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The other day we made our typical trip to Target. Brayden was only so-so about going; I think he would have rathered go straight home from school than go shopping. But I needed to grab diapers (and also stroll the home decorating section), so I bucked the toddler tantrum and we went anyways. At the beginning of our excursion Brayden threw his cup out of the buggy. When I asked him why he did that he responded with "I don't want it anymore." I firmly told him that we do not throw our drink when we don't need it anymore. A few minutes later he asked for his cup again, so I reminded him that we do not throw the cup and that if he did throw the cup that there would be consequences. At the time we were on the outdoor decorations aisle. This aisle runs parallel with the mirrors and frames aisle. You know, all of the glass stuff. Anyways, I handed B the cup and immediately upon his gaining possession of said cup, he smiled at me (that mischievous "I'm about to piss you off" smile), reared his arm back, and literally quarterback hail mary'ed it OVER the aisle to the mirror/frame aisle. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a few beats as I waited for the cup to land. In the .2 seconds that the cup was in the air my mind was adding up all of the things I was about to have to pay for and never get to enjoy. The things that I want to fill my home but would fill my garbage pails and empty my wallet instead. Thankfully the thud sounded without accompanying breaking or cracking, which meant that it was a clean throw. I quickly ran over to the other aisle (yes, I left the boys in the buggy in the outdoor decorating section while I ran for the cup). When I got back to the buggy, I put the fear of God in Brayden and we left the store with a fury (I wasn't about to take a chance of another throw actually making contact with Target's merchandise and us owing the store an arm and a leg).
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The day after our Target incident we ran to Walmart for a few things. I should have known that my days of bringing both boys into stores without something happening is behind me. Brayden had been trying me the entire trip: fussing about not being able to touch things, wanting to buy things, wanting to walk, wanting to ride, etc. In a trip that would take me about 15 minutes by myself, it took me over 40 minutes. So, we were at the cash register finishing up our 40 minute 15 minute grocery store trip. It's at this point that I'd like to pause in my story and say that whoever is the buyer/replinisher of the checkout merchandise at mass merchants is my nemesis. Brayden always wants EVERYTHING, it's just a battle that I dread every trip we take. This trip was no exception, so I spent much of the checking out process loading the stuff I was buying on the belt and trying to careen Brayden back to the cart. Needless to say, I was failing miserably. Just as I had swiped my card at the register, I saw Brayden grab a lollipop. I told him no, and he got mad. And he threw the lollipop on the floor. It broke and so there I was, almost checked out but now owing Walmart 52 cents for a broken lollipop. I put Brayden in the back of the cart (which then made him wail as if I was kidnapping him, thus all eyes in the store are on me) to contain him, finished up our first transaction and scrounged up a few coins to pay for the now useless sucker. The lady behind me in line must have felt bad for me, because she kept insisting that she would just pick up the tab. I left furious again, and Brayden has now been sequestered to the back of the cart until he's 15 years old.
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I let the boys play in the backyard by themselves often now that we have moved. I still keep a very close eye on them through the kitchen, and if needed I can go outside to check on them too. It helps when I am trying to get things done in the kitchen/living room and they want to play outside (which is pretty much all the time now that spring weather has made its arrival). Something must have been in the air on this particular day because Brayden had been a wild man most of the day, super hyper and full of energy. Thankfully the weather was being cooperative so I threw the boys outside. I had been boiling chicken and was messing with it for about 2 minutes. The boys had gone around to the side of the house so I went outside to check on them. Brayden wasn't there so I started calling his name. No response. My heart started racing because Drew and I had just talked about how we needed to reinforce the locks on the gates so B couldn't get out without us knowing... my fear was that B was one step ahead of us. I ran out to the front and started calling his name. Still no response. So I ran to the other side of the yard (remember, it's a BIG yard)... no sign of Brayden. At this point I was FREAKING. I ran back out to the front of the house and noticed movement in our CRV. I had left the car unlocked and he had gotten into the car, and was trying to disengage the transmission to "drive" it. PERFECT. We had a little chat about how it was NOT ok to leave the yard without mommy or daddy. I think he understood the seriousness of the situation because he started crying as I was explaining why it was not a good thing to do. I felt bad for making him cry, and reminded him that I loved him and that's why we had the rules we did. And then Drew came home and installed secondary latches to the gates so I would never again lose my lunch thinking my 3 year old had run away from home.
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Never a dull moment around these parts. Never a dull moment.
