.  And was getting a little huffy over not being able to go on our Farmer's Market trip.

Then... out of nowhere... came this awesome idea!  I could bring Katie to the Farmer's Market and John could stay home with Jake!

He and Katie both thought it was brilliant (okay, that might be over-exaggerating) and my status as the best Mommy EVER was reestablished (definitely not over-exaggerating!).

Of course, the more the merrier so I invited Grammy and Grampy to go with us and they just happened to be available.  We picked them up on the way (unfortunately, even after a hearty spray with some air freshener, the car still had that faint smell of puke.  Now it was just Fresh Linen-scented puke but Grammy and Grampy didn't complain one bit) and got a parking spot.

We walked about 9 blocks out and hit every booth.  It was a lot of walking.

We ate hot dogs at one of the street vendor stands where the topic of conversation was how the lady next to us had her purse stolen that morning.  And I spilled mustard on my pants.

And we shopped.

I bought bananas, strawberries, blackberries, toasted almonds, dried apples, and soap.  Grammy bought some onions and some honey.  She might have picked up something else but I don't remember because I was too busy trying to convince Katie that "big girls walk" to the car, they don't get carried.

This worked for awhile in conjunction with the cookie I used as a bribe shared with her.  But pretty soon she decided she was too tired to go on.  And I carried her... piggy-back.  Not really something I would recommend.  I mean, it wasn't too bad for the first three blocks, but after a that she had gotten pretty heavy (I was happy when she finally settled her hand placement to a location *not* wrapped around my neck.  Supporting the weight of a toddler with the same part of my body that needs to remain unobstructed so I can maybe breath a little was challenging, to say the least!).

We were about 3 blocks away when I finally convinced her to walk on the side of a planter, like a balance beam.  After a moment of panic when I realized we were out of balancing ledges, I make up the "Let's run till mommy's out of breath and exhausted AND tired of saying, "Don't step on a crack!  Don't step on a crack!"  Luckily I've been doing that 30-Day Shred or I might have ended up on the ground.  Oh, remember all of the stuff I bought?  Grampy carried my (very heavy) bag the whole time.

We finally (FINALLY) made it to the car.  I had a fun time looking at everything and the stuff we bought was pretty good (we've already finished the strawberries and blackberries though... and the bananas are almost gone too.  TWO bunches of them!  Jake is a banana fiend!).

So, I would say this was a successful "field trip".  We dropped Grammy and Grampy off at home and headed out to Katie's dentist appointment.

And that is a story for another day.

Mommy Fail? Not a chance! (This time anyway)

Katie came to me on Tuesday morning and said, "Mommy, do you have my nickels?  For the nickel jamboree today at school."

I told her that was tomorrow and she said (doubtfully), "Oh, okay...  Are you sure it's tomorrow?  I don't want to miss it."

Then I told her to check the calendar in the kitchen.  The calendar she can't read yet.  The calendar that's so high up on the wall she can't really even touch it.  (This is intentional.  She may be a big girl but she still likes the sound of paper as she rips it into tiny pieces.  My calendar is paper.  Therefore, Katie should not come into contact with it until she's at least 10.)  Duh.

I heard her in the pantry yelling to Grandpa that "Mommy says it's tomorrow."  She still sounded doubtful.

And even though Mommy said she was sure it was Wednesday and not, in fact, today... Grandpa got her a baggie of nickels for the jamboree *just in case*.

Just. in. case.

And what does that tell you about the level of trust bestowed upon my by my dear daughter and my dad?  Hmph.  Maybe a little lacking... and through NO fault of my own!  I've never forgotten to get her stuff ready for a school event, or to pay the school for something she wants to do... Never ever.  (Although I did kinda forget to make Katie's lunch on Monday night but got it together on Tuesday morning in time for her to have the usual jelly-no peanut butter or she won't eat it-sandwich, chips, and a pudding cup.  I usually try to include some fresh fruit* but there was no time to cut up strawberries...  and since I don't think she realizes that I usually get that ready the night before, I doubt she would use this as an example of a semi-Mommy fail sooooo, I'm not counting it either.)

