Day one, and I feel like Mr. Frederickson. It's gonna be a long summer.
On our first official day of summer - I dragged the kids to my dentist for my 6 month annual check up. I'd planned the check up per the last day of school. However, I guess I'm still a school-mom-rookie on some levels because it turns out that the last day of school is based on how many snow days we use. We only used one. So, instead of June 3rd, the school refused my children after Noon on May 29th. Whatever. So, that strategic plan went to muck, and I dragged the kids to my dentist. Much to my surprise, Max and Lucy played in the little children's corner. I noticed at some point between the power tooled tooth polisher and the air sucker, that my kids were unusually quiet. Either someone took them, or they were plotting against me. Both scenarios freaked me out. But I finished up, and the kids apparently played well and quietly.
Then we hit the library. I always make them go to the library, and they always put up a fight, and then once we get in there, they pick out so many books, they can't hold them all, and I have to help them out. Today was no different except, the piles of books were heavier. That's a tough problem to have, when your kids are over-enthusiastic about something crazy like READING and all. They each read a book on the way home, and then came home and sat down on the floor and read a few more. The nerve.
Lunch with Daddy. I don't know why I feed these kids. I really don't. It just raises their bloodsugar and they, in turn, lose their freaking minds. We went to one of their friends' house to swim. I am pals with the mom, so I stayed to play too. Soon, they were just nuts. Lucy sassed me. Max and Lucy competed for attention from their pal, and inevitably fought in intervals of every 45 seconds. Then, Max and his pal were running toward each other, Max stuck his hand out for a hi-five, but friend didn't oblige, and Max smacked him on the chest. The kid still had Max's handprint on his chest when we left, 2 hours later. Once my pal started giggling nervously over the ridiculous antics, and there was just no turning back, the sassing and fighting would only escalate, we left.
I drove them straight home. I should have made them walk, but they probably would have loved the independence, and I needed them to be miserable, woops, I mean, learn several lessons. So, I sent them to their rooms - for way more than a time out. Mommy needed a time out, and possibly a whiskey sour.
Then we continued our plan for the day and went to see UP! What, Leslie? Your kids are punished by going to see a movie? And to you I say, shut up. I was not about to hang out at the house with these crazies. They'd served their time and it was now time to release them back in to the community on a probationary period.
It turns out 3D movies are "Like, $3 or something more than like a regular ticket" according to the 13 year-old nose-pierced ticket chick. So, $27 later, we got into the movies. Then, I'd promised the kids dinner at the theater. But I retracted after I got to the second pre-teen and inquired about prices on the entrees.
"How much is a hot dog?"
"$4" Really? For those shitty hot dogs? No thanks.
"How much are those pretzel dunkers with the nasty cheese vat?"
"Their like, $6, I think."
"Okay kids, no dinner here, just get your regular kiddie combo. We'll have dinner at home."
They were fine with that. No fits. I guess my stellar lecture back at the house really worked.
The movie was cute. On our way home, I reviewed:
"There were a few lessons in that movie. One was sometimes, when you get all you've ever wanted, it's not exactly what you thought it would be."
A disinterested, "Uh-huh."
I continued, "And also, when you should try really hard for your dreams, but not if you have to hurt someone else to achieve that dream."
Pause.
"Mommy, I learned something too!" Lucy says. "I learned you should never feed a rare bird chocolate."
Great.
Then Max felt the need to add to the conversation, "And I learned something too Mommy!....Um......wait, nevermind. I didn't learn anything."
Take your kids to see a 3D movie.....$27
Kiddie Combo Pack, gigantic diet coke and stale movie popcorn.....$20.50
A moment in the dark to re-plan the entire summer for sanity.....PRICELESS
That's how I roll.
Oh yeah we had the movie shocker last weekend. We went to the Silverado, which I thought was just a normal movie theater only bigger. Yeah it was bigger but so was it prices. $52 for tickets to see Night at the Mueseum on the Imax screen. Not really sure the Imax screen was worth the premium.