Chris left for Burn Camp today and I began my week of single parenting THREE kids. Thankfully, I have some help lined up for carpools to Hill and Camp Thurman. And, my parents are back from Hawaii (just in the nick of time!).
In preparation for my week alone I failed to make it out shopping for camp shoes prior to Chris leaving. Big mistake! I decided to venture out to Old Navy with all 3 girls in tow to buy the shoes that Emma would need Monday for camp and Ryan will need in a few weeks when she goes. I had no intentions of getting anything for myself or needing a fitting room, so the plan was a quick in and out. Surprisingly we did get in quick and find what we need. I lost Emma momentarily, but found her riding the mannequin puppy before I had to call another Code Adam. All three girls were calm while we shopped and doing a pretty good job of listening to me (one was asleep in her car seat). Ryan and Emma even waited patiently in the line for 20 minutes to check out. There were a few requests for add on items as we waited, but no melt downs when I said "not today". I was feeling pretty proud and unstoppable at this point. We made it out to the car and I got everyone unloaded without any tears. All car seats strapped on and just as I was pushing the button to close the mini van door I see Ryan in the way back holding her arm up admiring a shiny bracelet. A bracelet that I had told her "not today" when she wanted to add it on to our purchase. She had stolen it. My five year old was a shoplifter. As I punched the button to reverse the mini van door Polly decided to start crying. Go figure, she must have known what was coming too, I asked Ryan where she had gotten the bracelet and her first response was that she didn't know, then it switched to "I found it on the street". And finally when I told her that I knew she had taken it from the store she told me that it had "fallen into my pocket". Ryan did not have any pockets on. To spare the painful details from this point forward- we ALL went back in and returned the stolen item. Ryan begged me to discreetly put it back by pretending that I worked there. I did not go for her plan. The bracelet was returned, apologies given and hopefully Ryan learned a very big lesson. I definitely learned mine. AVOID OLD NAVY WITH SMALL CHILDREN! See below.
In preparation for my week alone I failed to make it out shopping for camp shoes prior to Chris leaving. Big mistake! I decided to venture out to Old Navy with all 3 girls in tow to buy the shoes that Emma would need Monday for camp and Ryan will need in a few weeks when she goes. I had no intentions of getting anything for myself or needing a fitting room, so the plan was a quick in and out. Surprisingly we did get in quick and find what we need. I lost Emma momentarily, but found her riding the mannequin puppy before I had to call another Code Adam. All three girls were calm while we shopped and doing a pretty good job of listening to me (one was asleep in her car seat). Ryan and Emma even waited patiently in the line for 20 minutes to check out. There were a few requests for add on items as we waited, but no melt downs when I said "not today". I was feeling pretty proud and unstoppable at this point. We made it out to the car and I got everyone unloaded without any tears. All car seats strapped on and just as I was pushing the button to close the mini van door I see Ryan in the way back holding her arm up admiring a shiny bracelet. A bracelet that I had told her "not today" when she wanted to add it on to our purchase. She had stolen it. My five year old was a shoplifter. As I punched the button to reverse the mini van door Polly decided to start crying. Go figure, she must have known what was coming too, I asked Ryan where she had gotten the bracelet and her first response was that she didn't know, then it switched to "I found it on the street". And finally when I told her that I knew she had taken it from the store she told me that it had "fallen into my pocket". Ryan did not have any pockets on. To spare the painful details from this point forward- we ALL went back in and returned the stolen item. Ryan begged me to discreetly put it back by pretending that I worked there. I did not go for her plan. The bracelet was returned, apologies given and hopefully Ryan learned a very big lesson. I definitely learned mine. AVOID OLD NAVY WITH SMALL CHILDREN! See below.
A flash back to April 2011. Another traumatic outing at Old Navy. I think I need to shop their alone! Here is the blog post I did then.
Ryan got her first public "spanking". (It was really just a hand swat.) She has gotten a few at home, but this was the first in public. I know it sounds sad, but it had to happen. Here is how it all went down.
I was home with the girls last Thursday while Chris was at work. I knew we needed to get out and run a few errands, but I decided to wait until after naps. I did chores and worked out while the girls slept, and finally when Ryan awoke from her 3 hour nap, we loaded up and headed out. Ryan was in a great mood. She was excited that we were going shopping for her cousin Eliana's birthday present. I only had one other stop for us to make. I wanted to swing by Old Navy (which is next door to Michaels where we were shopping for Eli) and buy myself a pair of shorts and Ryan a pair of shoes. Two quick stops. No big deal. As long as I had my FOUR wheeled double stroller there would be no problem. The Michaels stop was a piece of cake. Emma slept and Ryan stayed strapped in the stroller and helped me pick out a gift. One stop down, one to go. Since Old Navy was next door I didn't even have to unload and reload the kids, we could just walk over.
At Old Navy my luck started to run out. Ryan started fussing and squirming in the stroller. She was ready for a break. Emma was still fast asleep. So, I hurried and grabbed a few different items and rushed to the dressing room. Unfortunately, the giant double stroller would not fit in the dressing room. So, I went to the back room and tried on clothes with the door open so I could see the girls. Ryan really started to become impatient so I made the fatal mistake and took her out of the stroller. The stroller is so big that I was able to contain her in the back by blocking the hallway with the stroller. She started having fun playing with hangers and trying to open and close the doors. I relaxed and finished trying on the clothes. I found a few things I liked and was ready to go find a few tank tops and flip flops for Ryan. I needed to get Ry back in the stroller so I could get us all out of the dressing room. There was no way that I could push the stroller and chase her. She had to get back in the stroller. She did not like this one bit. She lost it. As I tried to pick her up and strap her in she launched into a full fledged tantrum. Screaming, kicking, hitting, back arching, tears and snot flinging tantrum. Getting her strapped in was not easy, and it only made her more mad. So mad that she actually threw bunny! And paci! I realized at that point that I was not going to get to look at tank tops and that Ryan was not getting flip flops. It was time to go. I had found a few things I wanted to buy so I decided to attempt to check out. I kept thinking that she would calm down. Nope. She was a sweaty, snotty, screaming mess waiting in line to check out. People were looking at me like I was crazy as I stood there and watched her lose it. There was nothing I could do to make her stop. I was just waiting for the stroller restraints to break. She is strong and she was mad! One lady in line in front of me actually said "poor baby, she looks so tired." I suddenly felt like people thought I was dragging this poor baby all over town shopping for myself instead of letting her nap. Little did they know she had just gotten up from a solid 3 hour nap. She wasn't tired. She was mad. Extremely mad. And I NEVER go shopping for myself! We checked out and made it to the car. I was also a sweaty mess at this point. I was dreading the next part. I was going to have to unleash the beast only to try to strap her down again in the car seat. I got a glance at poor Emma as I got her situated in the car first. Even though it was time for her to eat she sat quietly in her car seat. Thank goodness for that!
I took a deep breath and started unstrapping my other screaming child. She began squirming and flailing her arms around. That is when my glasses got knocked off and when Ryan got her hand slapped. I know it didn't hurt her, it just shocked her. And made her more mad. By the time we got home all three of us were in tears. Ryan mad, Emma hungry and me totally defeated.
Like I said earlier, it's a good thing she is so cute. We were snuggled up watching Mickey Mouse 10 minutes later. I sure do love that hard headed little girl. Two is only three months away. Let the head bumping begin!
Like I said earlier, it's a good thing she is so cute. We were snuggled up watching Mickey Mouse 10 minutes later. I sure do love that hard headed little girl. Two is only three months away. Let the head bumping begin!
