The Park

So, yesterday, as part of an experiment, we tried to walk to the closest park.  It was a bit further than I anticipated, so about a mile into the walk, a half mile from our destination, Jubee started to complain of dehydration.  Well, not in so many words, what she actually said was, "Mom, I thirsty.  Mom, I NEED water."  We were so close to playground, my sister decided to take them on to the park, and I walked back to get water cups.  I also got the car, since the kids were obviously too tired to walk back.

When it was finally time to leave the playground, we realized that I had forgotten Jubee's car seat.  I had taken it out the day before after our Ikea trip to clean it, and forgotten about it.  Sam was already strapped into his booster seat, so we headed home to grab Jubee's car seat while my sister Ruth and Jubee stayed at the playground for a few more minutes.

So, I wasn't there, obviously, but this is what Ruth told me happened.  As soon as Sam and I drove off, Jubee started to cry.  She was unconsolable for the 5 minutes we were gone, sitting in the grass, sobbing:

"Mommy, I miss you!  I'm Jubee, your baby!"  

As if I could forget. Actually, it sort of reminded me of Isaiah 49:15, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you."  It would've been incredibly heartbreaking, if she didn't act totally indifferent as soon as I got back.  I guess that's kind of a Biblical metaphor, too.

Anyway, in other news, I, in desperation, took down the greasy, ugly light fixture, and replaced it with this super sweet Ikea shade.  I'm pretty proud of my handiwork.  We were sitting around to dinner last night after Cam got home from work, and I asked him what he thought of it.  He looked up, shocked...apparently, he hadn't noticed the light fixture was two feet lower and white canvas with pink and green and grey instead of bug-crusted glass.

I think it's that pop of purple color under the table that really makes this photo.  And, yes, I know I need something on the walls.  I'm willing to take suggestions.

So, two days ago when we drove to Denver, the kids had McDonald's cheeseburgers twice.  I'm not normally into feeding them fast food, but, hey, you gotta do whatcha gotta do, and once (or twice) won't kill them.  It did make their room smell, though.  Seriously, the smell oozed out of their pores, I'm pretty sure, it was one of the worst smells ever.  So, here's a parenting tip: Don't put two sweaty kids in the same room to sleep after McDonalds without cracking a window.

I'm pretty sure I need to wipe the grease off their walls.