Do you ever have days when you make a mistake or a poor choice at every turn? Well, that has been my day. It's like the worst-played game of Operation ever! And I won't even bother about the first few hours. I'll just start with mid-morning, when we left the house to go to the gym.
I have, as has been stated before, an addiction to Dr. Pepper. On the way to the
gym, I was contemplating how I might satisfy that addiction with the remaining $3 in my weekly lunch budget. Definitely not enough to buy lunch for both Lila and myself (or even just for myself), but enough to buy a Dr. Pepper somewhere. My first thought is that maybe they have Dr. Pepper in the soda machines at the gym (who thought that was a good idea, anyway?). If so, that would be an easy fix.
If not, then I could just stop by a fast food place on the way home and pick one up. Of course, it would be difficult to get a Dr. Pepper for myself and tell Lila that she can't have anything... Well, one step at a time. We got to the gym and I quickly ascertained that there was no Dr. Pepper in the vending machine - only Coke products. Bah humbug! So I took the kids on back to the Kids' Club.
I dropped off the munchkins, with a heavy dose of drama from the 3-year-old, who absolutely refused to eat the string cheese I brought for her (she suddenly didn't like string cheese) until we got to the gym where they do not allow food in the Kids' Club. [sigh] Yes, feeling the need for a D.P. fix, all right. I worked out, sweated a lot, and went back to pick up the kids.
I started chatting with one of the girls who works in there - I'll call her Erialc - who mentioned that McDonalds is currently selling any size drink for $1. Ooh! And the large drink cups have a coupon code on them for a free Redbox rental. Even better! The plan is now firm in my mind. I will get a large Dr. Pepper for myself, some 99 cent thing for Lila, and then pick up a free movie from Redbox (to be watched after the kids go to bed). Perfect!
There was a McDonald's right there in the same parking lot as the gym, so that's where we went. I got in line for the drive-through and the phone rang. I answered, chatted for a few minutes (long line), and then hung up. Since I had been on the phone, I was slightly unfocused when I got to the speaker to order. For reasons known only to the mischievous little elves inside my head, I panicked when the guy asked me what I wanted.
I ended up ordering a large Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal and a Kids' Meal for Lila. No no, Angela! Stop! . . . Too late. I'd already pulled forward. Doodie! Okay, not the worst thing I've ever done. I think we'll survive. So I payed and took my food and drinks and pulled forward. There is a Redbox at this McDonald's, but there was already a person using it and I really wanted out of that busy parking lot.
No problem. There are two more Redboxes right by our house. One at another McDonald's and one just across the street at a Walgreen's. I'll just go to the Walgreen's (it's less annoying to get to). As I was driving home, I started munching on the french fries because I was quite hungry. Now, I've never been a fan of McDonald's fries because I think they are too thin and hard. I've had some that could have been used as weapons. I've learned to tolerate them, however, particularly when I'm hungry.
A few bites in, I realized that these fries had been sitting in the warmer for a while. That means they were slightly overcooked and quite over-salted. Ugh. Not good. Oh well, I ate one or two more (the over-salting, while pickling my mouth, was also making me crave more and more of the wretched things) and then reached for my nice, large Dr. Pepper.
That was the nastiest Dr. Pepper mix I have ever tasted! Ick! It was more like medicine than soda. I was already 2/3 of the way home at that point, so there was no going back to ask for something different. I considered stopping at the McDonald's by my house and asking them to exchange it, but that seemed... uncool, I guess. Either I would be deceiving them (by omitting the valuable detail of where the original soda was purchased) or they would refuse my request.
[double sigh] I thought maybe it would taste better once it watered down a bit. I consoled myself with the thought that my burger, at least, would be good. There's not much that can go wrong there and I do like Quarter Pounders with Cheese. I went on to Walgreen's and pulled up to the Rexbox. After looking through most of the movie choices, and not being overly impressed with any of them, I spotted the Tinkerbell movie.
Lila has recently fallen in love with Tinkerbell, though I don't know why or how. She has never seen all of Peter Pan (and hadn't seen any of it at all until very recently) and she didn't even know this new movie existed. Anyway, I saw the movie and thought it would be a nice surprise for Lila, who has been sad and out-of-sorts all day (due, naturally, to doug's absence).
