First blog

I guess this is my first blog entry. Maybe I should have been doing this for the past couple of years, but it seems I'm just getting around to it. DS's scrapbook is next.

I thought I would write about this past Saturday. DH and I had decided to take DS to a local pumpkin farm. I woke first on Saturday and mentioned the idea of going out to eat breakfast. First bad call of the day. It was 8:30 before we left the house and we still had to find a place that could seat us quickly. We ended up at Wa77le Hou3e. DS wouldn't eat much -- probably too many distractions. After breakfast we headed to the farm. DH realized at breakfast that he had left his wallet at home. So I had to drive. Second bad call of the day (DH hates it when I drive). I assumed he had looked up how to get to the pumpkin farm. Third bad call of the day. We were miles out of the way and had to weave back around country roads to eventually get to the place. By then it was 10:40. We waited in line to pay our $6 apiece, then off on our adventure. First stop was the outside of the petting zoo -- chickens, ducks, peacocks, goats, llamas, etc. DS loved it and went back and forth along the fence (I felt terrible plowing through people as I ran after him), making chicken sounds. Then he wandered off, running in the open space. Next was the hayride to the corn maze. He wasn't too thrilled with the hayride. We're not sure why, other than that he's an unpredictable toddler. Next was the corn maze -- DH carried him through most of that. The corn wasn't very high yet, so the challenge level was very low, since you could see all the other people in the maze as well as the end of the maze. Oh, well. At the end of the corn maze was a giant slide, twenty feet tall or so. DH and DS slid twice -- DS did not want to stop so again was not happy as we had to load back on to the hayride for the ride back. DH managed to distract him somewhat until we arrived. Then we went inside the petting zoo barn and fed some goats. DS petted a rabbit and looked at the goats and other animals. He kept running back to the rabbit cages. Again, not sure why. Then we tried for the pony ride -- it was close to Noon and we had to keep moving to get lunch and his nap in still. He seemed like he really wanted to ride the pony; DH put him on one pony and he wanted off; tried another pony and he wanted off again. So we left the corral, only for the ponies to start moving which made DS really upset. Another distraction move now to the pumpkin patch. We each got to pick out one pumpkin to take home with us. We picked our pumpkins and went to the car. All in all, a pretty good time. It might have gone better with better planning, but we are human and not always perfect.

Speaking of imperfect parents -- Saturday night after DS went to bed (that's when I run the majority of my errands), I went to the bookstore to buy a gift, then on to the dreaded local wallyworld. I really don't like going there, especially when I know there will be children there who should be AT HOME SLEEPING, but it's a necessary evil sometimes. (At least until we get a "bullseye" store next year.) So it was after 9:00 and I passed a woman with a little boy in her cart. I didn't get a good look, but he was probably not much older than three if he was even three. The mom told him, "We're not going to McD's with everyone...we're going straight home because you pottied in your pants. You're a big boy now and you have to stop pottying in your pants. You were at Aunt so-and-so's for your first day and you pottied in your pants four times today." Okay, there were so many things wrong with this situation...why was a little boy not fed dinner, bathed, and in bed long before 9:00, instead of at wallyworld without even having had dinner yet??? And it just broke my heart that she was punishing him for not being potty trained...I"m sure it was as much her or the caretakers' faults as anyone's. I was so sad and I still am.