I had the honor of semi-watching the Funk kids today. Gracie-9, Gabby-7, Will-4, and Claire-3. And i can't forget little Eden, who is 18 months old, and belongs to Laura, but today, she too was a Funk kid. It wasn't the crazy moments that i remember, but those moments where my eyes met theirs and they, well, loved. We ventured out to the movie theatre today, all the kids and Tony, Laura and I. Before we got there we went over strict rules of not running away, staying with us, Tony would drop us off and then park, Laura would buy tickets, while I corralled all the kids from the drop off point to the movie theatre. All things were going as planned until Will saw the motorcycle ride inside the theatre and he was off. And Claire was close behind. Meanwhile, Laura catches up and I ask her to buy the popcorn while I go into the theatre with the kids.
The Theatre
As we enter I pray that we will be the only ones there, but God has a way of not listening to me. I turned the corner to see 40 or so people already seated. Gabby says, "Lets go to the top" and i agreed that we didn't want to watch the movie from the front, and that was a mistake. So we all tried to get settled in, Gabby loves to take care of Eden so she wanted to sit with her. Claire sat on my right, while Gracie sat to my left. Tony showed up and sat on the end next to Gabby and Eden and Laura took the other end next to Will. All was settled, the movie was about to start, and then it happened. "Can I have some popcorn? Where is my pop? I wanted sprite, I don't want water! Where is my popcorn? Can I have some candy? I don't want to drink water. Where are the gummy worms? Will, we are not supposed to say shut up. (laughter in the theatre. they wont be laughing soon) I have to go potty. I have to go poopy" and on and on it went. "whisper girls...watch your feet on the chairs...Will, you can't just come over here (he hits the persons head in front of us) go back to your seat...When can we go back to grandma's house?... Whisper Gracie!...is this movie over yet?" And then it finally was. Honestly I wondered if we would get kicked out, or at least yelled at, but i guess the people who work there are used to that sort of thing. So we wait until the theatre is about empty and slip out, leaving the mounds of refilled popcorn on the floor. Evidence that we are bad 'parents'. Breathe, we are out of the theatre...or are we?
The Lobby
We move out towards the lobby as Claire and Will run ahead and dash out to the video games (all too old for them to play or understand) and I pray no one runs by and snatches the babies. But as I followed Claire into the men's room so she could go poop, I decided, she has to live with some kind of consequences, right? Ok, I came to my senses and made her pee in the woman's, but not before I saw a man peeing at the yernal. I had to look 3 times because she wouldn't come right away like I asked. ugh. But none the less, he didn't seemed phased, which is kinda strange if you ask me. Gracie was begging us to go shopping, "I just want to buy a neo pet and it will only take me a min...PLEASE!". So Laura and I decided to let her go. We arranged for Laura to take the 2 older girls as Tony and I handled the young-ins. Oh wait, where is Will and Claire and Eden. Oh, that strange woman is talking to them. sigh. At least she thinks they are cute.
Is it me, or does Gracie kinda look like a neo pet?
The Mall
The mall had a carousel and a play area and we told Will and Claire they had to stay with us, or they would immediately have to go to the car. They agreed and even looked into my eyes, which the Nanny says means something. Believe it or not, they obeyed. It was great. Tony took Will and Eden to the play area and I took Claire on the carousel. All seemed well in the world. For a moment. Claire and I headed off the carousel to join the others in the play area. I successfully got her shoes off and Gabby and Gracie were back to join them. A moment to sit. So I took a few pics and watched as they released all the energy I was hoping wouldn't end up in the house later that night. And then Tony thought Claire and Will were fighting.
They were wrestling, I will say that, but when I was growing up (oh, I can't believe I just said that) Kelly and I would wrestle all the time. We loved it for some reason. He would jump on my head and I would pull his hair, and then we would laugh. I think Claire and Will are sort of like that. The smiles on their faces said so. I will admit that even with Kelly, play fight would sometimes lead to real fight. But not was the case in this event with Claire and Will. But Tony sent Gracie over to break them up. Not sure why he sent Gracie, she is the least likely one to handle this situation, but he thought she could handle it. So she tried. And they laughed. And she kept trying, until they started crying. It was time to leave.
The Shoes
Will has these moments where he decides something and then that is it. He has it set in his mind and will not sway from anything but what he has already decided. Tony told him to put his shoes on, but he didn't want to leave. So I took Will over to a table and told him to settle down and we talked about putting on his shoes. I told him he had to put his shoes on, and in tears he screamed, "NO!". I don't mind the scream, but I think others do. Tony walked over to him and said, "Let's compromise, I will carry you to the car and you can put your shoes on in there, ok?" Well, under normal circumstances, that would have been ok, but i had just told him he had to put his shoes on right there, so i really wanted to stick to what I said. I think it is important to stick to my word with kids, so they know what they can trust. (that is for another day) So we put the shoes on and then he was fine. sigh. All that work, just for him to smile at me and start walking, holding my hand. Why must it be so much work?
The Ride
We waited outside for Tony to pull up the van and all the kids sat patiently and waited. Once here, Claire ran in first going to the back seat. She sits in the middle seats. So then Gracie couldn't get in, and Will was blocking Gabby... we drove down the road and I was joking with them asking Claire if I could have one of her binky's (she has like 10 of them). She of course said no over and over. I decided to have them sing, well, I was joking and never expected them to started singing. I started the classic Kumbayah and started laughing because I find that song old, and funny. But to my surprise, all of the Funk children and Eden started singing. And they were all serious! Laura and Tony started laughing in the front seats, not too much to be heard by the kids because they didn't want them to stop. Then, we were home.
There were many more events that took place while we were at the grandparents house for 3 days. From 10 minute bike rides, meeting the deaf neighbors, watching Will eat 20 pieces of candy and drinking pop before bedtime, to bath times and bedtime prayers. I loved it. And I would do it again if I could...and I might even make them some play clothes out of curtains, just for fun.
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