holiday bliss
You know you are a mom when the success or failure of your day is measured by how well (or not) your kid's behave. Let me tell you about today....
This morning Emily had dance class. It was uneventful as usual, I dropped her off, came home and put Emerson to sleep, played with Ethan a few minutes then he and I went back to get her (David was working in the basement...I didn't leave Emerson home alone haha)
When the baby woke up I piled all the kids into the car for a trip to the mall. Yes, I took ALL THREE kids to the mall, in December. The plan was to get pictures with Santa and lunch, MAYBE do a little shopping ...I wasn't holding my breath.
We get to the mall and stop into the Apple store quick, just to say hi to some friends of mine who work there, so far so good. Then to Santa. First good sign, no line!! One family ahead of us, which is so great 'cause the kids can only wait so long before it all goes to h*&$. The last few years have not gone well. One has always been crying or scared or fussing in some way.
So now it's our turn, both Emily and Ethan jump right up on the bench next to Santa and start in on their lists. I am feeling optimistic, so I take Emerson out of his seat and bring him over. I give him to Santa and stand next to the photographer. We were able to get 5 different shots and still no crying!!! It was great. The picture came out pretty well too.
Now the kids are hungry and asking for food, so I decide to take my chances in the food court. I figured I would keep both boys in the stroller and it shouldn't be too rough. We get our pizza and find a table and Ethan is asking to get out of the stroller. This scares me. If he takes off I am in trouble. I warn him if he shows the slightest hint of getting out of his seat he is going back into the stroller. He say's "OK, Mommy". I don't believe him, but I decide to give him a chance anyway. All kids stayed in their seats and ate their lunch with no problem. I must be dreaming, somebody pinch me!!
The day continued to be great, the kids behaved while I shopped a little bit. We came home and Emerson took a nap and so did Ethan and I. All and all a very successful day. We even took a trip to the supermarket before dinner with no issue. Both kids ate dinner without having to be threatened and now they are watching a little TV before bed. Life is good, today anyway, tomorrow may be a different story.
I won't think about bedtime still to come, it is bound to be a doozy!