Yesterday was full of the unexpected. At a second visiting teaching appointment I found out there was a 50% off the already 50% off clearance stuff at Old Navy. So instead of going home to clean my house I rounded up the kids (O. was still at Scout Camp) and we dashed to Old Navy to see what they had and if there was anything that would work for school. I also got the wild hair to go to my parents' house, so I had the kids grab their swimsuits and towels too. I figured we were going a third of the way there, so why not all of the way. It made all the more sense because I was supposed to be at Justin's school for a host family orientation meeting, and I thought I would just hit that on the way home.
Well, the cunning plan worked out pretty well. We spent a little longer in Old Navy than I had planned, but I found something fun on sale for every member of the family except me. I scored on two pairs of pants and two nice shirts for Justin for about $25 total. I LOVE a bargain. What they had on clearance for moms just wasn't my style or size.
On the way to my parents' I decided to stop at my sisters to pick up some things she had for me, and she gave me a couple of pairs of capris, so I got something after all. She also had some Cars cars for me (we both collect the little cars from the Disney movie Cars, and when we find some new ones we always call each other to see if we need to pick up an extra). We also picked up my nephew to come swimming with us at my parents'.
The kids had a blast in the pool, and I spent some time working with L. on his swimming skills. He didn't pass his level 2 class this year, and I have tinkered with the idea of signing him up for private lessons, but I think I will just work with him myself. He was excited to show me how Harry Potter swims in the fourth H.P. movie -- the dolphin kick. My dad unexpectedly decided to get KFC for dinner, which was a fun treat for the kids and me.
I met my sister at a gas station to return my nephew to her. While we were there at the gas station, one by one the kids trickled out of the van while I talked to my sister in her car for a few minutes. As I walked away from her car, E. informed me that he had locked the car. AAAAAHHHHHHH. My keys and my purse and my cell phone were all inside. I managed to catch my sister before she pulled away from the gas station and commandeer her cell phone. Unfortunately, Justin wasn't answering his cell phone, and no one was answering the phone at his school (I didn't particularly care at the moment that it was way after summer office hours ... how could anyone ignore a telephone that was ringing forty times right in a row?! Sigh.). Fifty phone calls, 600 telephone rings, and three contacts later I found a sister-in-law who could drive down to Justin's school and tell him to call me on my sister's cell phone (my sister left me with her phone because she had to take her daughter somewhere; I promised to drop her cell phone off once I got back inside my van). Once Justin called me, Rescue was on its way! Hallelujah!!
I broke down and bought a couple of bottled waters for the kids and me because it was rather toasty outside the gas station (despite the fact I still had my credit card in my pocket from gassing up my car, I wasn't going to buy anything and "reward" the little turkeys for not being where they were supposed to be -- INSIDE the van -- and locking it without checking with me first -- and I was standing 10 feet away).
Two couples stopped by our car to ask if we needed help and at that point I was relieved to be able to answer that my husband was on his way. Our ten-minute child-swap turned into nearly two hours, but thankfully everything turned out alright. Justin gently reminded me on the phone to go easy on our little security guard.
So what did I learn? NEVER leave your keys in the car, even if you think there are people inside your car and you are only going to be two minutes and ten feet away. And always TELL the children to STAY inside the car at the gas station.
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