So in theory, I like to keep our Saturdays somewhat low key. If I were only considering myself, my natural tendency would be to commit to at least three events and then collapse. However, since Aogu and the kids can't keep up with that pace (though Koji would like to think he can...it's always, "mama, where are we going next?!" and if the answer is "home" then I inevitably get a huge groan), we usually try to have one event, or maybe at the most, two.
Guess that makes today a big oops, though I personally don't regret any of the things we did or want to take them back. First I went out to breakfast with two lovely friends, which was such a great time that it made me wish we could do that every Saturday. We went to the The Bagel Restaurant at Old Orchard. I haven't been there in quite awhile and never for breakfast, but I learned a couple of things: first, this isn't going to be a good place to take my Dad the next time he's in town. All the breakfast "combos" they offer come with bagels, not pancakes, and that wouldn't fly. Also, if/when I ever go there for breakfast and want an omelette, I must split it with someone. I feel reasonably confident that my eggs and Nova Lox had minimum SIX, yes, half a dozen, eggs in it. Yikes! The 1/5th of it I was able to eat was quite tasty though....
Next, our husbands came round to the mall with the kids and we went to watch The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I really like going to the movies but it's very difficult to make it a regular occurence. So I was pleased to be at the theatre today for the third time in about five weeks! And at the end of the movie, I had the same feeling I did after the last two movies I watched: "maybe that wasn't the best movie ever, but I still had a great time just because I actually watched it out here at the theatre!". The kids seemed to like it, although I know that most of it went over their heads. And one of Koji's little friends was unsure about some of the "scary" parts, but she made it through. Koji's favorite part was the the Rock Monster music video at the end. Izumi can sit through a movie pretty well if we have a good supply of snacks and drinks (a big thanks to our popcorn/lemonade supplier for today, the "Galley Chief"!) and if there's enough space around for her to go for a little stroll without bothering anyone. And Koji really likes "that big screen," so I kind of wish that more little kid-friendly movies were available!
Aogu realized that he needed a haircut before we take off for Tokyo next Friday, so we all trekked down to that Supercuts in Lakeview that he's been loyally patronizing for 10, 12, ?? years. Alma is the only person in the world who can cut his hair exactly right, so if she ever gets ambitious and decides to leave Supercuts, we'll have to follow her, I guess! A DVD kept Koji busy in the car (all "screen time" rules were completely out the window today) so that Izumi and I could take a nap while we were waiting for Aogu's transformation.
He came back looking very neat and clean, and we decided to hit Costco for some lunch. I wonder if that Costco in Lincoln Park is one of the busiest in the nation, seriously? We were tempted to leave but we stuck it out: where else were going to get a hot dog, a smoothie, a piece of pizza, a chicken bake and a churro for less than 10 bucks?! By the time we took a tour around the place just in case we might "need" anything and came home, it was almost time for dinner.
It was still a little too early though, so we came down to the basement to sharpen some Wii skills (see "screen time rules scrapped" reference above). Apparently Koji's huge hot dog and smoothie had already been expended, because out of the blue he said (remember to imagine his loud voice while you read this), "Mama, can you bring some snacks to down here? Because I'm SNACK-HUNGRY!". Aogu and I cracked up, and I totally knew what Koji was really trying to say, which was that he probably wouldn't be that into dinner if I made it, but if I brought down some chips and granola bars and cookies and clementine oranges (mikan to us) then he would show us just how snack-hungry he could be.
Nevertheless, I did make dinner, we did eat it, the kids did get a bath and go to bed and now Aogu is sacked out on the "rug" we picked up at Costco, which looks like it will really be his new nap mat.
Phew!! There you go, a day in the life...but thankfully, not quite an ordinary day. If every day was like this it might be too much even for me!
No comments:
Post a Comment