Like all moms who work outside the home, I suffer from the guilt of being away from the family. I work three out of four Saturdays a month, sometimes work nights, and have a long(ish) commute, depending on the time of day I am driving. I miss the time with Biggest and Littlest. I would add Hubby in there but he stays up past 7:00 pm most nights, so we can usually connect. Since I have been sick for the past couple of weeks, I thought it would be important on my weekend off from work to spend some quality time with the kidlets. Poor things have been stuck with Hubby (maybe I should reverse that?!) while I have been hiding in my bedroom under the covers, trying to avoid breathing the plague on my loving family.
Yesterday may have been a bit of a flop at quality time, but I still managed to get the kids out for some errands with me. Now to most adults, going to Trader Joe’s and Target may not seem like the most exciting morning but to a 4 and 5 year old, it is pretty darn sweet, especially when Mom caves in and buys Lunchables to eat for lunch. In my defense, I was still feeling like crap and didn’t want to cook. They had a healthy dinner though. Of course, it was cooked by Hubby….
So today, I had a plan. Earlier in the week, Cuz (the cousin who works at Sephora, I may have mentioned her a time or two?!) and I agreed to get Biggest and Littlest together with her son, who I shall affectionately refer to as A-Man. We had a plan. We were going to go bowling with the kids, to burn energy and have some fun. When this morning came around, we had formed an even better plan, we were going for bowling and burgers at The Nook. For those who aren’t local, The Nook is one of the best places in town for a burger and fries, especially if you are a Juicy Lucy fan like myself. What adds to the excitement is that The Nook has a small bowling alley in the basement.
So at 11:30 this morning, me, Biggest, Littlest, Cuz and A-Man met up in the basement of The Nook. We had great timing, since the place was just starting to fill up with families. We hurriedly ordered our burgers and fries to nosh on so we could get out on the lanes before they were full. Thankfully, Cuz had the forethought to put our names on the list. I have never seen three kids eat so well or so fast. It is like they knew they were on a mission. Or it could be the burgers are really that good. 
Do you know what it is like to watch a 4 year old try to push a six pound bowling ball down the lane? It is like watching paint dry. Slow and painful. Just sayin’. I love my kids but they are not coordinated bowlers. God forbid, Cuz or I should try to help them speed the ball down the alley. It is better for them to do it themselves and watch the ball roll back and forth between the bumpers like a bad pinball game moving at a glacial pace. Actually, at one point the ball got stuck hallway down the alley and we had to have someone come roll it the rest of the way for us. Yup. That happened. And this all repeated for the 10 frames we played. 
But that was not the worst thing. You know what is the worst? When you are beaten at bowling, with bumpers, by two five year olds and another adult. Yup. That happened too. I lost to everyone but Littlest. I am not a good bowler. The only strike I got I threw between my legs. Biggest and A-Man were picking up spares and A-Man also got a strike. I was also taunted by Cuz for hitting the bumpers almost every throw. Um…..dude. So did you, Cuz, so did you….
In the end, Biggest and Littlest finally got some fun quality time with me after a couple of weeks of missing me. We were silly, we were loud, we just plain had fun. They got the quality time they were craving. I guess that is all that matters when all is said and done.
SJ&YP note: Littlest is not mad in the picture.
She just was being a stink pants and refusing to smile.
I don’t know where she gets this stuff from….
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