Itchy

To avoid the craziness that is dinner time while my husband is away, he suggested I grab something for the kids and me tonight. Not having to come home and cook sounded appealing, so I decided to take him up on it. When I picked them up, I asked Cole what he wanted and although he said a cheeseburger, my pregnancy cravings steered him to Chick-fil-a. He asked if we could eat there, and I thought sure, we can do that. No clean up at home. Keep them out of the house and out of trouble. Maybe.

They were actually pretty good while we ate, but Cole was eyeing up the indoor play area, and I knew we weren't getting out of there without at least a few minutes of climbing. That being said, I hate these things. I know hate is a strong word, but they make me feel annoyed and tense and itchy. Yes, itchy.

I braced myself as we went in and then let my kids go. Less than 30 seconds before the first kid banged into me. Actually jumped up on the bench where I was sitting and fell on me. Great. And where were her parents? Watching from right outside that little hot box and smiling. No, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Because of course, I was the only parent in there. Like usual. Of course, since half the kids appeared to be pre- adolescent, I guess they didn't need chaperones. I quickly decided that Chloe was entirely too little to be running around with all of the big kids, so I alternated holding her and pushing her towards the "toddler area" where an 8 year old was matching up the spinning animals on the wall and yelling at my 4 year old for touching them. Good times.

After no more than 15 minutes, I had had enough and told Cole we were leaving. It was a miracle that no one had plowed over either of my kids as is the norm, but it was still time to go. As we exited, I took advantage of the wet wipes and disinfected all of us. Cole loudly announced, "Yum, this smells like a shot!" No idea what that meant, but I just kept my head down. Back to the table for shoes and clean up, and Cole started playing with a vase on the table. "Is there water in this?" "Yes, don't touch it." I look down at Chloe's feet and the contents of the vase are swimming across the table. Of course. Quick clean up of the puddle and we are almost out the door.

And then the power goes out. Half the people in there are escaping their own homes that are powerless from the recent bad weather, and now these families are sitting in the dark in Chick-fil-a of all places. I pull my kids to the door and escape as quickly as I can. Cole asks, "Can we come here next time?" Sure, buddy, we'll be back really soon.

*** There are only pictures of my kids in order to protect the "innocent."