Lookin' Good!

Sometimes you have days with your kids where you wonder whose children they could possibly be, as there's no way you birthed such monsters. Those are the days where you can say that the sky is blue, and they'd argue until blue in the face that it was orange. The days where you can smile at them and they'll fall to the floor in a full scale tantrum. You really don't want to go out in public those days, as you just know that people will judge you.

But sometimes, you're lucky. Sometimes your children are angels and you again don't know where these foreign beings came from, but you'll accept it. And those are the days you're happy to spend in public places.

This morning, the whole family went out to breakfast at a patisserie near us. Everyone was able to choose a couple of small items for breakfast, and the wee ones each chose a juice (as there was no chocolate milk available for Mister Man).

We sat down outside, and no one grabbed at the plate of goodies prior to being served by me. That, in itself, was a miracle considering it was around 9:30 before the first morsel of food was presented to them.

Mister Man had a croissant and a chocolate almond pastry. Little Miss had a croissant and a tiny cinnamon roll. I hate a carrot zucchini muffin. My husband had a blueberry muffin, a cranberry muffin, and a blueberry pastry.

The blueberry pastry was supposed to be for me. Not because I chose is but because everyone else had two items and our gift certificate was for $20 and we needed another item to make it $20. While I was helping the wee ones choose their juice, he decided to get me a blueberry pastry. Unfortunately, I like raw blueberries but not cooked ones. And I don't like pastries in general, as they're too chewy and buttery for my tastes.

My husband asked Little Miss if she'd trade her cinnamon roll for a blueberry muffin. And she graciously did.

Then, Little Miss asked Mister Man if she could please try his chocolate pastry. He quickly handed it to her for a taste. He just as politely asked if he could try her grape juice. And the sharing continued back and forth. If only I had video of it!

Once we finished breakfast, we headed to a nearby town for their Lions parade, which is a fun one to see - tons of Shriners and other interesting floats. They also throw out tons of candy, which seems to be requisite for any parade now.

Little Miss was having a blast collecting candy. Then she'd run to the family sitting to our right and hand over the majority of the candy she collected. She'd run back to me and ask me "Am I being kind?" Of course, I'd have to agree that she was being very kind.

She was having more fun giving candy to the family next to us than she was collecting it for herself. She has yet to ask to eat a single piece of the candy she collected, actually. And the adults with the group next to us kept commenting on how good of a sharer she was. And how sweet. And adorable. I had to agree with that, too.

The surprise of this -- to me -- is that she was sharing the good candy. She put all the candy she didn't like (peppermints, primarily) into one bag. She never gave them a single piece of the "bad" candy. We had a second bag for the yummy candy, and she patiently sorted each piece into the proper bag. And the candy she shared with the kids next to us? Generally lollipops and Tootsie Rolls, her two favorite kinds of candy.

Altogether now, awwwwwwwwwww.

You might be asking why Mister Man wasn't also helping to share, since he apparently was quite the sharer at breakfast.

Well.

Right as we were getting situated for the parade (meaning putting down the blanket and setting out the wee ones' chairs), my husband got a call from a friend of his. The friend had tickets to the Sox game today that he couldn't use and wanted to know if my husband was interested in them. Oh yeah, and it was youth jersey day.

While my husband was listening to the voicemail and doing the "Aw, man!" reaction that you'd expect from someone who couldn't go, I suggested he go. And take Mister Man. While it was 11:15 and the game started at 1:05, it could be fun. And Mister Man hasn't been to a baseball game since he was a baby. He has the attention span for it, and it would be a nice treat for him. I talked my husband into it.

Did I mention that we drove to this parade? And that the town is about 15 minutes from our house? And that we drove in one car? The car my husband would need to get the tickets and to the game?

Yeah....

Lucky for me, when I called my parents (after my husband was on his way), they were just out walking the dog. I did have a brief moment of panic when I called the home phone and no one answered. Had I not been able to get ahold of them, I would have been reduced to calling neighbors and begging a ride home, but one way or another, we could have done it, right?

So as we speak, Mister Man is probably sound asleep in the car on the way back from the game, while Little Miss naps upstairs. Here's hoping when they wake up from their naps that the inner demons don't wake up with them!

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And speaking of sharing, the SITS girls have a second blog called Saucy Eats. Much like the red digital camera they're giving away this week for the fifth week of summer giveaway, they also have a giveaway on the recipe site. Go check out the talented featured chefs at Saucy Eats. And enter to win a $50 Williams Sonoma gift card while you're at it. My favorite so far is the hot garlic artichoke dip from Steph's Cafe. YUM! I know where I'm headed if I need inspiration.

And don't forget to enter my pay it forward contest if you haven't yet. The pictures are what I won from the previous contest. I haven't yet decided on what my prize will be, but I promise to do my best to make it worth your while! You have until Wednesday to enter.