Bounce!

Warning: this isn’t my happiest post ever, but sometimes, with three very small children, things don’t go according to plan.  This is one of those posts where I tell it like it is ~ life with littles is crazy, unpredictable, and not always full of smiles and giggles.  On the bright side, it does end happily…

We always try to do some sort of fun activity when Daddy’s home at Christmas time.  This year, we ran a few errands, went out for lunch, and spent an afternoon at the inflatable play place.

This should have been fun, but our children weren’t exactly cooperative at the restaurant.  It’s funny, most of the time, our children are pretty good in restaurants.  The experiences, while not as boring as going out with just grown-ups, are pretty decent.  Usually, we get complements from the people around us about the good behavior of our little ones.

Once in a while, though, we have a day where we wonder why we bring our children to restaurants.  Today was definitely one of those days! Alex didn’t want to eat.  The restaurant had no changing table.  (Seriously! I even asked an employee!)   Max SCREAMED because his kids’ meal (at Chipotle) was too spicy.  I’ve NEVER seen so much food end up on the floor under a restaurant table…and I felt so bad about it that I crawled around with napkins to clean it up before we left!  Next time, we’ll head to Chick-Fil-A and save the Chipotle for a time when we’re out without kiddos! :)

I figured that, at least, the inflatables place would be better.  For the most part, it was.  We had a mishap with Jensyn getting hurt by a 19 year old who was FAR TOO BIG to be playing in a bounce house.  She was IN MY ARMS standing on the floor outside of the mesh, and we were watching Alex & Max inside.  There was about 6 inches between her face & the mesh.  This 19 year old was very wildly wrestling with a 13 year old, lost his balance, and SLAMMED against the mesh and into Jensyn’s face hard enough that I fell backward. My poor baby girl SCREAMED before holding her breath for what seemed like forever.  I was so afraid she’d have a bloody face or a broken nose, and I was very thankful to see that she didn’t.  She ended up being okay, other than having a small bruise on her forehead and a very red nose and upper lip.  Still, I was pretty shook up about the situation.  He was very apologetic, and so was his aunt…who came over when she saw me talking with her nephew.  We had a polite conversation, and I didn’t get angry…but I’m still a little annoyed.  Long story short, this boy was developmentally delayed.  I can understand that, but then you should be WATCHING HIM if he’s in your care.  He may have the mind of a 12 year old, but with the body of a 19 year old, he could really hurt the little ones in there!  (I’m sure some of you might have opinions on that, and you might not agree with me…and that’s okay.  As long as you’re polite, feel free to comment on that.  I am sympathetic to their situation; I just think she shouldn’t have been halfway across the building from him when he’s in a bounce house filled with toddlers and preschoolers!)

So, once we got past that incident, we had a VERY GOOD TIME!  (Phew!  We needed it by that point!)  That place is loads of fun for little ones, and they even have a toddler play area for teeny ones!  It’s close to home, loads of fun, and really not all that pricy.  I *LOVE* this place.  Once Jensyn is a little bigger, I’m sure we’ll be here often!  My boys are all smiles when you set them free in this place!

Keith even snuck the camera from the diaper bag and got a few pictures to prove that this family really does have a mama! ;)

If you’re wondering about the oversized t-shirts on our boys, these shirts benefit our friends as they go through the process of adopting their little boy from Africa!  We are SO excited for Jack, Angie, and family as they raise funds to bring Judah home!  You’ll be hearing more about that from me in a few weeks, but for now, feel free to check out their blog at www.adoptingjudah.com.  They are an AMAZING family, really striving to serve and glorify God, and we’re so thrilled to follow their adoption journey and help in any way we can!