Save the Drama for your Mama.

This weekend was very exciting.  A younger cousin of mine had her wedding on Saturday and Ryann was to be the flower girl.  I had been prepping her for days[1] about her big walk[2] down the aisle to the point where I had her practicing walking down our hallway with a basket waving and blowing kisses, Toddlers and Tiaras style.

Saturday morning we woke up early to ensure that everything was prepared.  Matt had to work all day so I had to get the kids and myself ready so that I could drop off Matthew with his uncle and head to the church with Ryann by one o’clock.  We spent the morning doing our grooming rituals[3] and destroying the house so I would have something to dread coming back to on Sunday. 

I have no history of delusion so I think I am pretty correct when I say that my daughter is a sweetheart 95% of the time.  I also know that the 5% of the time that she is not in a good mood, there is no talking her out of it.  I started to get nervous when she cried putting the dress on.  She pulled it together by the time I got the kids loaded into the car and was even in a pleasant mood as we stopped by CVS to get her a healthy snack[4] and a wedding card[5].

We got to the church and she was still a little cranky acting so I tried my best to get her in a good mood.  This included pumping her full of skittles and sweethearts and promising her a shopping spree for whatever she wanted at Toys R Us the next day if she did a good job walking down the aisle.  I think you know where this is going.  Below is the result of all of my hard work.  Can’t wait to see her in my sister’s wedding in March!

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[1] weeks

[2] debut

[3] Which, for Ryann, included hours removing sponge rollers from her hair, styling her hair, clipping and painting both finger and toenails, putting lotion on, etc. while for me included trying to brush my teeth and straighten my hair while putting on makeup in under 10 minutes.

[4] Rice Krispie treats seemed the least likely to stain.

[5] Why haven’t I picked one up in my last 10 weekly visits to Target?  Probably because I would miss turning into a sweaty mess every time we have to go somewhere that requires a card.  I am not even sure I have ever filled out a check outside of my car.

Get some use out of those Halloween costumes...

So I haven't had a spare minute to blog or even find material to blog about (unless you want to know what we've been eating for dinner).  Matt is working tons of hours right now and we have a family wedding this weekend in which Ryann is the flower girl (wish us luck).


This week coming up has a lot of Halloween themed activities for you to get some bonus use out of that costume.  Check out my Yahoo! calendar for ideas or if you know of anything great send it to me and I will add it.


http://calendar.yahoo.com/downrivermom1

Hi, I'm mommy, your entertainment coordinator for a lifetime.

Yesterday we went to our friend Craig’s house to watch the Michigan vs. Michigan State game.  It’s amazing to think that just 3 years ago I was up tailgating at MSU and partying[1] with friends without a worry in the world and now we are at a friend’s house surrounded by children.  The parties are more now for the children than for us.  They didn’t care about the outcome at the game, they were just into playing with each other and it gave us adults the chance to talk about things other than Dora and Diego.[2]

Craig does not have any children, but his house is amazingly kid friendly for a bachelor pad, and he does everything he can to make sure that all of their needs are met while we are there.[3]  I was smiling inside as Ryann and her friends ran laps in the front yard, eager to reap the benefits of an all day playdate by her sleeping in today. 

Cut to seven in the morning.  Ryann is up and ready to find out what fun thing we are doing today.  I’ve mentioned before that I’d read that having a toddler is like having a houseguest in the house-they always want to be entertained.  But it doesn’t last for a weekend.  It lasts for years.  Pumpkin patch here we come.   Maybe we will be rewarded with a long nap this afternoon.[4]

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[1] Well, more visiting than partying, Ryann was just a little more than a zygote.

[2] Although one of the little girls at the party and her brother were being Dora and Diego for Halloween.

[3] He even texted me in the morning to see if I needed him to pick up anything for the kids-how about a padded room full of toys with a video monitor?

[4] Doubt it.

Grocery Shopping Will Never be the Same

I really enjoy grocery shopping.  Were it not for the business of loading the food into the cart, loading it out of the cart onto the belt, loading it back into the cart, loading it from the cart to the car, and then unloading it from the car into the house and then again into the cupboards, I would probably grocery shop every day.  That being said, I had an epiphany while grocery shopping last week. 

Shopping with both kids is tough, and I try to avoid it if possible but some days it just has to be done.  The main problem is that carts are not really built for newborns, and even if they were, I would prefer that Matthew stays in his carseat[1] and I need to basically keep Ryann sitting[2] in the back of the cart.  However, since the carseat blocks my vision, Ryann can and does get into mischief while in the cart surrounded by groceries.  She has chewed her way into cereal boxes, crushed bread, and torn open rice packages.  Not on purpose mind you, her main concern is getting the price tags off.

So my idea is for grocery stores to provide “cart assistants”[3] which are basically high school kids who come and work at the grocery store from 4-8 every day (longer on weekends).  These kids work for a basic wage and then the customers will also tip, say based on the total of their grocery bill.  

So the customer walks in the store, pushing her two angel babies[4] in the double stroller.  She has called ahead and reserved her “grocery boy”[5] and he is now waiting with an empty cart, ready to follow her around the store.  She pushes the stroller, and he follows behind her, never more than an arm’s reach away, so she can grab[6] the things she needs and throw them into the cart.  

Once the customer is done shopping, she walks right through the check out and has a seat on the bench so she can watch the groceries being unloaded onto the belt and back into her cart.  She pays for the groceries, and her personal shopper[7] pushes the cart out to the car and unloads the groceries into the back while she loads her children[8] into their car seats.  The customer then thanks the young man or woman, hands them a cash tip if they didn’t already add the tip to the grocery bill, and then they are on their way.  

This would be a great job for a high school student, and I know I would be more inclined to shop longer and buy more things if I had a cart full of room and someone to deal with all of it until I got home.  Maybe I would even be less inclined to stop at Subway[9] on the way home since I wouldn’t already be sick of seeing the food I just bought.

If any reader out there is in a position to make this happen, I am available at the e-mail address listed for consultation purposes.

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[1] The only time I ever put Ryann in the provided “infant” seat at a store, her nose was completely stuffed by the time we left the store.  True story.

[2] trapped

[3] Best name I could come up with-feel free to suggest a better one.

[4] It’s my dream, I can tell it how I want.

[5] Do you like that name better?

[6] Or just point to, depending on how much she plans on tipping

[7] What about that name?

[8] Now sleeping soundly

[9] McDonald’s