| | [A very long, detailed recap of a day in the life of Jade and Preston on a Saturday, with a few pictures.] So, on Friday as I was headed for bed I was making mental notes of the plans I had for the next day. Since Michael's crazy schedule has him sleeping in on the weekends till at least 1pm, Preston and I either have to plan quietly all morning or get out of the house. I knew we'd be getting out of the house since there were several places I needed to go. In my head, I had the perfect plan of how the next morning was going to go. We'd make this series of stops at the places I needed to go, and Preston would be a perfect angel...oh, and it wouldn't be too hot so that getting in and out of the car and store wouldn't be miserable. Well, of course...nothing ever goes as planned. We were up and done with breakfast by 9:30am. Preston had decided he wanted Goldfish for breakfast when he saw them on the side table where Daddy had left them the nite before. I tried to talk him out of it, but to no avail. Oh well. If this was going to be the Saturday I envisioned...I had to pick my battles. Golfish crackers for breast it was! So far so good. Preston wanted to watch some cartoons, so we did that for an hour before I finally convinced him we needed to turn the TV off and get dressed so we could go to the book store (he LOVES going to the book store, so he was ok with this). We got dressed and were out the door by 10:45am. So far so good. I'm already noticing it's pretty darn hot today. Yuck. Oh well...still doing ok. The first stop we made was: CVS. They have our favorite lotion on sale, plus with my coupon, it's an even better deal. Both Preston and I have to use this special lotion 'cause of our sensitive skin conditions, so it's a big deal when it's on sale and there's a coupon...that means we have to stock up. But of course, one coupon per customer, blah blah blah. So, first stop...CVS for one bottle of our lotion. Preston and I are in and out, not problem. So far so good. Next stop: Half Price Books. Preston loves HPB, it's better than the park to him so he was excited to be on our way there. He was in a great mood, by the way, at this point...having fun hanging out with mommy and all. So, we pull into the parking lot, find a nice, close space. I get out the huge bin of books we're selling and place it next to the car. Then I go to get Preston out of the back of my car (a 2-door Honda Civic...I love my car, I hate that it's a 2-door when I have Preston along, though). He has his sippy cup hanging from his mouth. "Preston," I say, "give me the cup." Since it he doesn't give it to me, I go to simply pull it out of his mouth. Only...this is one of the cheap Take 'N Toss ones and the lid remains in his mouth while the cup is pulled away by my hand. Did I mention the cup was full of MILK? Ugh. This is where things start to get ugly. About half a cup of milk splashes down on Preston shirt, pants and car seat. He hates being dirty or wet...he FREAKS OUT! I get him calmed down by telling him that I will simply clean him up and change his clothes. No big deal, little dude, we're ok! I open his backpack and low and behold the only thing in there is one pull-up diaper and one pair of shorts. No shirt, no wipes! GAH! Now, I rarely use the backpack, so I just assume the stuff that I put in there from time to time is still in there. It's not, and I'm peeved (at myself, I should have checked before I left, I know, I suck!). So, at this point...I let my kid wear milk around all day while we still have many places to go. Or I take him home and change him and call it a day. No way, he's wearing the milk. So, I change his shorts and clean him up as best as I can and pray that he doesn't sour too quickly in this heat. We lug the huge bin of books into the store, sell 'em, and look around in the kid's section for about half an hour. Preston, though milk-soaked, is in heaven and still being pretty good. I had a $5 off coupon to use at HPB that expires the next day, so I'm glad to buy him some new books. Especially since we found the Seek & Find ones (they're like Where's Waldo? only featuring Nemo or Pooh or other things). And we found lots of fun new books in the Clearance section for 50cents and a $1. We get to the check out and unfortunately, since they're doing a special 20% off everything in the store, I can't use my coupon. It's ok though, I'm not too mad, the 20% is still good for all the books we got. Once we get back in the car, I briefly considered returning home to clean Preston...but he's being really good and happy, and we have a lot of places left to go. So we carry on. I spot another CVS, so we run in to pick up another bottle of our lotion. This time, though, the guy at the counter glances at my coupon and says, "We don't accept internet coupons." I fight the urge to say I just used one at a CVS like an hour ago! But I tell him that my usual CVS does, and he says, "sorry." I tell him to shove it. Ok, not really. Preston, at this point, is getting antsy, and I don't feel like arguing