the weekend, and all its spoils

this past weekend was pretty good. and kinda packed. but, mostly in a good way. some of the highlights were:

celebrating mother's day (late) with my own mom, by heading out to the folsom outlets. mom found the (somewhat elusive) white jeans, in tall. she also found a purple top to wear to the baby shower that we were attending the following day. i came across a bad attitude while in the dressing room of the gap outlet and wore that around until i found the (ever elusive) haribo rainbow frogs in the random gourmet chef store. for me, the gourmet chef store ended up being the best shop of the day, even though i only purchased the frogs and a new scrub brush. typing it makes it sound strangely more pathetic. will the outing be redeemed if i mention that we ended it with nachos at dos coyotes? i thought so. (i also revisited the outlets, later, with ragain and all three boys. that trip involved slightly more adventure...)

next, the baby shower, for a very sweet baby awaited by some very sweet parents. i was lucky enough to get to go with both my mom, and sister, tia. i am now caught up on all the latest baby gadgetry and mom and tia helped me finish off the rainbow frogs.

trip to davis farm market. asparagus, onions, potatoes, avocados, lemons, and broccoli. all delicious, although dangerous should they escape the bags and roll under your feet while driving. i will knot the bag handles on all future trips. lesson learned.

ikea trip with k. bought some good cheer for 99 cents. if you can come across cheer for 99 cents, you need to buy it. no questions asked.

trip to burr's ice cream in east sac. i'd never been there before!!! mom, you might have let me down on this one. i blatantly defied my lactose intolerance and ate a toasted almond cone. it would have been worth the consequences if it had come down to that. wanna meet me there next friday night?

low points of the weekend...should i have written these first?

we watched "the lovely bones". can't recommend it. no offense intended to those who might have loved it. i spent several minutes with my head under a blanket and my hands over my ears, which might be why i had trouble embracing it. afterward, i had to watch an old 30 rock episode to cleanse my visual palate before going to bed. it kinda worked.

taking the twins to the bathroom at the folsom outlets. i suspect most parents bemoan taking their kids to the bathroom in public restrooms. it is time-consuming, at best. combining two kids who have sensory issues with bathrooms that have automatic everythings could be the first two ingredients in the recipe for insanity, anarchy or a very explicit documentary. please allow me to set the scene:

the boys are very tall and appear to be more like 9 years old, rather than 7.

i am hustling them into the ladies restroom, ignoring the stares of a woman and her 5 daughters. (by the way, i'm only good at ignoring the staring about 80% of the time.)

i herd the boys straight toward the handicap stall because i can keep an eye on everyone at once in there. bad news. it's not working.

i decide to try letting everyone go into their own individual stall. (we all fall victim to optimism sometimes, don't we? that optimism is a smooth talker.)

things appear to be going well. i can see both sets of feet. there are appropriate sound effects. and then the flushing starts. oh, sweet cherries! it's the automatic flushing kind.

i immediately step up the pace. i can hear each of the boys starting to exclaim over all the flushing. i can imagine them paralyzed in the stalls with their hands covering their ears as each of the toilets take turns flushing over and over again.

luckily, jacob is finished, and bolts out just as i do. isaac, however, was not quite finished. i peer through the cracks in the door and encourage him to hurry. hands clasped over his ears, he tells me he's not done.

i turn my attention to getting jacob's hands washed. i am suddenly reminded of the existence of the mom with 5 daughters. she and her clan are all finished and washing their collective hands at the end of the row of sinks. they're chattering and laughing over all the flushing.

and then, it begins.

the automatic dryers. all 3 of them. being used by all the kids.

jacob tries to cover his ears with his forearms while still washing his hands. he's shrieking over and over. we haven't even got to soap yet. i have to reach jacob's entire body across the counter to put his hands under the dispenser.

isaac is still in the stall behind us. making no progress due to the simultaneous flushing, laughing, and drying. i can hear him trying to say something, but i can't hear him over the noise, either.

the other mom leaves. but her girls stay behind. continuing to dry their hands. they seem to be fascinated by jacob's reaction. their hands have to be dry by now, but they're still running the dryers.

there are no paper towels. i let jacob wipe his on my hoodie.

i begin to plead with isaac through the door. he's so desperate to get out, he throws the door open with his pants still around his ankles. jacob is running in place, still shrieking and covering his ears. i'm trying to rush isaac through pulling up, buttoning and zipping.

the little girls are still watching. and still drying. i wash isaac's hands for him.

i take a shoulder of each boy, so they can continue to cover their ears. i half-push-half-guide them past the staring girls and horrendous dryers, and out the door.

we make it to the open air. the other mom is standing out there. impatient. waiting for her girls. unfortunately, i want to scream in her ears and ask her if she can think straight with that level of noise.

but my boys have forgotten about the whole thing... so, i have to, too.

final low point... i had a fever last night.

final high point... family donut run. watching lucas run with the MOST GLEEFUL look on his face in a circle in the donut shop. and hearing him say "dew-nut" before wiping the chocolate icing off on his bangs.

i hope your weekend had more high points than low. and i hope you had a donut.