I went to the mall yesterday. Yeah…that’s right. I went to the mall with my two small children a few days before Christmas! Having lost power for a week and staying with my mother, then having a huge snowstorm hit us…(wait…ONE huge snowstorm? Make that TWO)…I’m sure you can see that I was eager to get out of the house as I was pretty much stuck here the day before. I love my house, don’t get me wrong, but there are just some days where you’re jumping to go somewhere, anywhere, just to save a little piece of your sanity. Yesterday was suppose to be a sanity-saving day for me. Ha!
We arrived at the mall around 11:00 and I had to drive all the way to the opposite end, away from the entrance, in order to get a parking spot. That should have been an indication of what was to come, but I suppose I can use the excuse that this is ME I’m talking about. Whoosh! What was that that just flew over my head?
I park and then step into the slushy mess of a lot with my sneakers, walk to the trunk and pull out my heavy double stroller. I pull Ryan from his carseat (I’m building muscles here, I tell you!), place him in the front, and then go around the car to get Noah and his seat. Boys settled in, I dodge the wind to grab the diaper bag and my purse and say goodbye to the dogs who would hang out in the back of the van for a while. Here we go. Swivel, swish, swirl…ever tried to meander your way through the snow and slush with a double stroller weighted down by your toddler in the front seat? Yeah…not entirely an easy thing to do. The wind turning my cheeks pink and my paralyzing my chin as it always seem to have a knack of doing, we make it to the front door! Success! We walk in, I take Ryan’s coat off, bang my sneakers on the wet floor, and we’re good to go! Hooray!
We do a bit of shopping, I let Ryan play in the playarea and on the motorized vehicles, we get some pizza for lunch (”pissa, Momma?”), and by 2:15 I’m beat and we head out the door. WHOAH! Holy traffic jam! I struggle with my double stroller in the snow and slush once again, close my eyes to the cold and wind, and get my boys strapped into their carseats successfully. We’re off! I pull out of my parking spot and to the end of the lane. I’m stuck there for a total of twenty minutes before the line in front of me has moved enough to allow me access to it’s madness. I suppose we’re not really “off” now, are we? Thank goodness gracious that Noah is sleeping! “Momma, I home now?” “Yes, Ryan, we’re trying to get home now.” He waits maybe five seconds before “Momma, I home now?” Oh, and have I mentioned that he’s in a whining phase now? 50 minutes pass. Noah has woken up and is screaming to the point where I place my hand on his forehead and sweat droplets are left on my fingertips. Ryan continues to insist that he wants to go home now, and I’ve moved about the length of three cars, TOTAL! With the knowledge that I’m at the complete opposite end of the mall’s entrance, I decide that the best thing for us to do is go back inside. But how in the world am I suppose to do this when I’m sandwiched in? I wrap my sweater around my body and open my door. What a sight I must have been, strange lady knocking on window after window, hair in her face as the wind flaps it around with extreme force…the first window I walk up to is a young man. I tell him that I’m going to attempt to get the car in front of him to merge into traffic and would he mind terribly staying where he is instead of moving forward to allow me the opportunity to get my van in a parking spot? He was so very nice…that’s one down. I knock on the window of a gentleman in an SUV and ask him if he wouldn’t mind letting this woman’s car in front of him when the traffic actually moved a bit? I explained that my baby was crying and I was going to attempt to park and go back inside. He smiled at me…it was a knowing smile :) Two down for the count. I now knock on my last window…it’s a woman…I tell her that the gentleman in the traffic jam is going to allow her to pull into traffic and the man behind her is going to stay there so that I may park my car. She was also very understanding. I leap back into my van and turn the heat up a notch. Another ten minutes of waiting and the line moves ever so slowly, but just enough for the woman to creep her way in front of the gentleman’s SUV. YES! I move my car toward the right and just barely make it past the young man’s car and into a parking spot. Back to the drawing board. I thank everyone, get the double stroller out, place Ryan in it, take a screaming Noah out of the car, say goodbye to the dogs who most definitely need to pee by this time, and slither my way back to the entrance. Phew!
We go to Best Buy and watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer on their big-screen TV. Ryan’s loving it and Noah, even at just five months, is glued with such full attention to the television screen, that I can just sense that he’ll be like his big brother when he ages a year and I’ll be getting a lot of “movie now?” I happen to glance at Ryan’s bum and notice a small wet mark. Please just be water from your boots! But no…it’s his diaper, and after having changed a diaper just a couple hours ago, I know that Ryan is all out of diapers. Boogers! But I do happen to have one of Noah’s gdiapers on hand…here’s to hoping!
We head to Old Navy where Noah’s “eh eh’s” echo from the stroller. I pick him up and shop for some clothes for Ryan since, not only did I not pack enough diapers, but I didn’t pack a change of clothes either. Of course! After paying for his clothes, we head to the restroom. YES! The gdiaper actually fits him! Thank goodness for that one! And boy does he look cute, too! With tons of smiles I put his new pants on, use the restroom myself (the handicapped one, of course, so the stroller fits inside!), and we head back to the mall. We end up having a dinner of sandwiches, do some more browsing, some more watching of Rudolph and after a couple full-blown Ryan tantrums, I check the traffic. NONE! Wahoo…let’s get on that! Coats on, Noah strapped into his carseat, keys in hand, we head out the door. I place the boys in the car, say hello to the dogs who would hold their bladders if they could, and pull out. UGH. I was wrong. There is traffic…and a lot of it. Luckily someone allows me to pull out in front of them and then…what’s this? Eeek! They’ve opened up an exit to the street and it’s right HERE! Five minutes and I’m out of the mall! Mind you…I have to deal with traffic getting onto the highway, so I’ve got Noah screaming for about 20 minutes before the highway is hit, I speed up, and he falls asleep. Sigh. I look in my rear view mirror and Ryan is sleeping as well, mouth closed, chin to his chest. I smile. Goodnight, my beautiful children
We eventually make it home and I put the boys to bed. Exhuasted, I get myself ready for bed as well. I close my eyes still wondering if I was using my head at all when I made the decision to take the boys to the mall. After the day I’ve just had, I’m well practiced…ready for anything the next day will throw my way.