Amy was gone Friday and Saturday for stake youth conference and I had the girls all on my own. With Mothers Day this weekend, it was a good opportunity for me to see how much Amy does on a daily basis. Friday evening and night were no problem. However Saturday morning when the girls woke up, the fun started. Both girls were hungry and Elle wanted to go to the Bagel Shack. I thought, "no problem"! I got the girls dressed and when I got to the Bagel Shack it was packed. No parking spots and it was crazy inside. Trying to park, get the kids out, get the stroller for Gwen and navigate the traffic was a bit much. Once inside I was trying to get into the huge line but with the stroller and Elle grabbing Bagels we ended up getting cut in front of 10 times. I'm sure it was very funny for the people to watch. Gwen decided to have a complete meltdown in the stroller. One word. ArchBack!! This continued as I tried to get Elle to hurry and finish her bagel. I felt much better once we were back in the car belted up and driving out of the parking lot. For the past few days I had been looking for a camera lens that Amy wanted for her mothers day gift. Of course it was sold out everywhere. I tried 30 stores. Friday night I found a store that had it but it was in Santa Ana. I decided to drive there after the bagel shack. When we got there the store seemed unusually busy and then I noticed their "no tax" sale for the weekend. A professional camera store, tons of people and me with the kids... not a good combo. It took Gwen 2 minutes before having another complete meltdown. As I tried to get someone to help me I finally gave-in to Gwen and let her down and told Elle to watch her. We were surrounded by lots of breakable items! Once I finally got someone to help me, I was told that they were sold out of the lens I wanted. At that same time I heard things flying off the shelves behind me and realized it was because of Gwen. I almost lost it. I told the guy I had called and that they told me they had the lens in and that I had to load the kids up and drive from San Clemente!! I grabbed Gwen who was continuing to pull things off the racks and told Elle to follow me. I had asked her to pick up some of the items Gwen had pulled off the shelves and Elle thought I asked her to bring them with her. As I walked out of the store I turned around to see where Elle was. She was now in the custody of the security guard who now thought we were some kind of shoplifting team. I got back into the car and started to pull out when Elle says, "Dad, Gwen is stinky". I knew what had happened... I just didn't know how bad. I pulled over and as I pulled Gwen out to change her, we had it everywhere. A total blow out!!! It was all over the car seat, her clothes and body. It took me a good 30 minutes to get it cleaned up. I decided at that point the best chance for survival would be to retreat back to the house. Gwen didn't sleep long at home for her nap because she had fallen asleep in the car on our way home. The rest of the day consisted of lots of sippy cups, snacks, a fun trip to the park, another blow out from Gwen who managed to get her diaper off in the crib and to finish the day off I found Gwen standing up on the kitchen table ripping our mail up. Right about then is when I realized that this is what Amy deals with everyday. This is one of the many reasons why I love her and why the girls love their mommy so much. The girls were so excited to see their mom when she walked in. Gwen especially...she ran with open arms and a big grin straight into Amy's arms. Elle mentioned to me that, "mom is much better at this" several times, which I will have to agree with. Happy Mothers Day! Thank you for working so hard and for being the Best Mom for our girls. I love you.love,
Jon