I chose the movie and waited for the coupon code to come up. First, the machine wanted me to swipe my credit card and I figured it needed that to find my account before I could use the coupon. So I went through all the prompts... and then it charged me and vended the movie without ever asking for a code! Wha-huh?!? Upon closer inspection, I discovered that this coupon code is only good at Redbox machines that are located at McDonald's locations. Well, doodie again!
Whatever. By this point I just wanted to get home and eat my lunch before Eli fell asleep in the car or got too fussy. I showed the movie to Lila, who was properly excited, and then we went home. After going through the needlessly protracted process of getting all of us and all of our stuff into the house, we sat down to eat. At last!
I opened my burger box and discovered that I had forgotten to ask for NO ONIONS. Curse it all! I'm allergic to onions! Aaaaaagh! Fine! I'll eat the stupid burger with the stupid onions and the stupid overcooked fries and the stupid nasty Dr. Pepper! It was all nasty and left a gross taste in my mouth that I only managed to get rid of with coffee. And all I wanted was a nice Dr. Pepper!
I could go on, but I think that's really quite enough...
The kids and I just got home from the library. While we were there, Lila was wearing her princess shoes and complaining that they hurt her feet. Once we got in the car, I said to her, "Good. Now you can take those pesky shoes off!"
I am so over this House-Showing business. I love having a clean house. And it's much easier to keep a house clean than to get it that way. That part is fine. It's the fact that we can't leave the house without it being spotless that I hate, and let me tell you why. My children have radar. They know when I'm trying to clean the house so we can leave and that's when they lose their minds.
and said, "I'm here!"
I noticed he was wheezing.
decluttering as I go and the room looks fantastic! I need to remember how much I love this simple, minimalist look when we start decorating the new place. Speaking of the new place, here's a photo!
This morning, we even found him sitting up in bed. I guess it's time to lower that mattress!
We saw shows (watching Shamu and the other killer whales gave me goosebumps!) and rode rides and Lila even got to play in the little kiddie water park. All three of us have pink faces and poor Lila has burned shoulders because the one thing we forgot to bring was sunscreen. Oops! I figured Eli was young enough that he'd be oblivious to the animal shows, but he was just as transfixed as Lila (though he had no idea what he was seeing). He even laughed at the sea lions!
Then we looked at one that is just amazing! We aren't completely settled on it yet because we need to see what else is out there, but we definitely like it. It's large and has a great yard and amazing curb appeal. The inside is quirky, but in a good way. I don't expect us to find anything we like better, but you just never know...
My head feels better than it has in days, thanks to acupuncture, and I'm feeling surprisingly perky given the trouble that the kids have given me/us today. I guess it's just been an all-around good day (notwithstanding the grumpy children)!
"Let me tell you what's wrong. I'm riding my tricycle." Here, she holds up a fist and then sticks out her thumb. "I'm not taking off my clothes." She sticks out her index finger. "I'm not going potty." She sticks out her middle finger. "I'm not getting in the bathtub."
bites of corn and cornbread together, "because they taste similar." Her own words. I just blinked at her a few times and then said, "okay".
gym, I was contemplating how I might satisfy that addiction with the remaining $3 in my weekly lunch budget. Definitely not enough to buy lunch for both Lila and myself (or even just for myself), but enough to buy a Dr. Pepper somewhere. My first thought is that maybe they have Dr. Pepper in the soda machines at the gym (who thought that was a good idea, anyway?). If so, that would be an easy fix.
Lila has recently fallen in love with Tinkerbell, though I don't know why or how. She has never seen all of Peter Pan (and hadn't seen any of it at all until very recently) and she didn't even know this new movie existed. Anyway, I saw the movie and thought it would be a nice surprise for Lila, who has been sad and out-of-sorts all day (due, naturally, to doug's absence).
This CD has the Wiggly version of 'Music Box Dancer' on it. When that track came on, Lila said, "This is a very quiet song and a lovely song to go to sleep."
Now, to be fair, she and I do speak different languages. So it's possible that what she was asking for and what I was agreeing to do were actually two different things. I'm pretty sure she was asking for a shower though.
really enjoyed the class and Eli and I enjoyed hanging out with the other moms. The only drawback to the whole thing was the long walk between the car and the center. In the cold rain. With a stroller and a slow-walking 3-year-old. Twice. And me with no umbrella or jacket (my own fault, i know).
store to get supplies for fixing up the old house and the women came to the library for new books.
Lila: "I love you, Mother."
