On Venturing Out, One Year Later
Last year I documented an outing to CFA and Target with a 3 and 2 year old. I really enjoyed looking back on it, and thought I'd replicate the outing a year later and see how things have changed or stayed the same.
One mile down the road I have to pull over. A kid is already losing it. I forget what it was even about. I threaten the "knock it off, or I cancel the trip..." and we are set to go again.
I tell stories again while we drive. I've been telling stories in the car for over a year now, and it fries my brain every time. Thankfully, they don't ask for them every time we drive, but since it takes a while to get to Chick-Fil-A, a few stories were told on this day.
We get to CFA. Bathroom first, goes well. Boys do pretty good while I order (Lunch at 10:50 a.m. = short line). We pick a booth. Boys do really well eating, much better than last year. Still, they are antsy to get into the play area. I'm thankful there are only 2 other kids in there. Shoes off, they're in. They seem to be doing ok. A few weeks ago, Patrick climbed to the top of a tunnel and decided that was a good place to sit and cry until Behn climbed up and retrieved him, Today, he promised not to do any such thing. A few minutes in, however, I hear it. Potty talk. Graham starts it, thinking he is hilarious talking about poop to some little girls, and Patrick immediately joins in. They know they are out of reach, but I yell up to them anyway. They either don't hear or ignore me. A minute later when they come down the slide, I tell them to use better manners. Graham has a look on his face like, "ok, I won't, but I might..." I give the 2 minute warning. It's starting to get crowded in there.
I round them up, shoes on. I have a coupon for a free milkshake. We get back in line. Patrick is standing next to me, Graham is right behind us. I place the order. Two seconds later, completely unprovoked, Patrick swivels around and tackles Graham. Both on the floor wrestling in line. I grab Patrick off his brother and hold him so he can't do that again, pay for the milkshake, and we move aside to wait for it. Thankfully, it doesn't take long and we are ready to go.
As we are getting in the car, Graham stares at the man in the car next to us. The man is sitting in his car smoking with the window open, the smoke drifting to us. (What is it about this Chick Fil A and people smoking?! Same thing last year). Graham's door is just closing as he loudly exclaims, "That man is smoking! I feel like I should tell him it will make him sick!" We back out and go.
Ok, Target is next. I prep the boys again about expected behavior, why we are at Target. We are buying toys are someone else, not ourselves is emphasized. We grab a cart and go in. Patrick is given the milkshake to hold while he is in the cart. Graham gets annoyed and reaches for it and nearly drops it on the floor.
We make our way to the toy section, but stop by the baby section first. I've been promising Graham he can pick out something for the new baby. We debate on neutral colored onesies and decide on one. Toy section is next. Patrick immediately begins grabbing things from his seat in the cart and fussing when I tell him they won't work for the shoebox. He also eyes up the truck aisle and makes it clear exactly what he thinks he needs. We talk about finding small items for a little boy. We end up picking a deck of cards, a box of Legos, playdough, paper and pens, and underwear. At one point, we paused our mission so I could pull them into the linens aisle to remind them about why were there and how they were supposed to be behaving. I may have hissed some threats. I definitely had the "let's can this and just leave" moment, but we pushed through. We found a short line, and the cashier was very friendly and asked who the baby clothes were for and then beamed when Graham told her it was for our baby. Any shyness Graham used to have about talking to strangers disappeared as he told her how happy he was about the baby and how we call the baby "bumblebee."
And then back to the car, and home. Really, things have gotten easier. There's still no resemblance of just casually browsing the store, taking my time. They just have too much energy. But they're learning self-control. Graham especially has matured and become an easier kid to take out. Next year, with an 8 month old? That should be an interesting post. Lord willing!
One mile down the road I have to pull over. A kid is already losing it. I forget what it was even about. I threaten the "knock it off, or I cancel the trip..." and we are set to go again.
I tell stories again while we drive. I've been telling stories in the car for over a year now, and it fries my brain every time. Thankfully, they don't ask for them every time we drive, but since it takes a while to get to Chick-Fil-A, a few stories were told on this day.
We get to CFA. Bathroom first, goes well. Boys do pretty good while I order (Lunch at 10:50 a.m. = short line). We pick a booth. Boys do really well eating, much better than last year. Still, they are antsy to get into the play area. I'm thankful there are only 2 other kids in there. Shoes off, they're in. They seem to be doing ok. A few weeks ago, Patrick climbed to the top of a tunnel and decided that was a good place to sit and cry until Behn climbed up and retrieved him, Today, he promised not to do any such thing. A few minutes in, however, I hear it. Potty talk. Graham starts it, thinking he is hilarious talking about poop to some little girls, and Patrick immediately joins in. They know they are out of reach, but I yell up to them anyway. They either don't hear or ignore me. A minute later when they come down the slide, I tell them to use better manners. Graham has a look on his face like, "ok, I won't, but I might..." I give the 2 minute warning. It's starting to get crowded in there.
I round them up, shoes on. I have a coupon for a free milkshake. We get back in line. Patrick is standing next to me, Graham is right behind us. I place the order. Two seconds later, completely unprovoked, Patrick swivels around and tackles Graham. Both on the floor wrestling in line. I grab Patrick off his brother and hold him so he can't do that again, pay for the milkshake, and we move aside to wait for it. Thankfully, it doesn't take long and we are ready to go.
As we are getting in the car, Graham stares at the man in the car next to us. The man is sitting in his car smoking with the window open, the smoke drifting to us. (What is it about this Chick Fil A and people smoking?! Same thing last year). Graham's door is just closing as he loudly exclaims, "That man is smoking! I feel like I should tell him it will make him sick!" We back out and go.
Ok, Target is next. I prep the boys again about expected behavior, why we are at Target. We are buying toys are someone else, not ourselves is emphasized. We grab a cart and go in. Patrick is given the milkshake to hold while he is in the cart. Graham gets annoyed and reaches for it and nearly drops it on the floor.
We make our way to the toy section, but stop by the baby section first. I've been promising Graham he can pick out something for the new baby. We debate on neutral colored onesies and decide on one. Toy section is next. Patrick immediately begins grabbing things from his seat in the cart and fussing when I tell him they won't work for the shoebox. He also eyes up the truck aisle and makes it clear exactly what he thinks he needs. We talk about finding small items for a little boy. We end up picking a deck of cards, a box of Legos, playdough, paper and pens, and underwear. At one point, we paused our mission so I could pull them into the linens aisle to remind them about why were there and how they were supposed to be behaving. I may have hissed some threats. I definitely had the "let's can this and just leave" moment, but we pushed through. We found a short line, and the cashier was very friendly and asked who the baby clothes were for and then beamed when Graham told her it was for our baby. Any shyness Graham used to have about talking to strangers disappeared as he told her how happy he was about the baby and how we call the baby "bumblebee."
And then back to the car, and home. Really, things have gotten easier. There's still no resemblance of just casually browsing the store, taking my time. They just have too much energy. But they're learning self-control. Graham especially has matured and become an easier kid to take out. Next year, with an 8 month old? That should be an interesting post. Lord willing!
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