My Friday...mooo....

Oh I'm tired!

I took Dad to work this morning, and then while I was fixing my breakfast when I got back, my friend called and asked if I could help her with the kids today. Her husband had an asthma attack last night and ended up having to go to the ER...anyway, they were up really late last night and she was exhausted and her kids were not!

So after I ate breakfast, I rounded Colin up and went and got the kids. I had been thinking about taking Colin to the park this morning anyway. We ended up going and playing miniature golf, then going to the park, and then getting lunch at Chik-fil-a.

So we "played" miniature golf. If you ever think it would be a good idea to take three kids under 7 to play miniature golf? Rethink that idea...unless they're kids that will listen to you try to explain how to play. Otherwise...? Not to mention it was hot outside.
I gave up on keeping score after the second hole, and eventually decided not to bother explaining to them for the twentieth time how to hold the putter and not to drag it to move the ball, etc., etc. The boys seemed to think they were in the PGA or something...*whack!!!* "Oh look! It's on the other hole!" I did have to put a stop to that, as I didn't want to have to be shouting "fore!" on a miniature golf course. One good thing: I think that was the best (lowest score) game I've ever played! Not that it really meant anything. :p

Then we went to the park, which was probably the best thing although we got all hot and sweaty, because they pretended to be explorers and lions and ran around roaring and that wore them out good.

Then we went to get lunch. And not only did I go to the Chik-fil-a near the mall (think busy!), it was also apparently "cow appreciation day", and if you dressed as a cow you got a free sandwich or something. So there were lots of little kids cows wandering around the place. It almost made it better even though it was so busy, because I wasn't the only person trying to manage a bunch of kids. I figured it must be some sort of special thing, since there were so many kids dressed as cows, but I had no idea it was a once-a-year thing! There were even a few teenagers with spots and cow ears on...pretty impressive! :p

There was one family where the little girls were all wearing t-shirt they had drawn spots all over, they had black spots on their noses, and they'd somehow put spots in their braided hair, so they were sort of black and blond cows...it was pretty cute. One little girl who wasn't dressed up asked one of them where she got her shirt..."We made it," she replied very matter-of-factly while giving the other girl a funny look like "of course we made them, why would you buy a cow shirt?" Then there was a really little girl in a white shirt and white skirt, with construction paper spots and even a little tail! So cute! But the teenagers really cracked me up, one girl with a sort of tie-died black and white spotted shirt (while her friend was wearing normal clothes and looking slightly embarrassed) and a skater-guy with longish hair and paper cow ears held on by his hat! :p

So anyway, that's what I did, and then when I got home I took a shower!...and then relaxed for a bit before we left for my dentist appointment....which took hours. My appointment was at four, and I sat there for 15-20 minutes waiting, and the hygienist finally came out and got me...and apologized for being late. She'd apparently been behind all day, and she took an hour lunch, but she was still behind when she got back! (Note: do they usually get a longer lunch, so she cut hers short? Because...if you were behind, and then took a normal hour lunch, you would still be behind when you got back...)

So she looked over my records, told me I was due to see a dentist also and went to find one. They were all busy, so she came back and cleaned my teeth for, I don't know, 45 minutes? She took forever (after saying they weren't too bad) but I'm glad I got a good thorough cleaning anyway. Then she had to go see if any of the dentists were done yet, and finally came back with a resident. Um...well, since I don't really see the point of the dentist looking at your teeth after the hygienist has already thoroughly seen your mouth, I guess it didn't really matter if he was very experienced or not. At least he was a little more tentative (and as a result more gentle!) and I didn't get poked with the sharp pick thingy! Whatever.

But while I was in there, Mom and Colin were going to go to the craft store and then come get me when I was done...so they headed back when Mom thought I should be almost done and had to wait forever while I was in there.

Then we picked Dad up and went to Costco and Aldi...and I'm very tired! I don't know if I managed to wear the kids out so they'd nap well, but they wore me out! I imagine they did nap, and my friend had gotten a good nap while we were gone anyway.

And I can understand the reasons for getting a minivan...more space between the children so they don't either accidentally or on purpose kick each other, and they're not right behind you so if they're making noise, you don't get deafened. On the other hand, I would expect my kids to be a bit more quiet, because I simply couldn't live with all that noise...that's great if you can deal with that on a day-to-day basis, but I sure couldn't! :p

Colin was very helpful though, he kind of helped keep down the insanity in the back seat and helped by holding their hands while we crossed parking lots and stuff. He may act pretty crazy around older kids, but if he's the oldest he gets all mature and sensible...which is great! He's not an oldest child, but at least he can be one if he has a chance! ;)

So...I think I'll relax tomorrow. :)