3 Year Old Mantra

Is it really and truly almost Friday?!  Did I not wake up each morning thinking "it's Friday!" only to realize it was Tuesday.  One of the hardest years of the academic years is typically midterm week/end of the quarter week.  I've been a grading machine at night trying to cut down on what will be relegated to being graded over the break.

Bill also has been driving my car to work and the kids to school for the last two days as he's been on a last minute decision to do a bunch of work to his car pre taking the boys to Atlanta.  I've been graciously riding with a coworker, kind enough to stop and pick me up mega early.  She likes to be at her desk working by 6:30am to get in a bit of time before the buses arrive.  Needless to say, I VERY glad tomorrow is finally Friday and by end of school day, the start to a hard fought spring break begins.

I digress, to tell you that I should have know this week was going to be nuts when on Sunday we checked out the new Target near our house.  I've never, ever been in a Target where there are employees standing around the entrance whose sole purpose was to give our stickers to the kids.  Granted I'm sure it beats mixing the Slush Puppy dispenser or once again cleaning out a dressing room of some tween girl and 900 swimsuits discarded.  One very lucky new Target employee got the extra special effort award for helping out the Vinson clan.

Ian is the typical 2nd child in that he wears almost exclusively hand me downs (many that were also hand me downs.)  He doesn't care, as coming home with bark in his hair is some type of "good day" badge of honor.  BUT, he has been asking, ok begging for a pair of light up shoes.  His normal shoes are so worn out that he kicked the soccer ball at practice and the shoelace broke and the shoe hit the back wall.  I told the boys on Sunday that after church that we would hit up the new Target for C9 athletic shorts (also on sale) plus some shoes (on a BOGO sale)  We are leisurely looking through the shoes when Ian starts picking up every pair of light up shoes, bringing them to me and telling me that he didn't want his old shoes, he wanted lights.

As he has no concept of a shoe size or that there is a difference between adult and children's he began opening every box telling me that these were good shoes, and these were bad. When I finally corral him to try on shoes we settle on a pair that fit and shoe last into summer.  Thinking we were about to leave I go to gather the boys up only to find that Ian has wandered to the next aisle over and is running away into main thoroughfare of the store.  Ben and I go after him, and bring him back explaining that he cannot take off.  As we leave the department I realize he is in his socks.  When I ask him where his shoes are, he points to the aisle of boxes, all closed and beckoning me to come look through them in search of his shoes.

Honestly, for a few seconds I thought just how bad would it be to leave the old shoes behind.  I mean they were just old, not covered in mud or dog poop.  But, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a box filled with some kid's old shoes so we kept looking.  The Target Extra Effort Award goes to the very nice older Target employee who helped us finally after about 20 minutes of looking through every box before finding them.

My guess is that Ian thought he was going to wear the new shoes out of the store as he pitched a fit when I made him put on his old shoes on to leave.  And leave, we did.

On the way home Ian told me that he, "was going to be a little bit good today, and a little bit bad today."

My answer, "well, you've had your chance to be bad, so you are all out of time to be bad, only time to be good!"