or waiting around for a manager, so we just left...with no lotion. Boo! Preston asks "Why wouldn't he take our coupon" all the way to the next stop. Next stop: Barnes & Nobles. Yes, we had just come from a book store and bought lots of books, but I had coupons specifically for B&N, and by golly, I was gonna use 'em (especially since again, they expired August 31st!). The first coupon I had was for a free Starbucks Latte...and by this time, I'm so thankful for that danged Iced Latte. Preston and I sat in the little cafe and shared an Oatmeal Raisin cookie the barista talked us (Preston) into. Preston was getting a little riled up by this time, growling at passersby and what not (he does this a lot, plus it didn't help that the partition between the cafe and the rest of the store did look like bars - he was a wild animal in a cage, of course). We walked around the store and after NOT finding the specific book I was hoping for, walked around some more. At one point, Preston's legs stopped working and he just hung from my hand limply up and down a few aisles. Then he lost his shoes, pulls a book down from the display, demanded to have a stuffed Dragon, and finally just laid in the middle of the aisle with his face in the carpet. I quickly grabbed a cool notebook, used my coupon and paid for it and got out of the store. The long walk from the store to our car in the parking lot leaves Preston's cheeks flushed and little beads of sweat appearing on his brow. I make sure he drinks more of his water. In the car Preston promises that he'll be an angel at the next place. I promise him it'll be the last place we stop (ok, I lie...but unintentionally!). I planned on going to Bed, Bath & Beyond, but because they're practically the same store, carry the same stuff and accept each others coupons...ended up at Linens 'N Things because it was across the street, not another exit down. By this time I have forgotten my kid is covered in milk...luckily so has he, and he doesn't smell or anything. I found the rolling pin I was looking for. Preston loves it 'cause it's tiny and just his size (he believes it to be for him, of course). We also find a really fun water sprinkler while browsing the Clearance section. Dizzy Dinosaur was regularly $39.99, now just $9.99...sweet, we're totally playing in that when we get home! We pay and get out of there. Preston is completely exhausted and I'm glad, 'cause I'm thinking he'll fall asleep in the car on the way home and take a good nap...I'll get to clean stuff up, put together his sprinkler toy and we'll play when he wakes up. Only...he doesn't fall asleep. We get nearly home and he's still completely wired. So, I see another CVS (#3) and decide to give it another go. This one is nice and takes my coupon...and Preston and I are well on our way to stocking up on our lotion! I drive a little bit more up and down some road to help him fall asleep, but it just doesn't happen. So finally, we arrive at home where Daddy is awake and Preston is excited to tell him all about our adventures. I'm excited to get his milky shirt off and wipe him down. We got out and filled the Dizzy Dinosaur with water and with air, invited the neighborhood kid over to play and had a blast in our own personal waterpark for a little while. 
 
I figured after the long day and all the running around he did, he'd be sooo exhausted he's drift right off to sleep. Nope. Michael and I both sit/lay with him on the couch, force him to watch a PBS show on cooking on the grill, turn all the lights off, the tv and anything that makes noise off...we tried everything, no deal. Finally we give up on the nap thing (it's like 5:30!), and head out for Mema's house (Michael's grandmother). We're on the road for about 10-minutes before Preston finally drifts off. Michael was going to let him sleep and run up to get Mema ready to leave, but she surprises us by being out and waiting for us in the driveway! She must have been hungry! We get her in the car and drive to the little restaurant she likes called Cindy's. Preston lays in the booth refusing to sit up or open his eyes until the pancakes come! Then, he gobbles 'em up and is suddenly in a great mood! The rest of the visit was good. Mema looked great and seemed to be in a really good mood. 
Cheese, everybody!
Apparently Michael wasn't too thrilled about playing Disney Princess Match Game with Preston.
On the way home we stop at Blockbuster and get a Backyardigans video for Preston and Be Kind Rewind for us (which is completely bizarre, by the way). Preston comes in to the living room towards the end of the movie crawls into my lap and under a cover with me and cuddles for a while. When the movie is over, it's bath time and then straight to bed. He falls right to sleep (amazing!). Whew, what a day. Though everything turned out ok, it was a beating! Next time I'll know better than the make any sort of plans for a Saturday morning, especially ones as involved as that, they're all bound to be ruined anyway. But, all-in-all, I'd call it a successful day. Ha! |
