Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

There's nothing that screams "I love you" more than preparing for a family outing and having one of your children look you in the eye and say, "Oh. You're coming, too?

Case in point: with Gregg's out-of-town trip to California this weekend, my parents (A)took pity on me, (B) wanted to see the grandchildren, (C) were really REALLY bored or (D) all of the above, when they invited us to register as guests at their "lodge" this weekend. So, I packed up the kiddos and all of their stuff, completely forgot to pack my own toothbrush in my rush to escape our own house and made a beeline for their house.

As I was loading the car, Thing 2 was clapping her hands and jumping up and down with glee. (I've made it a rule that for at least the next 10 years, I will NOT share any plans with them too far ahead of time, lest our plans fall through. What usually follows this type of misfortune is crying and gnashing of teeth. It's not pretty. And it's far too much for me to deal with while I'm outnumbered in the child:adult ratio. Hence, my silence up to this moment.) So as I loaded the car, she asked:

"So it is just ME that's going to Nanna and Papa Dean's?"

I quickly informed her that Cassidy was coming along, too. And me.

Those last words prompted her to actually make eye contact with me and say "oh" with about as much enthusiasm as a person getting ready to go have a root canal.

On the way over to my parents' house, she brightened and said "I'm going to have chocolate pudding for breakfast!" I quickly reminded her that Nanna might not be offering pudding. (Yeah, I know. Who am I kidding?) Mackenzie quickly disagreed and added "I'm also having donuts with sprinkles." And again, I suggested that donuts might not be happening the next morning. (Lest any of you potentially lose sleep in wondering how the whole scenario played out, yes . . . chocolate pudding AND donuts WERE on the breakfast menu. Let me also state that there were only TWO donuts. I was offered a bagel. Not that I'm bitter or anything. Really.

I should add, in fairness to my mom, that she fixed me my favorite meal of all time . . . pork chops and sauerkraut. Oh heaven!!!! Gregg despises pork chops and sauerkraut, hence our master plan to indulge while he was gone.

So it's ok that I didn't have a donut waiting for me this morning. Really. And that Mackenzie really didn't want me around this weekend. I'm fine with it. After all, I'm having leftover pork chops and sauerkraut for dinner . . . pudding, donuts and sprinkles NOT included because we checked out of the lodge this morning. Back home. Back to reality.

Poor children. Notes of sympathy can be addressed to "We'd Rather Live with Nanna and Papa Dean" in care of "Mom's a Drag."