Today's agenda was simple enough. Head to Cedar Park and take back a toy that we got Ava that wasn't working. Also Shawn wanted to spend a little of his returned item money on whatever caught his eye. It was just going to be a nice lovely little morning of family fun. Enter firstborn. Before I tell you the story, I have to do a little recall of last night. We had Chicken Stir Fry last night. It consists of small pieces of chicken, rice, a few peas, and eggs with a delicious yummy kid-friendly sauce. We know it's kid-friendly because Ava eats it like it's ice cream. Anyway, we made that last night. Elle decided she didn't like the taste. (this was before she took a single bite, mind you) She was willing to forgo dinner as well as a pedicure which I attempted to bribe her with. So, she said that not only did she not like it, but that she wasn't hungry at all. This happens fairly regularly in our house and I refuse to make her something else when what I've made is "normal." So, she went to bed last night without dinner and didn't seem bothered by it at all. Shawn and I knew exactly how this morning would go and Elle did not disappoint. She woke up crying and saying that her stomach hurt really bad. We then forced her to eat a couple of crackers and a few cheerios because I know from many past experiences with her that if she'll just get some stuff in her stomach, it will calm down within about an hour. She continued to be stubborn saying she couldn't stand the crackers (it's not like they were sushi/raw spinach/artichoke/poop crackers....they were plain salted crackers) and wouldn't eat them and drank very little of anything continuing all the while to complain of her stomach hurting. Here's where the frustration level begins to rise. Anyway, we tell her that she is not going to thwart our plans to go shopping just because of her stubbornness so we pack her in the car with some crackers and head off. In the 20 minutes that we were in the car, I spent the whole time commanding her to eat one.whole.cracker. Twenty minutes for one cracker.
(Lord, please use her stubbornness for Your glory one day...) So, about 20 minutes out, and about 5-10 minutes from the mall, she starts moaning and complaining of her stomach hurting which is really nothing new. I give her a Walmart bag to put up to her mouth in case she pukes and about 10 seconds later she does....except she misses the bag....all. three. times. It goes all over her, her car seat, the floor, and her beautiful jacket that happens to be on the floor at her feet. Chaos ensues. We pull over and clean it up the best we can and turn the car around. (I just left out a lot of bad details of mean words spoken and ugly faces made but you can use your imagination here if you want.) So, I look at Shawn and say, "We have three choices...1. We can have the car detailed. 2. We can go buy an upholstery cleaner/carpet cleaner 3. We can go to a do-it-yourself car wash and see if they have anything for puke." Shawn attempted to add a #4 with go home and soak warm water and soap into the seat. I quickly vetoed that idea because as much as I love aroma in my car, I really didn't want puke smell in June. So, with all that being said, here is what we are the proud new owners of:
Now for the positives of this story because I'm trying to think positive:
1. We made it 5 1/2 years with kids before having to buy an upholstery cleaner.
2. Most of the stuff she puked on can be washed in the machine.
3. The car seat really needed to be washed.
4. Now, I can clean all the spots in my carpet, the rugs in the kitchen (which REALLY needed it) and the La-Z-Boy which has never been cleaned in the 6 years we've had it.
5. We have plans for this evening...we are going to attempt the mall again.
6. We realized that if necessary, Elle can give herself a bath. Not sure how clean she is, but she did it all by herself.
7. I had one Walmart bag in the car and it did catch some puke and was useful for cleanup purposes when we were on the side of the road.
8. I had just yesterday bought a new thing of travel wipes because I had been out for about 2 weeks and had just put them in my bag.
9. We had leftover disposable diaper changing pads in the back of the mini van from baby Ava and those were invaluable today.
10. We at least hadn't made it all the way to the mall yet.
11. She didn't puke in a store...that happened a few weeks ago with Ava and it was pretty mortifying.
12. She didn't puke on her brand new cute shoes.
2 comments:
Wow. I can honestly say that I been there, many times, with Riley. He can't hit the trash can to save his life, and it's not like it has an opening the size of a quarter either, it's a regular sized bathroom trashcan. As for Elle, well, all I can say is, thank goodness it's not just my kid that acts that way from time to time. You actually made me feel better that I get aggitated and make faces when he pukes and misses :)
If only Elle had eaten the poop crackers, this would not have happened.
Your stories crack me up (only because it wasn't me). Thanks for the laugh and I'm sorry that you had to deal with that today.
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