Saturday Adventure- Hint: it involved multiple tickets

We took a family outing today. The girls were dressed up in dresses, tights and black patent shoes. So cute. Nicky had his pirate shirt on and looked very cool. First we picked up Nicky's new glasses. So handsome! Now we just have to convince him to keep them on his face. He picked out a pretty green case that "looks like a sea cucumber" for them, and he would much rather put his glasses in there thank you very much.



After that we tried to go bed shopping. We're planning to finally get a king size bed (or two twins to make a king size) for Tom and I. We checked out a discount place called "The Dump" (really, that's the name!) but I didn't really like anything I saw there in the way of a bed. Then we headed to a mattress store near my work to check out the important part (and OMG the expensive part!)

The kids were actually really good, but it's still exhausting to try to do anything like shop with all three of them in tow. We found a kingsize that Tom really likes, but it's on sale for $1434 and I really had hoped to not spend that much. And while it's perfect for Tom, it's not really perfect for me. Hence my idea about the two twin mattresses. Our tastes are different enough that it makes more sense I think. And it would make for more versatility later (when the girls are ready for twin beds they could have them and we could get a new one). AND it would be a lot easier to get two twin mattresses up the stairs than one king mattress I think.

I'm also hoping it would be cheaper, because OMG that seems like a lot of $.

Anyway, we definitely need to shop around more for mattresses and beds, but two stores felt like the kids' limit. So we went to take them to lunch. Now Tom and I had already scouted it out and decided to take the kids to Chuck E Cheese, but we hadn't let Nicky know yet. He's been dying to go there since we moved here.

Nicky was all psyched up about going to Cici's pizza for their macaroni and cheese pizza (I know right?) but I told him we weren't going there. He was all depressed about it. Then I pointed out that Cici's was right there! (YAAY from the backseat.) But that we're not going there. (Crushed hopes in the backseat.) Tom pointed out MacDonalds, but Nicky didn't want that (although earlier that had been his first idea.

I said, we're not going to MacDonalds but that he'd just have to figure it out.

When we came around the corner and he saw Chuck E Cheese he just about lost his mind he was so excited! I think we won Parents of the Year at that moment.

This was my first time going to one of these kinds of places in about 30 years, so I actually didn't really know what to expect. They stamped all of our arms with matching numbers before we could even order. Then they let us in to order. We got a pizza, two drinks, 3 waters, a sandwich for Tom and a salad bar for me, and 35 tokens. All told it was $43 or so.

We sat at a booth that was ridiculously tiny. (I think they must either expect adults to stand or only figure for one adult at a table.) We had two highchairs for the girls at one end which was tricky too. But I was able to get some salad stuff to tide the girls over while we waited for the food and Nicky was able to wander around and check things out for a while.

After the pizza arrived, Nicky and I ate some and then went to go win some tickets. He played a few games, although I think he liked the skee ball the best. The girls started to get really tired and cranky though, so Tom and I decided it was about time to go. We didn't see Nicky, he'd moved from the game he'd been watching, so we walked the girls back to our table and then I was going to go look for him. But it was only a minute when a tearful Nicky found us. He'd gotten lost and thought we'd left him, poor boy. I think it was an excellent lesson for him about paying more attention to where he is in relation to us, and it was a nice safe place for him to learn it. But he got hugs and kisses, reassurances that we'd never leave him behind, and he sat to have more pizza.

Tom went to take the girls to the car while I found a box to take the pizza home (OMG worst pizza I've ever had, but Nicky seemed to like it. Tom said it was like Chef Boyardee sauce, so that's probably why I don't like it, but ugh.) Nicky and I counted up his tickets (78!) and he was able to buy a little frisbee with 18 tickets and several tokens left over for another visit.



All in all he had a ball and we found out that Saturday right about noon is a good time to go, because we left at about 2:30 and it was a line out the door!

The girls are so overly tired they're screaming their heads off through their nap. I'm trying to keep occupied to give them a chance to sleep, but I think it's hopeless. They're just going to have to go to bed early I guess.