The 3 Things Have a Day Out

A big day was had here in the land of Things 1,2 and 3. My friend J convinced me to meet she and some friends at a local beach (she had the day off work and was spending it with her son). After having mild anxiety for a day or two, I was persuaded (by my dear husband, my two sons and the original friend who extended the invitation) to suck it up and take my three kids to the beach. On my own.

So off we went this morning in our little van. Four happy campers. Listening to alternative rock. Driving into . . . very dark clouds and rain. Thankfully, as we headed further north the rain stopped so when we arrived at our destination it was completely dry. But still remained cloudy. And windy. And cold. Things 1 and 2 had shorts on and hoodies - I threw them on at the last minute and was glad I did. It was FREEZING cold out there. The boys were still cold though, and would often come to my side, shivering and looking a delicate shade of icy blue, begging, "mommy, could we go home please?".

Well, seriously, it wasn't that bad and we stayed a short time and mostly played in the park area with all the play structures. The boys had fun and Leah was warm and comfy in the world's best baby carrier - that's right, you remember, the Beco!!! That sturdy piece of fabric remains the *best* money I've spent in months (maybe since my Paige jeans in 2006???).

After an hour or so we were so cold we had to throw in the towel and call it a day. Because we were all cold I figured a cup of coffee would be a great way to warm up - but realized a coffee shop wasn't somewhere I could conceivably take my three Things. Coffee shops are places for intelligent, cheeky, well-dressed grown ups. Not toddlers and babies. J worked her magic and convinced me to join her at a trendy, fair-trade coffee shop in Westboro (where cool, liberal-minded, young people live in highly overpriced homes that we cannot afford) for a latte or something. And suddenly, I had that feeling again. That feeling I had the day I took the boys to see Kung Fu Panda, the same feeling that creeps up on me on the days I take all three things to the grocery store, or to Costco. The "I can't possibly make it out of this alive" feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach.

But a latte called. And I don't get them very often. And I really wanted one. So off we went.

Thing 3 sat nicely and happily in her car seat carrier, while her brothers sat in seats with J and A. I went up to the counter and got each boy a cookie and a glass of milk and myself a yummy coffee and a sticky bun. J soon picked Leah up and held her for me (after the wedding on Saturday I am falling more and more in love with these kind and gentle baby-holders). We sat and ate and drank, and for a short time all was right in the world. Until we went to the bathroom to change Leah's dipe and the first two Things started getting antsy. Then David didn't want to leave the washroom and started to . . . yell . . . a little bit. No worries, we were out of that shop faster than a helium balloon with a hole in it. We barely left a scar on the relaxed, trendy-person atmosphere inside.

J and I commented that the clothing shop next door to the coffee shop was one of our favourites. Really living on the edge, we stepped inside. We convinced Peter (4), A (3) and David (2) to all hold hands and stay together in the store. It went remarkably well for a short time. I then grabbed a couple fab items from the new Lole summer collection (my very favourite clothing line in the entire world, and Canadian at that) and even managed to purchase them before snatching the three munchkins just before things would have gone awry and bolted from the store.

It is then only 12:30 pm - haven't I accomplished a lot? Chatting with adults at the beach, coffee AND two clothing items (cute and adorable at that, although not necessarily totally on budget). More than I had ever hoped for in my wildest dreams. The boys were having such fun that J asked us to come over and play at her house for the afternoon. Feeling an extra hint of mommy craziness come over me, I said yes. It was fun and relaxing and the kids all had a blast playing in the sprinkler and checking out A's funky Playmobil biker set. We drove home and arrived at our humble abode just before supper.

Total success. Do the three Things have a pulse? Check! We all made it!

Well . . . almost. We put Leah in her exersaucer while we dined on spaghetti for supper and in less than five minutes we noticed she had dozed off on the little fabric book she was reading. Too pooped to party anymore . . .