Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day at the Park (or, "The Best Day EVER")








The Best Day Ever....or, not. You be the judge. First of all, we met up with the Shumways at Jason's Deli before the game. Kate forgets that she's potty-trained and wets her pants...yes, she's five and no, she's never had an accident before. Of course, we don't have a change of underwear or clothes for her. We start to drive up to the Rangers field in Arlington and I decide that baby Lauren is definitely going to need a sun-hat because I can see the sun and the temperature climbing. I ask Brian to stop at the mall so I can run in and grab something. We happen to stop by the WORST mall ever (Grapevine Mills) and I attempt to rummage through the disorganization to find a hat and if I'm lucky, a change of clothes for Kate. 40 minutes later I finally found something that would work...thats how disorganized everything in the stores were. Plus, it might have been a busy shopping day (hello!) so I waited in a long line for a portion of that time. We hit the road again and get lost on the way to the game....I have a husband who NEVER gets lost...he could find his way home in a tornado. But, we're lost...another 40 minutes gone.

By the time we got to the field, its the 6th inning and people are starting to leave since the Yankees are killing us 8-0!! We find a parking spot and walk the mile to the ball field. We get there and realize our seats are in the shade...no sun-hat needed! It is 95 degrees outside and extremely humid though so we are all sweating our body weights....no kidding. Kate is screaming for water and Lauren is hungry and scared every time the announcers come on...oh, every 5 seconds. By this time, its the 8th inning and we're down 10-0. I leave to find a place to nurse Lauren- preferably somewhere private since I'm not putting a nursing shawl over my sweaty, hot self. I find someone who is helpful enough to get me a chair, which I take to the ladies' bathroom in a handicapped stall and I commence nursing. Hot, sweaty mom and baby...no A/C in a bathroom at the Rangers Stadium. You can imagine...I wanted to cry at this point. But, it gets better. As I was finishing up, the person next to me FLOODS their toilet. The smell, oh, the smell. I lift my feet up and balance them against the door so I'm not soaking myself in a stranger's excrement and continue to nurse. Why tears didn't flow at this point, I don't know...maybe its because I had sweated any extra moisture out already . Or, because it just became funny at this point. Who knows. I finish up, peel myself out of there and jump over the puddle to safety. I sit down at a picnic table in the shade and then 2 minutes later the game ends. People are shuffling out so I'm not heading back to my seat against the flow of traffic. The shortest game in MLB history, of course.

Brian leaves us at the entrance of the park to get the car so we don't have to sweat it out on the walk back only to discover that the roads are all blocked off and he has to park even further away to walk back to us and let us know we're walking after all. While he's away, Kate decides she needs to use the restroom. We try to get back in the park and are told we cannot come back in, so we have to have an escort take us to the bathroom, for security reasons. Kate finishes, I lift her up to wash her hands and she's screaming, "Mom, you're hurting me" because her thigh is against the counter. She then has a meltdown in front of our escort and everyone else left at the park while yelling, "Mom, you hurt me, you scratched me, that really hurt" etc. etc. I march all three of the kids back outside. Luckily, Brian hitches a ride on a valet's golf cart, picks us up, and we get a free ride back to our car (best part of the day).

Head home. Its now 4:45 (started the day at 11:30 AM) and we're just chatting in the car and lo and behold, we get lost again! What should have taken us 45 minutes to get home takes us 1 1/2 hours. We finally get home at 6 PM and let me tell you, home never looked so good.

17 comments:

jayna said...

Wowser. Glad you lived to tell the tale!

And your sweetie pie baby in the previous post is still so little! Love that nursing shot- you are such a lovely mother!

Jessica said...

i'm so sorry that this happened to you - and i'm so sorry for laughing:)

Heidi said...

Oh, so sad, Rach!! For whatever it's worth, you still look divine in your photos--- I never would've known what a crappy day you had if I hadn't read the post!! Enjoy your A/C today!!

Rebecca said...

that sounds horrible. esp the bathroom scene. i feel your pain. i don't know if I could have held back tears. i hate those days when everything just seems to go wrong.

Amanda said...

Wow, that WAS the best day ever! I can't believe all of that happened. The toilet overflowing while you were nursing...are you kidding, that is gross. We went to a Braves game and I had to nurse Jonah - there is seriously no place to nurse at a baseball game. I had to stand up in the handicap bathroom and do it.
At least the pictures look awesome!!

Jessica said...

ok - i'm sorry for laughing, but the nursing in the bathroom while someone floods the toilet next to you is classic. hope you have a better day today

Jake and Emily Hutchings Family said...

that sounds hilarious! i was gonna say, before i read your post, that those pics were pretty, but it looked hot!

Joyner Family said...

That is really nuts! Poor you guys! I agree that Grapevine Mills mall is the worst mall. No organization whatsoever. I am glad you all made it home in one piece. It will be a day you never forget. Ah, the adventures with little ones. Its a lot of work to make memories and get good pictures.

The Allred Family said...

Wow, that sounds like an Allred kind of day. We have those a lot. Sounds crazy. The worst part was in the the bathroom with the toilet flooding. That's disgusting!!!!!!!! On the upside, the pics are cute and you look really skinny. Have you lost weight? BTW, on the weight conversation....you said I looked skinny on my blog. i actually have lost weight in my pregnancy. I don't know why. I wanted to tell you something else too about weight and babies. Katie only gained 16 lbs. with annie, her third. And she had lost it all by week 4. Skinny you know what.

Joyner Family said...

That is awesome!

And think...if all that didn't happen you wouldn't have all the memories...

-This is actually Anthony, I think Natalie left the window open on the computer and I started to read...lol.

Gary Church said...

Someone should pay Brian for those pictures of the stadium ... they're the coolest stadium pics I've ever seen!!

Your experience sounds terrible. Glad it wasn't me. lol.

Clyde said...

I'm so so sorry! Happening to you and not me, it make the whole ordeal very funny - but memorable, indeed.

Summer is just around the corner... I'll be crossing my fingers that none of these happen to us during our family outings. Wish us luck. :)

Lindsey said...

HA. I knew there was a reason I dislike baseball so much. Great pics, though. If you were so sweaty and miserable, how did you manage to look so flawless?

I didn't exactly forget Owen's bday. I just can't even explain how busy I have been this past week. I just never got around to it, and I figured if nobody but the neighborhood boys showed up, he would still be happy. I'm just not feeling like my put-together, organized self these days! And what does any of that have to do with more kids?! I am just fine, thank you!

The Nixon Family said...

so sorry. sorry that you almost got crapped on by the lady next to you. nast. it made for a great story though.

Jessica Sedgwick said...

THat was so fun to read. :) Laughing hard.

Rainie said...

aaah, that is the worst day. I'll agree with you. I'm so sorry. It was entertaining to read about.

Emily B. said...

I'm sorry that I got such a kick out of reading about your horrible Best Day Ever!