Tough Life

I was just about to go to bed when Ellis came upstairs and asked, "so what did you guys do today?" We found ourselves smiling and laughing together as I told him the events of the day. I think I've blogged plenty enough lately, but I want to remember this day. Not that it's anything out of the ordinary, but I want to remember it because it's so ordinary. So wonderfully ordinary for us.

It all started when I was no longer pregnant with Davey and realized I needed to dress in normal clothes again. I found my pants and jeans...Darn! They all had holes. Hey that's okay, I've got plenty of sweatpants! Then it started getting hot. Time to get out the shorts (you can only turn sweatpants into capris for so long). Darn again! No shorts except those ones I got in college...was that over 10 years ago already? The only way I could get those shorts on was by using an elastic hair band to expand the waist, and even then the shorts were pretty outdated. And shirts...what happened to all my shirts? It's like they all got so short in the waist somehow.

Guess it was time to get some new clothes. I eventually gave up trying to get to the store with the three kids and ordered some shorts and shirts online from Old Navy. When they arrived and I tried them on, the shirts were weird. The shorts were too big. The clothes had a note that said you could return them to your nearest Old Navy store, so I packed the kids in the car and we left this morning for a rainy day adventure.

Here's one thing I learned about Old Navy: Never ever, ever, ever, ever take your kids there.

The place is huge - like a giant funhouse. As soon as we stepped through the doors it was like the place was calling to Mac, "run free!" And there are toys EVERYWHERE (all placed at kids' eye-level). There are mirrors to make funny faces in, and even life-sized fake dogs and children (Corrie kept asking, "mommy, please, I want to see the children." That whole thing was a little unnerving). There are strange manikins everywhere, some with no heads, some with only torsos, and some with only legs. Mac said the ones with no heads were monsters, and they both went around everywhere in awe taking time to stop and hold every manikin's hand (the one's that had hands). There were ones that were cut from the waist down and Corrie thought they were drums and kept playing music on them.

Meanwhile I was trying to find clothes. Why are all of the shorts so short? And why, if America is so overweight, are all of the shirts so tight?! Well, I finally found a few shirts to try on and said, "Guys, come on, it's time to go in the giant closet!!! It's gonna be awesome!" They were pretty excited about that. The lady in the dressing room gave us the handicap room so everyone could fit, and she said, "there's a bench in there so you can watch your mommy's fashion show." 

I can't put into words how far out of my comfort zone it is to go shopping for clothes. I am so thankful for stylish family members who give me nice clothes for Christmas, because I really do not enjoy the process of trying things on and deciding whether or not I should spend the money. But this time was the best ever.

I would say, "And now it's time for the blue stripey shirt!" And the kids would cheer, and Mac would say, "you are gonna be a princess, mommy!" And then he would say, "Dance mommy!" And I danced in every shirt (ever seen Elaine dance on Seinfeld?)

I decided to buy a few shirts and we got to the register, which might as well be a toy store. I was completely amazed that Mac found a Spiderman watch on clearance for 2.00. He has been asking for one of those for months, convinced that such a thing existed. How could I say no to that find? So I told Corrie she could pick a toy, too, and out of all of the princess/girly things there, she wanted a dinosaur. "Well, Corrie, do you want a T-Rex or a, hmmm...what is this one?" She said, "It's a Stegosaurus, mommy," so matter-of-factly! And she was right! That girl is something else.

Turned out Chick-fil-a was right next door, and it was only 10:30am. I thought it would be a great time to get some energy out in the playplace and told the kids we would go there next. We walked out of the doors from Old Navy and Corrie said, "My dinosaur is hungry, mommy." I said, "Oh, is it hungry for Chick-fil-a?" She looked at me like I was crazy. "No mommy. It's hungry for leaves!" Of course! I forgot the Stegosaurus was an herbivore. We picked some leaves off of a bush in the parking lot and Corrie fed her dinosaur.

The kids played like crazy in the playplace at Chick-fil-a, and then we got some food to eat. Corrie would make this funny dinosaur voice and say, "I want leaves!" Meanwhile, Mac was asking the whole time, "Mommy, can I go to those ones?!!" (Pointing to every elderly couple eating lunch at 11:30am and asking if he could go and show them his new Spiderman watch). By the time we left, we knew everyone in the whole place.

Mac admiring his watch

Corrie making her dinosaur talk, "I want leaves!"

"Wow," said Ellis, after I finished telling him all of this. "Tough life," he said, smiling.

Yeah, tough life. :)