A Good Monday

I know I know, I said I hated Mondays. But my friend and I came up with a new Monday routine to improve the sad day. We start by doing a QUICK clean of our houses{ well for her its a house, me its my stupid apartment} then we meet at the APEX center to take the kids swimming. We got there today with two little boys filled with energy, which I think overwhelmed the lady who we had to pay{well it did something to her to make her mean}. Both our boys had made it to the other side of the gate, they were opening and closing it, but we could see them so it was okay.... then the sweet old lady behind the desk said... "I'm going to lock the gate now" really??? Our two children are on one side, we are on the other, and you're going to lock it? Really?? Wow, okay fine, let me get on the other side first please, so my 18 month old doesn't run around the corner and disappear {she must not have kids} Did I mention she said this in a very rude way? Well, she did. I quickly hand my friend my cash and she finishes paying while I chase the kids. She finally re- appears after the lady took about 20 minutes to count her out my change.{I know she did this on purpose, and my friend did too} We get the kids down to just their bathing suits and we're ready to swim. My son is so comfortable in the water now it is amazing. We started going to the pool a little over a month ago and he cried the first time when I tried to stand him up in the kids area, now I'm the one who wants to cry. No, its not that bad, but he's fast and in the water I have to be next to him ALL the time, and when he wants to go down the tiny torpedo slide I go too {I don't think it is meant for adults, so with all our weight we fly down and out} Speaking of watching my son ALL the time in the water, we noticed two little kids {very little, probably two or younger} wondering in the kids section.... where were their parents.... well they were their with babysitters {not good ones} and where were they? They were chatting at a table way TOO far from the pool, one was turned away from the kids as the other was texting. How easy would it be for those kids to wonder to the adult pool, or even fall in the shallow end....too easy. So we decided to tell the lifeguard, because if you are being paid to take care of someones children you need to take care of them. A pool is not like the park, a two year old should not be out of reach. The lifeguard quickly told them to get off their butts and watch the kids {I'm sure she was nicer than I would've been} It makes me see how lucky the parents of children who have had me as a nanny have been. I have let kids play by themselves at a park, sure, but at a pool? Never, I would be right next to them ALWAYS. After countless rides down the water slide, an attempted lunch, and some more running wild in the kids area it was time to go. Usually we both just head home....but today we started our new Monday tradition. We headed to my friends house to put the boys down for a nap. we used nap time to go through all our coupons, make a meal plan for the week, and write out our grocery lists. We had everything planned and ready....now we just had to survive a grocery trip with two toddlers. Well, King Soopers has a GREAT new cart to help us. This is the best cart I've ever seen. Imagine the old carts with the cars in front kicked up about 100 notches. These carts are new and very much improved. With a door that locks from the outside, a seat belt, a window on the back so we can see them, and.... you ready? A TV!! Yes, a TV in the cart! You can even pick what cartoon they watch! They have a second TV up top to show ads to the parents and also give you controls to change the cartoon. Wow, it was so much easier with this amazing cart. But then it was time to checkout, as I told my friend when my son started fussing, this is when it all falls apart. With all the coupons I plan on using I need to be organized and focused...is that possible with  an 18 month old hanging from my shoulders? Not really, so I never expect to get it all right. I ended up saving 47 percent off my bill. This was good enough for me. I got tons of meals, desserts, and snacks. I was happy with the amount of food in my cart for the price I payed. We then had to part ways and head home. My husband was in shock over all the bags but happy to hear the low price tag. I happily found room for all my new goodies and made dinner. I had a great day with my son and our friends, I hope all our Mondays will be just as good. I was happy, my son was happy, our friends were happy{well you'd have to ask them, but they seemed happy}. I'd call that one great success, especially on a Monday!

Kelly Callahan