Surprise!

When my parents went on vacation, they asked me if I could stop by their house and feed the bird. Quick and easy, I figured. I figured wrong. You might think they would have told me that they were setting their house alarm. They haven't done it in a long time, so it was not expected. When I entered the house, the beeping started. I knew instantly that I had seconds to put in the code or someone would come over the speaker to warn me that the cops were coming.(They actually did come when my sister had a similar experience previously).  But thinking this was a quick in and out, I had left my phone in the car. I raced out to get it to dial my Dad's number. You have to be inside with all the sirens to fix anything though, the sirens which were even louder now that I had missed my window to enter the code. It's so easy to dial and focus under those circumstances! Luckily Dad answered just as the lady came over the speaker asking who I was. I told them my situation and she asked for a password. Dad told me over the phone just in time and any major catastrophe was averted. But really, who expects their parents to booby trap the house for you before inviting you over?! I almost peed my pants, ha.

I might have to avoid Winco for a while...

This is why I dread grocery shopping. And why you shouldn't judge those moms in the store who do anything they can think of to keep their kids passive and riding in the cart...
As with any trip to town, Ty and I had a million errands to run. Groceries of course come last so that the ice cream can make it home without melting. The poor little guy, by that time, was so sick of hours in carts and carseats that I let him run alongside the cart as long as he didn't try to take things off the shelves. And he was doing great. It was evident that he needed to expend some energy though, because he sprinted off down each aisle and came back just long enough for me to point him in a new direction. But he wasn't darting in front of other carts, so I figured it didn't hurt anything. Most people give smiles and knowing looks, but some just don't seem to understand a 2-year-old's need to move sometimes. I got some interesting looks, especially from one woman. Finally I put him in the cart until I got to an aisle that was empty. Bad decision, because as soon as I let him down he picked up a bottle of teriyaki sauce and broke it, saying "uh oh Mommy" as it trickled its contents on the floor. That same disapproving lady of course came into the aisle at about that point and gave me another look. I told him that was why we needed to stay in the cart and he agreed at this point, ha.

After looking for what seemed like FOREVER for an employee, we moved to the next aisle. I reached up to grab a bag of noodles. Apparently there was a huge slash in the bag, because as I swung it down to my cart, noodles went flying--EVERYWHERE. The two people in the aisle with me kinda laughed, one saying "They must have cut it when they shelved them," and the other "yeah, that was totally not your fault."   "Right?!" I said. But of course it wasn't until then, when all you might notice is an aisle covered in noodles and the same ridiculous girl and toddler in the middle of it, that the disapproving lady enters the scene. Just in time to let me know that she noticed. So helpful.

We finally made it to the checkout counter. Ty flirted with the checker and made a fast friend. So she just laughed as he kicked off his shoes and yelled "Mommy, I'm done! I'm done, Mama" the whole time I had to bag my groceries. The funny thing is, I wasn't really rattled by the experience this time. Usually I would have been at the end of my rope by then, but this time I just laughed and tried to finish quickly. I can't blame the poor kid. I was done too.