Playing Hooky... Sortof

Last night Dolly woke up crying because her "ears hurt". So, I decided I'd try to get an appointment with our doctor. Since the doctor's office opens at the same time Sir is supposed to be at work, I chose to take him to work and have the car for the day. That way if I couldn't see our family doctor, I could swing by a clinic. Then, just because I felt like it, I decided we'd play hooky. As in throwing housework to the wind and making a day of having the car. So, I tossed the stroller, some beach toys, and a couple empty book bags into the van as I got everyone ready to rush out the door.

Thankfully, I got an 11:15 slot at the doctor's office - and that was perfect timing for fitting everything in just so. First we dropped Sir off at work and then headed to a grocery store. You can't have a fun day without a picnic lunch and I didn't have time to pack lunches for all of us before we left. Once the lunch shopping was done, the library was finally open and we made that our next stop. The kids bee-lined for the cardboard book section that we get our selections from, and with plenty of time to spare, we'd narrowed our mountain of books down to a five books per kid selection. Then we checked out, and PC got his own library card (so now he's just like Dolly) which is a big thing in the life of an almost two-year old.

Next stop was the Dr.'s office and after that was the highly anticipated 'Picnic on the Beach'! Which means that by the time we were halfway between the library and the doctor's office, Dolly announced she was in perfect health and that her "ears don't hurt anymore - and we can go to the beach now?". We found a parking spot between the waterfront and the little house that is the doctor's office and first walked (away from the beach) to go see the doctor. Dolly insisted that she was fine the whole way as well as when the doctor looked into her ears. And since Dolly's ears were so full of dried, crusty ear wax, the Doctor couldn't tell me if there was something to worry about or not. So, we got instructions on getting rid of the ear wax (which I forgot to do before I put the kids to bed... sigh) and we could go on our way.

By this time, it was Emma's brunch time, and much to Dolly and PC's frustration, we went back to the waiting room so I could feed Emma without losing the other two kids. When Emma was finished we piled up the stroller and headed back to the car where we grabbed our lunch and the beach toys. We found a nice little picnic spot overlooking the water and tide pools and spread our blanket for lunch.

While we ate, a handful of crows thought to join us and the braver ones came close enough to snatch up the offerings we tossed nearby. PC loves birds and he was thrilled to see them come so close. When he was finished with his lunch I let him go, and he ran off calling, "Burr! Burr! Burr!" but they only flew away and would wait for him to return to the blanket before coming back. He tried offering them the ball we brought, but that wasn't very popular and then the Seagulls found us. PC was terrified of them as they circled low overhead squawking and scolding at us. I got a little video of him as he ran back to the safety of our blanket.

Anyway, after lunch was over and since Emma was awake again, we grabbed some buckets and sand scoops, and carefully picked our way down the rocky bank, across the slippery seaweed and over the shallow tide pool moats to the fun sandcastle sand. There Dolly chased seagulls and crows while PC happily dug in the sand. We made one tiny sandcastle with our sandcastle bucket and then it was starting to feel cold. It was overcast with a thin layer of clouds, so although it wasn't, it almost seemed sunny, but down by the water it was much more windy. So, we retraced our steps, loaded the stroller up and headed home just in time for naps.

When we got up it was time to make supper, so the laundry still smiles at me unfolded from the couch, and the toys contentedly sprawl across the living room (and all other room) floors. Not to mention the disaster that is supposed to be the kitchen patiently waiting to be addressed, but I felt like doing something different today and I'm glad we did!

The End