Memories made...

Yesterday morning I had great plans for our day.  Funny thing about kids, they don't care about your plans. 

Zach got a bug in him that he needed to get a new pillow so we decided to head to the mall, grab lunch there, and then go rent a movie from Red Box.  We got to the mall and was picking out a pillow when Noah decided to throw a monster 2 year old tantrum.  Moments earlier he had been smiling and laughing, even prompting an older woman to walk by and tell us what a little gentleman he was and how she could just snatch him up.  He began screaming and before I knew it he was running down the aisle.  I leave Zach and Zoe to check out and begin the chase.  I literally chased that little monster around the entire store, all while he was screaming as loud as his little lungs could allow.  Finally I catch up to him and he goes boneless. After struggling for a few minutes I am able to wrangle him into my arms and he continues to fight me and scream.  I am beyond frustrated.  I go and grab Zoe from Zach, who is still in line to check-out, and announce we are headed to the car (much to the relief of every person in the store, I'm sure).  I see the woman who commented on wanting to take Noah with her and she wont meet my eye.  At this point she could of made me a very reasonable offer and I would of been tempted.

This guy...

We get in the car and once Zach gets there I tell him that I have reached my limits and it would be better to just go home and abandon all of our plans.  Noah continues to scream until we pull into our neighborhood, where he becomes quite pleasant once again.  Sigh...

We put the kids down for naps and crash out in front of the tv.  At this point I am wary of continuing on with the plans I had for a family movie night.  The patience I was forced to exercise in the mall has taken it's toll on me.  However, one look at my sweet daughter playing quietly changes my mind.  Plan on!

I have seen on Pinterest, in a couple of places actually, the idea to create a drive-in movie experience in your living room.  You can see one here and how far the idea can be taken.  We decided to keep it simple.

Zoe and I went to the garage and selected two big boxes, took them to the living room, and set about decorating them.  Zoe LOVED this and commented several times about how she was "just so happy."  Zach even got in the spirit and helped Zoe while I decorated Noah's box, as he was sleeping off the crankiness.

Zoe decorates her chick-mobile.

Zoe wanted her car to be a "girly" car and only pink and purple colors were allowed.  She drew windows on the inside of her box and clouds in the windows.  After the wheels were glued on she went and grabbed blankets and pillows and we made her "car" as comfy as possible.  When Noah woke up we all went to Walgreens for junk food and a movie.  Zoe decided the perfect movie snacks were popcorn, M&Ms, and Sprite.  I also grabbed a package of cookies to balance everything out.

All in all it was a great evening.  Noah loved sitting in his car as much as sister did.  They both enjoyed the movie and went to bed full of sugar.

Notice the M&M beard.

I'm glad that, even though my day didn't go as planned, I decided to continue on with this idea.  This past week I read an article (here) about a little baby with days to live.  As a memorial to this baby, his parents requested that parents everywhere serve banana splits for dinner to their kids.  In other words, give their kids a moment to remember, even if it's not healthy.  It's a way to enjoy the moment and not take any day for granted.  I must admit that was my inspiration for this evening of junk food, tv, and cardboard cars.

At the end of the day the tantrum at the store seemed trivial.  These moments at the end, the simple pleasures of a evening at home with my beautiful family, that's what will stick with us. 

May you all do something today worth remembering...