Day 194

It's always nice to go on mini vacations, but the repercussions of getting out of routine are not so nice. Almost always we deal with meltdowns a couple days after we're away from home. Today was no exception. There was nonstop whining this morning, so I thought a trip to the park would be a nice distraction. It was. Until we were nearing home. We always let the girls walk once we're on Parkview and Claire knows that. So she immediately climbed out of the stroller and wanted to push it. Claire can't push the stroller with Ella in it, but Ella didn't want to get out. We were at a stand still. Shrieking girls. Tears and runny noses. Fun stuff. So, the rest of our trip home consisted of alternating carrying Claire and pushing the stroller with one hand while Claire kicked and screamed with trying to steer the stroller WHILE Claire also steered and at the same time holding Ella's hand while she cried and walked along side me. I could see the neighbors peeking out windows to see what the ruckus was all about. By the time we walked in the door, both girls were screaming and I was dripping with sweat. I was tempted to put them in their beds and just deal with lunch later. Thankfully, the quieted long enough to eat something before the whining began again. I was extremely thankful when they both fell asleep. Too bad it was a short nap though. Whining resumed once Claire woke up. We had another reprieve when we packed up and met Papa and Granny and McDonald's for supper. Something magical was in those nuggets, because from then on they were finally happy kids. Happy enough that I opted to take Ella to Smith Park tonight to do her 4 year pictures. Not too bad, considering how the majority of our day was.