After the meeting, we went to the gym. They have a kids' playroom and it only costs me $1.50 to park her there for an hour. It's a bargain by any definition. After the gym, I showered and then we went to the mall for lunch in ye olde foode courte. In the middle of the mall resides one of those strap-your-kid-into-a-harness-and-let-her-jump-on-a-trampoline enterprises. I let her do it once last year and thought I remembered that it was around $8.00. We got in line so that the kid could jump. When we got to the front, the guy leaned forward. "One?" he asked. "$9.50." Now, here's the thing. The guy was completely adorable and had a European accent of some sort (he was very soft-spoken so it was hard to guess the derivation). $9.50 is way too much to spend for five minutes on a trampoline, but somehow I got woozy over the accent and forked it over. If he had informed me it would cost a kidney, I imagine I would have flayed myself open on the spot and handed him the still-glistening organ.
After the jumpity-jump adventure (yes, there's more), we went to see Megamind at the budget theater. I don't want you to think I'm cheap (I prefer the term "thrifty"), but honestly, 3D movies are crazy - talk about having to fork over a kidney. The budget theater didn't have Megamind in 3D but indeed, it was possible to enjoy the flick anyway.
We ended the day at home, reading and watching TV. We made pink pancakes for dinner (my mom sent me the mix for my birthday - apparently it was a Valentine's promotion of some sort). On Sunday morning, we went to church. Just in case 48 hours of quality mother-daughter time wasn't enough, I was also scheduled to teach the kid's religious education class this week.
You might think we'd be winding down by Sunday afternoon, but you'd be wrong in your thinking. We also went to Chuck E Cheese's and played games. The joint was so crowded that it was actually AT maximum capacity. They were only letting people in as others were exiting. Eventually they started admitting people who weren't there to eat (like us). Those who were there for lunch had to stay in line. I guess there's only so much mediocre pizza to go around, ya'll.We rounded out the weekend with a trip to an indoor water park. A friend of mine won a suite at this particular hotel and posted an open invitation on Facebook a couple weeks ago. We took her up on it (I'm guessing this is the last time she will post an invitation on Facebook). We had a great time and my friend was kind enough to provide us with pizza and snacks, too. The kid swam and splashed around with the other kids, filling my head with thoughts of "maybe she'll go to sleep on time for once" - a girl can dream! I was pretty paranoid about A's recent surgery, so I made her wear earplugs along with a neoprene headband that keeps them from flying out of her ears. She didn't seem to mind. I just want to get six months under our collective belt with no ear infections.
So, that was our weekend. I think I need to go to work tomorrow just to recuperate.
