Saturday morning, Gianna got up, put on her fluffiest pink dress, went downstairs and told RWF, "I want to go downtown, Daddy." So away we went. This time of year, downtown is a zoo with people visiting for the race track and other things. Luckily, it wasn't too crowded.
DOWNTOWN! (sing it a la Petula Clark)
We had parked near an ice cream store, and the two monkeys had noticed, shouting, "Ice cream! Ice cream, Mommy, ice cream!" as if I wasn't aware of the place when we pulled into our spot. I may or may not have said something snarky to RWF, about how had I been driving and not RWF, I would have driven around until I found a spot NOT in front of an ice cream store. We ignored their pleas for ice cream, instead suggesting that we walk downtown.
So after I took care of myself (ha!), I whispered to RWF, "Whaddya think, should we treat them to an ice cream? They've been so good." Of course, RWF agreed. So we headed out of Starbucks, intending to surprise Bode and Gianna with ice cream.
Before we left Starbucks, Bode insisted that he was thirsty. So I asked the barista for a cup of ice water. I gave him the ice water and started off.
But.
Gianna started whining that she was thirsty, too. I looked over at the bar. Of course, there was a line of people waiting for their coffee drinks and the two baristas were banging them out as quickly as possible. I didn't want to bother them again for water. So I asked Bode to share his water. Well of course, he acted like I had just asked him to give all the toys on the planet to his sister. He shrieked, "NO!" and kept walking away from us. I finally grabbed the water from him and gave it to Gianna, insisting "Share!" Of course, once Gianna had the ice water in her hot little hands, she wouldn't give it up. Bode got mad and pushed a chair over. Yes. He did. I was horrified at this act of anger. (More on that later!) I told him to right the chair and step out of Starbucks immediately. He started crying and didn't want to do anything with the chair. So I picked the chair up and grabbing his hand, walked him out of Starbucks where I could lecture him properly. (Hindsight...I realize that I should have just asked for 2 cups of ice water the first time around!)
Let's just say, neither RWF nor I wanted to "treat" them to ice cream afterwards. And they knew it. They whined the whole time we walked toward our car. Everyone, except Nico, was grumpy.
We got to the ice cream place and we relented on the ice cream. Why not reward bad behavior with ice cream?!! I think that I was hoping that ice cream would put everyone in a better mood. The truth is, RWF and I were snippy and angry with each other. Neither of us had gotten a good night's sleep (up 4 times with Sir Nicholas, for one thing) and we both have a lot on our minds. Neither of us felt like dealing with parenting whiney toddlers.
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| Lefty |
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| Righty |
Bode and Gianna cheered up (and quieted down) after they got ice cream. RWF and I watched them silently. Finally, after about 20 minutes of watching Bode and Gianna smiling and enjoying themselves, RWF and I softened. Eventually, we all made peace with each other. And so it is with parenting, right? You just have to plug along, no matter how little energy or patience you have, you have to be the adult and you have to be a "team" with your partner. I'm learning, little by little. But, if you're a parent, you know that things are always changing. So once you've got one thing figured out, something new comes along. And so it is with Bode. I'm having a really hard time with him lately. I'll share more in another post.
Happy weekend.
xo
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