"These Are the Days We'll Remember..."

"When you called, all three of us were in the back of the van. Little One was hanging over the back seat, one foot hanging over baby brother's head. I was trying to get Baby Brother buckled in, all of the doors of the van were opened - and rain was pouring down." As I retold the story to my sweet hubby, I imagined to anyone walking by that the situation might have looked quite hilarious. We both smiled and he said "These are the days we are going to remember..." and he's right.

Yesterday was a day I will not forget in a long time. The morning and afternoon had gone particularly smooth and quiet. When the boys got up from their nap I decided to cart us all to the Y so I could get a good workout. Now, to all of you out there who think that going to workout in the middle of the day with kids in tow is a easy thing...I tell you, it's not. Oh, don't get me wrong, I am forever grateful that I have a place where I can drop the kids off and go workout. But, the process and work it takes to actually get to the treadmill is Oh.My.Word.

Anyway, an hour and half later, I walked into the gym and every elliptical machine was in use. Darn. Then, one of the buds on my headphones broke. Grr. While I was working out, every TV screen was broadcasting that there was going to be some severe thunderstorms in the area. OK. Got it. I'm the first to admit that I never take those things seriously. Until now.

After my workout I head to the locker room and hope to take a quick shower before picking up the kids. The locker room is empty. I jump in the shower and hear the rain pounding on the roof. I think I should hurry - but then think that I have extra time due to the weather and letting the storm pass before we go out to the car. Ha Ha Ha. All of the sudden I hear lots of voices and then a lady calls out:
"Is anyone in here?"
"Yes..."
"We're bringing all the kids in here because the weather is so bad. I just wanted to let you know."

WHAT??? And I'm not kidding, all the nursery kids, the gymnastics classes, teachers, (males!!) and parents were all crammed jammed into the locker room. And let me tell you, never ever have I been so grateful that I had my gym bag with me and that I didn't have to tread through the locker room draped in a towel. Children were crying - understandably so! So I scurried to get dressed - and wondered where my children were. Rushing out into the crowd dressed, but hair sopping wet, there was my Little One standing with hand in hand teacher with a little red guitar in hand. Baby Brother was being held by another teacher. Phew. By this time, the worst part of the storm had passed and we were able to leave our "shelter".

So, I gather my kids - and we make our way out to the car. It's still a down pour. Little One looks out and and says wide-eyed "Come on Mom! It will be fun!" So, when it lets up a little bit, we make a dash. Thinking I had a brilliant idea, I flung open the tail gate of the van and piled Little One in and just picked up Baby Brother's stroller - baby and all. (Love stow and go seating) Thus, the scene painted in the opening paragraph. Brilliant indeed.

After we got home, I was feeding Baby Brother, and Little One came to me and said "Do you want to see me ice-skate?" And the bathroom floor was covered in hand soap suds - which, does indeed, make a great toddler ice skating rink.

So, here's some photo documentary of our day:

Our backyard after the hail storm.

The ice-skating rink

Little One feeds Baby Brother.

So, yes, it was a day. But faces like this make it completely worth it.

Alternate titles for this post:
Are You Kidding Me?
Yes, This is what I look like when I get out of the shower
A Day In Paradise