Church Bingo

I really like going to church with my husband because we get to hear a great message and it's like free baby-sitting for an hour! Seriously, it is a nice little break except for one thing. The electronic signs on the wall that light up with numbers every so often. I'm referring to the parent notification system. When we drop our kids off at Sunday School before the service, they give us a number that we keep with us and if there's a problem, the number shows up on that digital sign I mentioned.

The first time I took them both, I was a nervous wreck and could barely focus on anything but that board. I started wondering which number was for which girl and what if I went to the wrong section and had to run to the other room to find my girls and console the one crying? Deep breaths and constant reminders that it would be ok helped a little as I tried to listen to my pastor's message. Numbers started to appear on the sign like a bingo game and I wondered if I would be next? That was a rough hour for me even though our numbers never did light up.

The next time we went it was so much better. Scott and I dropped the girls off quickly and without a lot of fuss and set off with our numbers in hand. I sat down next to him and reminded myself to enjoy this time. We had a great hour and I only periodically thought about the sign. It's like systematic desensitization for me. I guess the more you do it, the easier it gets. Same thing with kids club at the gym! Sometimes we just need that hour of personal time and have to learn to unplug from the constant management mode. Scott and I laugh now when the numbers light up and we both look at each other and say "bingo"!

What is that smell in my car?

Yesterday we went shopping at Trader Joe's. Zoe lasted for about two minutes in the cart before protesting loudly in the food sample section and throwing her miniature pizza slice to the floor. I managed to pacify her briefly by holding her with my right arm on the hip and pushing London in the cart with my left hand and foot. Steering around corners was tricky. We checked out and just when I got Zoe buckled into the car, I realized I forgot to grind the coffee beans. Oh crap!

We all went back in and got the job done, then back to the car. London informed me she had to go potty so I buckled Zoe in a second time and then pulled out the portable potty and a plastic grocery bag to line it with. We set up shop in the bushes in front of my car and she began playing with bark while I urged her on and reminded her every two seconds that we had to hurry because the sherbet was melting in the car. I ran back and forth between re-assuring Zoe that she was fine and asking if London had pooped yet, to which she responded, "no, but it's coming". Five minutes went by and then we got our results. I closed up the bag, loaded my three year old in the car and then realized there was no trash can near us.

I put the bag of poop in my car and rolled all the windows down to offset the smell. London kept asking to roll the windows up and I kept telling her we couldn't because of the poop bag. Ick. It smelled all the way home and then we dumped it in our garbage can outside. I feel sorry for our trash collectors!