Shoulda Let Her Play In The Mud

I was stressing like crazy, running late for the school dismissal.  Went to the grocery store for steak, but they had no decent T-Bones today so I headed over to the next store.  I found what I needed, but I had less than 10 minutes to get to school.

There was an event at the school this afternoon, so parking was yucky, I was a long way back.  I don't know how the switch got flipped, but as soon as I heard the bell, I just slowed down.  I got Angel Baby out of her seat and we just walked slowly.  I didn't go in, I just sat on the bench out front and waited.  My monkey boy - Art - ran off to play with his friend in the climbing tree. I was asked to come into the school for a few minutes by Macboys teacher, we need to discuss plagiarism.

I explained to Macboy, that if I wrote something here, and someone else took it and called it their own, and all the readers went to THAT website.... We wouldn't have reasons to have cake anymore.

Not sure the teachers are thrilled with this explanation.... But it came with a better discussion all around.  Lesson learned, homework for the long weekend, carry on.

Leaving the school was hard.  Everyone wanted to play.  Running up and down the ramp, up and down the stairs, to the climbing tree...
Art and Angel Baby took the inside of the fence by the parking lot and Macboy and I walked on the sidewalk.

Until I saw the puddle.

It is more than a foot deep in the lowest part of it.  It is wider than the exit and more than a car length long. It is the source of the splatter on Art's back after a bike ride. And she was headed straight to it. 

It was a scene from a movie... Slow motion, scrambling, running, screaming "NOOOOoooooooo.... catch her, catch HER!!!" Just made it, scooped her up just as her toes hit the edge of the water.

Now, she's screaming instead, I'm off balance, trying to juggle her and my purse and my coffee and not fall into the puddle myself.
Phew... made it.  I got through that moment. Shifted her weight on my hip, holding my coffee with my teeth (if you know me, I'm sure you can just picture that)  finally got my footing steady.  Turned around stepped toward the van and

"NOOOO   WAAAAYYYYY!"

(Not So) Angel Baby decides she's not ready to go and throws her arms out to stop me from putting her in the van.  One arm, straight out, straight UP, into the bottom of the cup of coffee I'm holding with my teeth, next to the mud puddle, in the teachers parking lot.

No defence.  There was absolutely NO way to stop what happened. Coffee sure flies out of that little square cut out in a timmies lid.  Straight up your nose at high speed too, if you are dumb enough to hold your cup with your teeth while you are holding a toddler.

So, there it is.... I have to step quickly through the monster puddle to get her to the other side of it, so I can set her down and start blowing the coffee back OUT of my nose... And I lost it, totally and completely lost my marbles.  Laughing hysterically, in the puddle covered in coffee.

I struggle my way through this, getting her snapped into her seat in the van, which she did NOT enjoy, boys are complaining of headaches since she's screaming in the van.  I checked all the seat belts, locked the doors and started walking!  Away from the van, straight ahead of it, still laughing.... I didn't get too far before I heard the "HEY NOOOO!!!" from Art.


I did get in the van, I did drive home.  They DID stop complaining and whining.

I still can't get the coffee smell to go away....