Impromptu Adventures

The only bad thing about our little adventure yesterday is that I didn't bring my camera. I wanted to pick up a new book I've been wanting to read. I tried checking it out at the library but I was # 84 on the list and I'm just not quite that patient. There were 17 copies, at 2 weeks each being checked out and if my calculations are right that would put it in my hands about February. I wanted it NOW.

On the way to the book store every last child of mine fell asleep. So, I just ran in and got it...

I love bookstores. They make me feel so lovely and just in awe. All of those words, all of that paper. I love the library too, but something about crisp, new, fresh pages waiting to be read for the first time is amazing to me.

Now that I sound like a complete wacko I may as well confess that I got a little lost. Kevin was out in the car waiting for me. As I walked out the door still in my book induced stupor it took me a few minutes to realize that I had walked out the wrong door. This brand spanking new two story Barnes & Noble is part of a brand spanking new outdoor mall so there is a front and back entrance to B&N. I got my head back on straight and resisted the urge to further explore the mall and made my way back to the front and found my snooze mobile. The kids were still sleeping and Kevin and I tried to decide what to do. If we tried to go home and transfer kids to beds someone would wake up. They were obviously tired and needing to sleep. On the other hand, while there was a time when we would aimlessly drive with no known destination those days ended around the time gas hit $3.50 a gallon. Even though gas is hovering right around the $2.15 mark, I still can't justify the needless waste of fuel.

So, I had an idea. Let's drive out to this park that I love, but we don't go to often because it's 45 minutes away. The kids started to squirm just about the time we got into the town and suddenly Mark said "Huh, this place is unusual!" Then, the kids started to recognize where we were and remember the awesome playground which they've dubbed "rock forest." They were convinced we had tricked them about running errands and had planned this outing all along. I told them what had really happened, but I think they were pretty solidly believing that their own theory was correct.

For Kevin and I this little excursion was an answer to a dilemma, we decided to go based on logic and reasoning. It was a bonus that it would be fun, of course but there was a problem (kids needed to sleep, we needed to keep moving) and this gave us a solution. To the boys, it was a grand adventure.

The time at the park was great! We walked around, then the kids played. There were some serious tree climbing lessons with the bigger boys and daddy. We sat and watched the butterflies in the butterfly gardern. Despite wishing I had my camera it really was a perfect outing.

Watching my kids have fun gives me the same feeling being in the bookstore does. They are so amazing, even awe inspiring. Watching them run and play with no thought to the worries of the world. Motherhood doesn't get much better than that.

Bowling

I think I mentioned that I signed Eric and Mark up for a bowling league for the summer. I was all for an indoor activity. It's on Saturday mornings, but we got 2 free games for each kid for signing up. Anyone guess what we did today? Yep, bowling. Everyone had fun, but let me just refer to my statement in my previous post. It is virtually impossible to go anywhere with four kids without a fiasco of some variety. Let's just strike out that "virtually" part and now we have accuracy.

Bowling was actually fun, in spite of the following.

• The 5 year old who is bound and determined to not have fun no matter what we do. It's never enough and it's never quite right. Someone is always out to get him. Or bothering him. Or something. What am I doing wrong, I just want him to be happy, or thankful, or some kind of satisfied. Whew, didn't mean to go into all that... sorry.
• The almost 3 year old who wanted every turn to be his. Who threw the ball down the wrong lane twice, and somehow in spite of the bumpers on the lane, managed to get the ball stuck in the gutter. How does this even happen?
• The fight over the bowling ball that ensued when Zack tried to steal Mark's turn. Oh boy was that one fun! (Actually, it was rather amusing from my end, in retrospect.)

Ben was held by my friend and somehow her 2 year old did not cause any of the chaos that mine did. Ben tried to wriggle down but was overall very well behaved and did not terrorize the bowling alley.

Because Everything's an Adventure

It's virtually impossible to go anywhere with four kids without a fiasco of some variety. I've been trying for weeks to get a passport for Eric and Ben for our trip in January. I'm pretty pleased that I'm getting this done early and not waiting until the last minute here. Yet, it seems that some sort of force has been working against me to keep this from happening. I even had an appointment last week to get this done and only had 3 kids with me. Sadly, I had forgotten that the child had to be with you and since Eric was in school they couldn't do his. So, I rescheduled for yesterday.


I misjudged how the traffic would be, and somehow managed to hit every single red light on the way so I was about 5 minutes late. I hate being late. It gets me all anxious and stressed. Even with four kids in tow I usually manage to be on time. It's just one of my things. So, I was already flustered. In my attempt to not be even more late I opted to leave the double stroller in the car and just let Zack walk and carry Ben. Remind me to never do that!

Despite being late, I got right in, which really hacked off the guy behind me who apparently had been waiting awhile. The post office guy explained to him that I had the next appointment and his appointment wasn't for 20 minutes. I felt kinda bad for him that he got their responsibly early and I fly in late and don't have to wait. Ultimately, it worked out well for me, though. The first little bit went okay, I had to fill in a few spots I left blank because I have been left so addle brained from all these kids that I can't fill out a simple form correctly. The kids were standing in a corner of the very small office and that was fine except they were getting increasingly louder and louder and oh my goodness could they be any louder? Yep, they sure can! I shushed them and tried to remain the calm but firm mommy and they kept getting louder. Only now Eric and Mark were on the floor rolling around and at some point it looked like they were trying to play leapfrog. I had enough of the shenanigans and pulled the instigator out of the mix and made him sit on the floor at my feet. Success! It was suddenly calm and quiet... for about 3 seconds. Then there was a crash and an ear splitting scream and my Zack was on the floor with the stool that was in the corner on top of him. It had smashed his poor little finger and he was distraught. I tried to comfort him but the time had come to write checks which meant I had to put him down. Lots of tears later, we were heading out of the post office with my mission accomplished.


I debated whether to take Zack to the doctor, and got some opinions from friends and ultimately decided that I'd wait until Kevin got home and let him make the call. Zack, while being really careful with that finger, was not complaining or whining or really doing anything besides being his happy, bubbly self, so I felt pretty confident that no bones were broken. Kevin did all the movement tests and all that and my boy didn't even flinch. It seems he could move the finger just fine and while it looks horrible, the swelling is down today, and I only feel a teeny bit nervous that I didn't take him in to the doctor. I've told myself if he starts acting like it bothers him that I'll take him in. In the meantime I'll just wonder if I've made the right choice and fret and worry until his finger no longer looks like this.