We had a great day on Saturday. The Easter Bunny came and we made painted sugar cookies. We did a few egg-shaped cookies, but basically we did fish (because that's what Andrew wanted ;-)
After the cookout we let the kids find Easter eggs hidden around the yard. Isaac found a LOT but had to be encouraged not to open them each time he picked one up. When he did, he ate the Jelly Beans, and discarded the Goldfish. So much for a healthier Easter. I was so happy that the day turned out so nice, considering that at 9:00 am there was snow on the ground. Utah weather is so unpredictable.
Grandma moment #1: Battle of the ties
Sunday morning Ken left early for meetings, so I was on my own. I used to do this with 4 children, so I thought "piece of cake." I jinxed myself! (Forget Paris?) We were almost ready with ironed shirts and polished faces. We had 10 minutes left to get to church at 9:00. I was feeling pretty good about things. Then came those dang ties!!! The Easter Bunny (aka Kristy) made cute little ties for the boys for Easter. So, genius that I am, I undid Andrew's so I could put it on him. THAT was a big mistake. There was a simple velcro strap. All I had to do was undo it and slip the tie on! TOO LATE!! The tie was now in two pieces and I could NOT for the life of me figure out how to put it back together. I tried for 10 minutes. No success. So. . . I looked at Isaac's tie and tried to figure out this crazy contraption. I half undid his tie to try to figure out how in the h?#%! this thing went back together. I'm starting to perspire. Ten minutes later I had both of their mangled ties on them and went out the door to church--really late. I'm so sorry Kristy. I sure hope you can fix them when you get home. For next Sunday, I'm buying two clip-ons!
Grandma moment #2: The Battle with Phil and Ted.
You got it. It was a stroller moment. I was so pleased when I took the kids to the mall today to discover that Kristy had left her stroller in the back of my Excursion. I was planning on renting a mall stroller. THAT would have been a great idea. I discovered the stroller after I had gotten Isaac (1.5 yr old) out of the car. So I told him to stay (what made me think he would mind like a dog?) while I got the stroller out of the back. With the stroller half out (in pieces for some reason) he ran. I dropped the stroller and ran after Isaac. I put him back in the car with Andrew and continued to fight with the stroller. What happened to the good old days where the instructions were glued to one of the bars? After getting it on the ground, I tried to figure out how to put it up. The front wheel was facing up and the back wheels were on the ground. Hmmm. I couldn't see any magical way to unfold the stroller. After about 5 minutes, I decided to turn it over and put the front wheel on the ground. Tadaa! It's up. (all the time Jessica is waiting for me inside the mall somewhere wondering where I am) Next, I had to figure out how to attach the two pieces that were separate. Hooray! One of them was a back seat for Andrew. A bonus. After getting the stroller together I got the kids out of the car and strapped into the stroller only to find that the wheels would NOT move. I tried what looked like the brake, but nothing happened. I looked carefully at all of the wheels and and handle and could see nothing that looked like a brake release. Finally, Andrew (bless his heart) told me I had to lift the brake "really hard" and only 15 minutes after parking the car, we were on our way!
Battle with Phil and Ted part two: (Yeah. The stroller and I really got into it)
Okay, we're done shopping with only one major incident in the mall (that will be Grandma moment #3). It's time to load the kids into the car, fold up the stroller and head out. Easier said than done. If I thought putting up Phil and Ted was a chore, I had another think coming. It's folding back up again that takes a master mechanic! I looked everywhere for a release button of some kind. I looked (again) for some posted directions. I was totally stumped. So, I did what any normal person would have done.
Grandma moment #3: Amber Alert
Yes, you heard right. I shut down JCPenney. Every door locked. Every employee in search mode. (Don't panic Kristy, I still have both of your children and they are tucked safely away in bed as I write). Jessica and I were looking in Penneys for some cheap (really cheap) summer clothes for the boys since it is suddenly 80 degrees outside. Andrew needs size 3 shirts, but size two shorts. Of course, they are on completely different racks half way across the store. So in trying to match shirts to shorts, we were going back and forth between the racks. Isaac was securely strapped in, of course. I KNEW he would run (from previous experience). Andrew was in the back seat just hanging out and wanted to get out. So I let him. He's always so good to stay close. Well, on our last trip from the size 3 shirts to the other rack with the size 2 shorts, Andrew was out in front of me. I didn't notice that he didn't make the left turn. A few minutes later Jessica asked where Andrew was. I was sure he was close and called his name. No answer. I called again a little louder. No answer. We split up and went different directions and I started calling loud enough that everyone in the store could hear me (except Andrew, of course). The cashiers all dropped everything and came to my aid. I was getting truly panicked as I tried to remember what he was wearing (you all know how observant I am)! They made me stop searching and stand in ONE place and wait while they blocked all the exits and issued an in- store "Amber alert." Every employee was roaming the isles and every customer looking around and under things. It seemed like an eternity (even though it was probably only a couple of minutes). Jessica found him lost in Women's lingerie, (that's right where he would have been having not made the left turn). I couldn't stop crying. It was really an awful experience--one that should be reserved for parents, NOT grandparents (our hearts are a little fragile and could stop over something like this!) I DID experience a similar incident as a parent on a couple of occasions, before Amber alerts and during a time when it seemed like children were disappearing on a weekly basis. I thought of the Safety Kids song about "look for a grandma or mother with children" that I taught my children to do if they got lost. (But make sure you find a grandma who is still sane.)
Thanks for the laugh mom. I think you are a brave soul to babysit in the first place and you're doing great!
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