Our Week Thus Far

Monday night we played Sorry! with the kids for Family Home Evening, something we don't do often enough.  I played me a lot of Sorry! when I was a kid.  It was a staple in our family.  That and Trouble (with the pop-o-matic bubble) and Chinese Checkers.  Wow.  Rush of memories.  Chad's family was of the Parcheesi persuasion, which I pointed out (when he told me he couldn't remember the rules to Sorry!) is just the Indian version of Sorry!.  Rather, Sorry! is probably the American version of Parcheesi.  Anyway, the kids loved their first experience with the game, and Chad and I found it a welcome diversion from Candy Land.

Tuesday we drove to the valley for my checkup and Dentist appointments for the whole family (we usually schedule as much as we can on the same day to save us trips, but it makes for long days in Mesa).  It was the kids' first time to the Dentist.  I was so proud of them.  Our awesome hygienist let Mason play with the water-squirter and the suction while I was lying in the chair.  He was in heaven.  And neither of the kids had a problem letting the dental assistant lead them back to their own rooms while Chad and I were finishing up our cleanings.

So I nursed Lincoln while the doctor looked at my teeth, wandered between exam rooms taking photos, and coaxed Mason to open his mouth for the last few minutes of his cleaning (he had run out of patience, and didn't like the fluoride...but he's three!).  I'm sure they were all relieved when we left.  Except our hygienist.  She genuinely loves us.  

We also did the final walk-through for Adam and Heather's house (they're moving in Saturday!), which was a foreclosure, and Mason pointed out all the dead bugs (he's been kinda freaked out by bugs after last week's semi-close encounter with a couple scorpions in the playhouse at my parents' place).


And we saw Cars 2 in the theater, which was the kids' reward for enduring the dentist and all our errands.  And we may or may not have nearly forgotten a child in the car because we were too busy stuffing my purse with juice boxes to smuggle into the theater.  Honestly, what kind of people are we?  We assuaged our consciences with dinner at Red Robin.

Yesterday Chad was back at work, and I was a having one of those good-energy kind of days.  I did my Cardio X workout and had actually showered before noon, which is always a good thing.  I had a "real" lunch (ie, not sandwiches) ready when Chad came home for his break.  Then I took the kids to run errands with me.  That was the fatal error that ended my energy high.

Walmart has those carts that have monstrous plastic apparatuses that can seat two kids in addition to the normal cart portion which can hold the car seat and the huge pile of stuff you think you need.  Those contraptions are unwieldy.  And it was Mason's nap time, so the whining and elbow-shoving between Bree and Mason was grating on me.  But the lady at the fabric counter commented on how well-behaved my kids were.  That's a sad indicator of the typical quality of childhood behavior around here.  I was exhausted, but remained firm in my promise that we would not visit the toy aisle if naughtiness continued.  It might have been easier in the short run to give in, but I'm hoping they remember their disappointment the next time we venture to the store.

Which might be never.

Because by the time I crammed our purchases and three kids into the truck, drove to Fry's, and loaded all of them into another unwieldy cart just to pick up a prescription, I realized that I should have just waited until Chad got home from work to run my errands.  Which is what I usually do.  I just thought I could take the kids with me, to get them out of the house...you know, like a fun diversion.  Ha.  It was a diversion that necessitated two hours of vegetative recovery in front of The Bachelorette while Mason took his long-overdue nap.

After dinner I had a little energy boost that I spent trying to get a picture of Lincoln smiling, which turned out marginally fruitful.

Then Chad and I showered the kids, and quickly put them to bed, because we were both exhausted.  Before I said goodnight to Bree, I commented on how messy her room was, how I've told her a million times that dirty clothes go in the hamper, and how I hate tripping over toys.  I hugged and kissed her and told her I love her, but I still felt guilty later because I don't want my kids forgetting the "I love you"s and remembering all the nagging.

This morning, when I went in to her room to wake her from a long sleep-in, I discovered that she had stayed up late last night after I thought she was asleep, and had cleaned her room.  She had so obviously done it in an effort to please me.  Oh...my heart.  I love that girl.