How do you spend your Friday night?
Me? I whoop it up with a couple of wild child(s)
Seriously.
You may not realize this, but I am married to the Vice
President of Sask Holstein Branch. From time to time, his responsibilities take
him on the road and today was one of those days. So it was the kids and I left
to par-tay. ;)
Seeing as it snowed most of the day, (and we’re totally over
snow right now… April 25th) it was an inside day. I knew that it
would be a long evening if we just stayed home and hung out, plus I didn’t feel
like cooking, so we went out.
I loaded my three into our SUV at 4:30pm and headed into
Saskatoon with a mission to find two birthday gifts for friends and supper.
Simple, right? Wrong. Let me break it down.
Driving with three small children is actually quite
enjoyable seeing as we have a portable DVD player with two screens for my
eldest two munchkins to watch. Today, I was serenaded by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
while I drove. I am often amused by J and Lena as they actively participate
with what they’re viewing. “It’s
an owl!” I heard Jetty call out to the screen.
Halfway to the city, Jetty informs me, “Mom, I have to pee!”
which makes me step on the gas just a little more. There have been times where
I just pull over and let him go beside our vehicle, but that’s on more remote
roads. I have standards! ;)
I pull into Walmart, park and transfer my three precious
ones into a cart: Lena in the front, Zavi (in his carseat) inside the cart and
Jett hanging onto the end, standing on the bottom bar. We quickly maneuver our
way to the washroom and pull up into a very dirty handicap stall. I try to help
Jett onto the toilet without him completely undressing himself. In hindsight, I
maybe should have had him take off his bulky winter jacket. I don’t know how he
did it, but he managed to pee all over the back of his own pants. Of course, I
had neglected to bring a change of clothes for him, so we added a new pair of
pants to our shopping list.
When I’m shopping by myself, I can select gifts for kids in
mere minutes, but with my “consultants,” we use much more time. EVERY option is
considered (and tested- they press every possible button that makes noise) and
several reminders that we are not shopping for ourselves are given. We made it
out of the toy section alive and with only the gifts we went in to buy, but
barely ;)
We went by the bikes and Jetty tried one out. I
actually wanted him to so I could have a reference for what size of bike I should keep my eyes open for at garage sales in the coming weeks. Of course, Kalena
couldn’t just watch Jett try bikes, she wanted in on that action. We weren’t in
a rush, so I obliged her but it was then that I realized that her entire behind
was soaked! We added ANOTHER pair of pants to our shopping list…
In the end, we spent almost TWO HOURS in Walmart. We soaked
two pairs of pants, visited the washroom twice, bought two pairs of pants and
bought two birthday gifts. Kalena also gave several performances of “Jesus
loves me” around the store, so we can add 'evangelism' to our evening ;)
We went to the Preston Crossing Burger King for supper
because the kids love the play area there. Also, it was nearly 7pm and not
busy, which is a bonus. I helped Jett and Lena get their boots/jackets off so
they could start playing in the play area while I got us some grub. I took Zavi
with me and had my eyes on the play area pretty much the whole time. There was
no one in line, so I could order quickly and go back and forth from the play
area and food counter transferring drinks, napkins, ketchup, etc.
A boy came out of the play area crying and said that another
boy had bit him, and my heart nearly stopped. Jett has never bit anyone (maybe
when he was really young—I can’t remember) but I worried because I wasn’t right
in there providing steady supervision. When a different young boy was hauled
out by his dad and made to apologize for the biting, I was SO relieved that my
two active kiddos were not involved!
I quickly got our dinner into the play area where we could
eat, the kids could play and I was close at hand to ‘manage’ them. ;) They
actually play really well there. Jett had made some buddies and they were
racing through the climbing apparatus at lightning speed. Jett was sad when his buddies had to
leave and he was left with his mom and sister ;)
Another brother/sister duo came to play and Jett coached
Lena on how to go make a friend. It was the cutest (and funniest thing). Kalena
showed us how coachable she is and followed her brother’s lead in approaching a
girl who was at least three times her age and asking her if she wanted to be
her friend. Jett was not-so-discreetly watching his protégé from around a
corner.
Jett and Kalena climbed up and slid down the slide many
times, which I was glad for so they could burn up some energy on a more
sedentary day. By the time we ate, played and I fed Zavi, it was at least 8,
and time to get home. Of course my diaper wearing 2 yr old had a stinky “treat”
for me to take care of before we could take off. What a glamorous life I lead.
;)
We made it home, and I quickly got the kiddos to bed. I only
had to re-enter their room one time to tell Jett to quit kicking the wall.
And we call it a night.
I often fear that I will forget what life is like right now
when my children are all grown up. There are very few times I remember to
document the things my kiddos do and say, but they really are hilarious. I
cherish this time with them. I’m excited to see who they become and what God
has planned for them in the future, but I don’t want to forget who they are
now.
My children are each a work of art. :)