* Arg.  Just remembered that I forgot to buy bananas when I was at the store on Monday night.  I looked at them about 20 times but wanted to get them last so Jake wouldn't want to eat one (or 10) before we checked out.  And I forgot them completely. *sigh*  I sense a grocery trip coming up soon.

But I was totally right and I knew it.  Not because I'm so up on all of the pre-school happenings but because they kindly scheduled all of their stuff on Wednesdays.  (A silent thank you is being sent right now to whoever decided that consistency was key when scheduling events for kids when mommy works and has enough trouble remembering what she's got going on that day... or just what day it is.  It's always nice to know that if Katie goes to school for one day, the next day she's got a field trip.)

I still checked the calendar though, *just in case*, because there's always that chance that I'm wrong.  (I wasn't wrong.)

So, by the time I went to bed on Tuesday night, Katie's lunch was packed and in the fridge, the check for her tuition was in her bag, and her $5 in nickels is in a cute coin purse, also in her bag.  There wasn't too much room when her small-ish bag also holds:

Lambie
Change of clothes
Towel
Swimsuit
Shoes

Also, and I've only rescheduled this 5 times!, we're planning on going to the Farmers Market on Thursday.  John and the kids are picking me up from work early and, barring torrential rain or horrible heat... or both, we'll be wandering around looking at veggies and soap and salsa, (oh my!) for the afternoon.

Until we need to leave for Katie's dentist appointment.  Her very first dentist appointment!



We've talked about going to the dentist before and I've learned that if there's one thing (besides the doctors office) that Katie is adamantly against having anything to do with, it would be the dentist office.  Which is strange because she's never had a bad experience there.  I took her to one of my cleaning appointments and so has Mom.  She was fine.  Sat in the chair and hung out and talked to me (I couldn't answer but the dentist assistant did).  Nothing scary there.

So I thought it would be a great time for her to get her teeth checked but when I mentioned that it was time for her to see a dentist, she started to cry.  Hard.  She was very upset. <---- Understatement.

Sooooo I haven't actually told her she's got an appointment.  I'm hoping she won't ask why we're dropping Jake and Daddy off at home and not us.  I'm hoping she'll just assume that I need to have my teeth cleaned.  I'm hoping she'll be so tired from the Farmers Market that she can't summon the energy to freak out.

At the very least, I'm hoping she'll save her freaking out until we get to the dentist and she's in the chair and they can show her that it won't hurt to have the dentist look at your teeth (at least at her age with her new little teeth... but two crowns later and I can say that sitting in that chair with the dentist looking at my teeth scares me.  They usually find something that needs fixing.  I hold off because a. it's too expensive and b. I don't want to have someone poking my gums with Novocain.  Mostly b.  Then it gets worse until I can't put it off any longer and it's more expensive because they have to do two crowns instead of one and the cost of crowns is roughly $600 EACH, and shouldn't you get a discount if you have to have two of something?  They're in there anyway just drilling and scraping away...  *deep breath*) for a few minutes, get her new toothbrush and floss, pick out her sticker and go!

Oh well.  At least if she's freaking out, her mouth is wide open (mostly from the yelling and screeching) which usually helps when the point of the whole thing is to see all of your teeth.

I'm tired and can't think of a good name for this post. So I'm going to bed.

(It's late on Sunday night and I'm ready to turn in.  That "Title" field at the top of my screen is going to haunt me unless I put something in there and this is all I've got.  I know it's not descriptive.  I know it's kind of lame.  I know it's "taking the easy way out."... So if you've got something better, leave a comment and maybe your suggestion will be chosen to replace it!)

As I type this post, I'm sitting in a chair at the nail salon I frequent rather INfrequently. You can usually find me here once in about every 6 months (and usually only when the stars align perfectly... cash + kids at the lake = mommy time for pedicures and haircuts).  

This weekend was pretty busy, in a low-key way.
A friend hilighted my hair on Friday... something I've never done and it turned out really good.  John came with me and hung out with her hubby and we spent about 3 hours on my hair.  And when I say "we" I mean that I spent a lot of time sitting in a chair while she separated my hair into rows and painstakingly pulled pieces out to put into the foil for color.  Not an easy job!


