Smashing Time

Another time with no camera, but a phone! I had an ambitious day planned today, that all turned out great! Natalie was spending some special time with Grandma, so Nicole & I tackled a lot of things together just the two of us. Woody was working most of the time, so we started last night with Walmart. I hate Walmart and usually avoid it like the plague. With 2 kids it is hard to manage. But, they do have some decent toys, and we have 2 gift cards needing to be spent from Christmas. So, we went there and bought trainer skates for Natalie and eventually Nicole, and a play fishing rod for Nicole. I was surprised at how high the prices were there now--they are renovating the store to have a more Target-ty feel and nothing was really a bargain, especially in the food section! We'll be continuing to use coupons and grocery shop on specials elsewhere!!

After last night, we got up bright & early this morning to start shopping at an array of stores, even the mall! Then, we met Woody for an early lunch at Olive Garden, which was great! Nicole did really well at Olive Garden, using her fork like a big person. Although, the thing she most liked to eat seemed to be croutons? But, she did eat a good portion of her cheese ravioli, which made me feel a little better. We then parted ways with Woody and we went to what I thought would be a fun time at Toys R Us. They were supposed to have a Crayola Wonder demonstration. I had visions of toys out, being tested by many kids having fun. We got there and there was a piece of Crayola wonder paper, with a few markers beside it. I asked the lady if that was it. It was. Reason #535 I don't like to shop at our dinky Toys R Us! We markered a paper then left after looking around the store for any deals for birthday parties coming up.

We then sailed to go pick up Natalie! We were meeting halfway between which worked out great because I wanted to hit a pick your own strawberry place on the way back. I thought this would be a great opportunity, and I was flying high on the last 24 hours and the multiple successes. I even bought milkshakes to enjoy right beforehand so everyone would be full of sugar and excitement. We pulled up, and everything was great. I debated about just paying for the pre-picked bucket, but my sense of adventure was high as well as my expectations. It looked...easy.

Little did I know that we were in for a mini adventure. I took the cell phone picture at the first, thinking this would be a fun picture to celebrate later...
This was the start! We had a bucket to fill, 6 hands to pick, and beautiful strawberries to enjoy! It started well, I gave instructions on what a good strawberry looked like to both. My initial was no white on it, red & shiny, and no defects. As we went along, we got hotter in the sun, the girls were whinier, and the fight over who had the bucket began. I was the main picker, and would try to pick some that Nicole could put in the bucket. It wasn't long before Nicole was picking up overripe strawberries, squeezing them in her hand, and then rubbing arms or legs or my pants. Also, there were some strawberries previous people had "tested" and it was a struggle to keep her from sampling the same berry that was discarded. And, eating the foliage and not just a strawberry! My resolve melted and my qualifications for good berries lessened too. We ended up getting almost a full bucket, but didn't get it to the brim. We made it back to the car after paying and never did air conditioning and the knowledge we were headed home feel any better than it did at that moment!

We came home, cooled off, and the girls napped happily. I stole a few minutes myself too. Next time, we'll have to go when we have 2 adults at minimum!!