Sigh...one of those L..O..N..G days

We had one of those long mornings that just completely and totally wipes me out. And the kids. One of those mornings that the kids are lucky to live through (OK we all know that's an exaggeration but still).

We were out late last night at some friends. Erin fell asleep while watching Cars...Jeffrey did not. He was still going strong at 11:30. By the time we got home though he was crashed out. At 7:30 this morning I woke up to find him snuggled between Tom and I. And not about to want to wake up. Problem is that we had to be out of the house at 9 AM to get to Richmond to have Erin fit for her Flower Girl dress for "Uncle" Gary and "Aunt" Suzie's wedding in August. It's a nice drive, but about 90 minutes. I gave myself 2 hours just to be safe.

So eventually I got him up and on the potty (making real progress there, but that's for another day). Went in to get Erin. Roused her and noticed that she seemed to be wearing different panties than she was sent to bed in. Honestly I wasn't sure about it but really I was pretty sure she was wearing Mermaid and not Care Bears. Fairly quickly she confirmed that her panties (and apparently her sheets and blanket) had gotten "soaked" at night and she had gotten "new" panties.

Moving on to breakfast. I notice that the shorts I've put Jeffrey in simply aren't going to work. He must have been getting ready to shoot up a few inches when we tried them on because 2 weeks ago they fit, but today they were hanging around his ankles. So while they fussed over not having the right flavor oatmeal (Erin needs cinnamon, Jeffrey just likes to fuss when his sister does) I unearthed a pair of shorts for him and got him ready to go.

As Erin fussed because her oatmeal wasn't correctly prepared, Tom made the comment that I was in for a LONG morning. He had NO idea.

So 9 AM rolls around and I'm actually ready to throw the kids in the car. Make Erin go pee, get Jeff in a pull-up and we're off. The drive to Richmond goes fairly well save for Jeffrey kicking the window button on his door and lowering his window. Normally not an issue, but it's a 50/50 deal whether the window will go back up again easily. Following the directions from the lady at the store, we actually end up arriving about 20 minutes before our appointment. Silly me assumed they would be open at that point, but no. So I'm stuck sitting in the car with Erin insisting that we listen to her drum CD (which was in the house) and Jeffrey who desperately wanted OUT!!!!

About 10:50 we got out and I let the run around the sidewalk. By 11 we finally got inside. We had an appointment but still had to wait a few minutes. Erin announces that she has to pee - I ask where the potty is and run Erin back. Jeffrey is now hollering through the whole store--- "Poopie in the potty mommy. Poopie in the potty." I duck behind a lovely seafoam strapless number and hope nobody can see me.

By the time we're out of the potty, a young lady has brought us a 3 and 4 in the dress style. I grab the 3 and get Erin into it. Immediately she thinks she is a princess. She starts spinning and dancing - and falling over into the glass mirrors. Jeffrey, Mater car in hand, proceeds to run directly into one of the mirrored walls. Whether he didn't realize it was a mirror or he just wanted to run into a wall - I'm not sure. What I do know is that his hand prints on the mirrors were not appreciated by the staff.

It becomes quickly apparent that Erin will need a 3 not a 4..because she is pretty much falling out of the top of the 3. The sales lady grabs about 2-3 inches at each side and says -- well we can take this in. But for length we need the 3 not the 2 - which is great because they don't have a 2 we can try on anyway.

So back into normal clothes we go, and I head to the counter to "register" and place our order. The kids start running around like wild monkeys throughout the store. After much threatening and removal of all toys and privileges they are sitting on the floor at the base of the counter.....convinced that mommy is the meanest person in the whole world.

We ring up the dress. I hand over the credit card. I sign the slip...same old same old. The lady at the register (I've been passed off to "expedite the process" - read get this lady and her two unruly kids out of our store) asks me to sign another form stating that I've been informed that this in a non-refundable purchase and that alterations are available at an extra charge. I make the comment that we'll certainly need alterations. She pauses and says..."oh".

"Oh?" I ask?

"Well we expect to get the dress in here at the store on August 15th.

"WHAT!!!!!???? You've got to be kidding me? Are you serious? And you didn't think to mention this to me? That's not going to work!!! The wedding is August 18th!!!"

So I'm immediately passed off to the manager because now I'm the pissed off mom-of-a-flower-girl-with-two-uncontrollable-children-who-must-be-shoved-out-the-door. She does some looking and discovers that she "might" be able to get a size 3 in by the end of June. Well I guess that's going to have to do, but this is insane.

So I drag the kids out of the store, paper in hand with the card of the store manager clearly stapled to the front. I explain to the kids that we were going to spend a "fun" day in Richmond but they were not being very good inside the store and maybe we'd just go home. Erin screams, Jeffrey tries to run away. Once I get them in the car we all calm down and I ask if they want to get lunch. There's and Applebees nearby and they have a pretty good lunch menu. Erin agrees that she can be good - she wants lunch.

I find the little plaza with the Applebees. It's at the far end and we have to pass a McDonald's in order to get there. This particular McDonald's has an outdoor Play Zone. Erin can spot these things a mile away and assumes immediately that we're going there. When I drive by she erupts into tears as if her most beloved Pet Toy has just been decapitated by her brother. Needless to say we ended up eating at McDonald's. An hour later, I finally fished Jeffrey - who had eaten almost nothing - out of the play zone. I explain to him a fifteenth time that he drank all his lemonade and that it is "All Gone". I take both kids, toss them in the car and vow never to return to Richmond.

Never that is until I'm able to pick up a flower girl dress in white with apple trim that apparently takes 10 weeks to order.....But she's still going to look like a beautiful princess at the wedding.