We got home at around 1:30 a.m.  Yes.  Us.  We're usually ready for bed by 10!  Exhausted but it was worth it.  


On Saturday we (me and John) used a coupon for dinner and totally stuffed ourselves.  Then on Sunday, today, I used a Groupon for a haircut, and now I'm getting my pedicure (the only full price thing I've done all weekend!).  Tonight we're using a Restaurant.com

 gift cert I won at She Saved so this meal will be discounted too!

And yes. I've been saving all of these things up for this (no kids, no cooking) weekend!


(Okay, now I'm home.  Dinner is over and it was pretty good.  Not sitting in the cushy nail salon chair anymore but totally wishing I was.)


In other news...


On Friday I got home to a quiet house (the kids had already left with Grandma and Grandpa for the lake) and saw  this:


Katie's piano (AKA Dolly for now), her fairy wings, and mommy's shoes...

Daddy's shoes and a fruit snack wrapper...

Kitchen utensils, poker chips, and John's coffee mug. 

I was not surprised by any of these.

My kids love shoes.  Katie usually goes for the heels and Jake usually goes for Katie's purple rain boots.  (One lonely purple rain boot was on the couch when I got home.)  Some days I come home and find at least 4 pairs of shoes in the living room.  This is the first time I've seen John's shoes "out for a walk" though.  And in Jake's room.  Strange.  Evidence (the empty fruit snack wrapper) leads me to suspect Katie.  (Jake can't get into the fruit snacks yet but she's very adept at it.)

I suspect Jake is responsible for the kitchen utensils.  He's got a history.  Yep, John confirmed that Jake took them out and Katie took them away from him.  Apparently they were too "dangerous" for Jake.

So there are days when we put away a lot of shoes and kitchen stuff.  At least I didn't have to search the house for the pots and pans... that wouldn't be a strange occurrence here either.

Oh, and something to help me miss the kids more while they're at the lake?  Cute brother/sister pics from last week:

I heard lots of talking behind my chair.  I didn't hear any yelling, whining, or screaming.  I had to get up to take a look and I had to take a picture because these kids were just.that.CUTE!

Katie had set up a reading area by our front door.  She had blankets, a kids chair, and her Mr. Bear all set up and she was sharing with Jacob and reading him a book.

More playing the next morning.  Sitting together and talking with each other.  Ahhh, what a sweet sound.

And another sweet moment between a brother and sister... yes, the blankets are still out from the early afternoon.  And yes, Jake does seem to live in his jammies.  (I promise he does have clothes.  He just doesn't have a very busy social life.)

Oh, we had a theater production of some princess story that I can't remember now.  Katie had the starring roles as Princess, Evil Witch, and Katie.  She got rave reviews from mommy and daddy.  Jake had a cameo as blurry boy.  

In the scene shown below, Katie is in her Princess role.  Note the demure expression and the hand to her neck.  I'm not sure if that's surprise or a stereotypical southern belle type of thing.

We also had an exciting breakthrough when Katie learned to TIE her belt!  She got it!  I was so proud of her new skill.  She did it in the exact opposite way (bringing the end up from the bottom instead of down from the top) I had been showing her and she got it!

(I'm pretty happy she learned to tie her robe belt.  I'm also pretty happy that I won't have to tie it 500 times a day anymore!)

We also went out for pizza with Rachel and her kids and Grandma and Grandpa on Tuesday and Katie and Jake played downstairs a bit (catching up on Grandma and Grandpa time they missed while G&G were at their lake place for the week) on Wednesday and that's about it. 

I got home on Thursday ready to grill her about her field trips and she was asleep.  Totally out of it.  John said that Jake was sitting on her head and she didn't even stir.  So I picked her up and gave her a kiss on her cheek and put her to bed.  At 7:45.  And didn't see her on Friday because they were gone before I got home.  

The kids come home tomorrow afternoon and I'm excited to see them.  They seem to grow so much in the time they are away!