Fizzleworks

Another busy week came and went. We started off the week with a professional photo shoot at the mall. You may recall that the last time we tried to get family photos was a complete disaster, so my blood pressure was rising since the moment I was awoken by the boys at whatever ungodly hour they chose. 

This trip, to our surprise and delight, was fabulous compared to the last. Our first wise decision was to photograph just the two youngest because they have changed the most since last time. Our second wise choice was to do the photo shoot on a lazy Monday instead of a manic Saturday, so that we had virtually zero wait time, and there were few other patrons with whom to share the waiting area. 

In the future, it may be worth it for me to take a day off of work just so that we can take our photos on a weekday. 

What sanity we saved from the Monday photo shoot was quickly lost on Thursday, unfortunately. The town in which we live puts on free concerts during the summer, and Thursday night was supposed to include a fireworks display. Some friends of ours testified to the quality of the show, and we thought it might be a fun thing for the older two kids to see. That was our first mistake. 

We informed Carver of the late-night event, but made clear that he could attend only if he took a nap during the day. He agreed to try by accompanying Avey and me on a trip back to the mall (where she could purchase an item that caught her eye during our photo trip). He promptly fell asleep on the drive, and Avey and I waited in the car for a while to let him rest. He awoke in good spirits and all, but the nap was probably too brief to last him through the 9:00 p.m. show. Still, we pressed onward. 

It had rained through much of the afternoon, so we checked on the website to look for any indication that the event was canceled, but everything appeared normal. The rain had died down quite a bit by the evening, so we figured it was still on. Kira timed Merritt’s feedings just right so that he should not need to nurse after the show, and the kids packed up snacks. 

Merritt’s feeding did not go quite as planned (he was distracted and did not eat very well), so as soon as Kira left with Avey and Carver, Merritt started screaming at the top of his little lungs. He seemed awfully tired, too, but after several minutes trying to get him to sleep, his screaming only worsened, so I ended up needing to give him a bottle, after which he promptly passed out. Kira informed me several minutes after they had left that there was no concert and nobody at the event, so it appeared to be canceled, but they heard a few other people around mention that they thought the fireworks show was still on. So they waited and waited…all for naught. They came home exhausted and disappointed, and spent the next day cranky for lack of sleep.

At least they got some fun yesterday. I figured it was high time we get them out of the house again, so we went to a nearby forest preserve and had a little picnic lunch, then went exploring.

They had a grand old time pretending that they were all sorts of things. We muddied up our shoes really well, too. Hakan kept asking about “see the animals,” apparently thinking that we were at the zoo again. Fortunately, we did find three frogs, several butterflies and dragonflies, and a few birds to satisfy his itch.

My mother comes to visit us tomorrow, and we are all so excited to have her!

#Happenings