Mama's Visit

Mama came for a visit last Thursday and Pearce and I just could not wait for her to get here!  As soon as she got here, Pearce ran to give her lots of hugs and kisses :)  We then went to Phil's Ice House for dinner...well, dinner for me.  Mama has been watching what she eats, so she and Pearce walked next door for Mama to get soup and a kale salad....my cheeseburger looked way yummier :)  Pearce came back with a peach smoothie!  He played and played and then we went next door to iFly to watch people do indoor skydiving.  Mama had never seen this before and just could not believe it.  I think she was more in awe than Pearce!  There were several kids doing it and we even asked how old they had to be to do it....3 years old!  Hmmm....maybe for his birthday :)  On Friday, I had the day to myself while Pearce and Mama had fun.  They went to eat lunch at Panera, went to Toys R Us to pick out one toy and then went to the grocery store to get ingredients to make vegetable soup.  Mama said he was "Mr. Perfect" the entire time!  I was so happy to hear this.  He's been having some trouble with crying fits and tantrums, so Chris and I have really been working with him on self control, and using his words when he feels upset.  He has definitely become more self aware of himself and his behavior, so I think we must all be doing something right! That evening we had fun just playing at home and ate the BEST vegetable soup!  On Saturday, we took it easy during the morning.  This is what I love about having Mom here...we don't have to have a lot planned, because we just love being together.  Pearce is the same way.  He's happy just playing with his toys or watching a show while we just lounge around during the mornings :)  I made scrambled eggs for Pearce and Mama and they sat on the couch together and ate their eggs and watched The Incredible Hulk :)  Then Mama said she really wanted to get Pearce a pair of cowboy boots and Pearce was soooo excited about that!  We first went to Academy, but their boots weren't what we were looking for.  This is a perfect example of Pearce using self control.  Before we went in, I talked to him about how we were just going to look, but if we didn't find boots that fit him, we would go to another store.  So I went over the scenario... "Pearce, if we go in here and don't find boots we like or fit you, what are you going to do?"  His response was "Say, ok, let's go to another store."  Then I told him that's right, we aren't going to whine or cry.  So, sure enough, we didn't like the selection of boots and immediately, his lip started to quiver, but I said, "Pearce, what are we going to do now?"  He said, "We are going to go to another store."  Normally, he would have thrown a big fit, but he held it together like a big boy!  So we went to a real boot store and they had tons of boots to choose from!  We quickly found the most perfect, cutest pair of REAL cowboy boots for Pearce.  He loved them!  Then Mama found the cutest Wrangler shirt just his size with pearl snap buttons and Pearce was so excited about that, too!  Then I went to just "look" at the women's boots and quickly I found the cutest pair of boots.  I can never find shoes to fit me, but this place had such a great selection and the boots fit me perfectly!  THANK YOU MAMA!!!!  Pearce wore his boots out for the rest of the day and night!  Then we went to eat lunch at La Madeline.  Pearce was starting to get a little whiny, but thank goodness, there was another little boy about his age there who was throwing a massive fit.  I quietly told Pearce to listen to that little boy acting like a baby and told him he needs to show that little boy how to be a big boy.  Pearce really responded well to that.  They were sitting right by us.  Pearce had to go potty and when we got back, the family was gone.  I told Pearce how sad it was that they had to leave because that little boy was crying like a baby.  Pearce sat like a big boy and ate his lunch :)  We started noticing that it was starting to get really dark and stormy outside.  We were going to go to the outlet mall for a bit, but as soon as we got in the car, it started storming really bad.  Like, I could hardly see because of the heavy rain!  We made it home and the rain had calmed down a bit.  Mama decided she wanted some new casual clothes and asked if I could take her credit card and go to Soma to get her some new things.  Ummmm.....sure!  I had so much fun being her personal shopper!  I did a good job, because she loved everything I got her!  We had a photo session set up for Sunday.  Pearce has always done a good job with photo sessions, so I thought it would be fun for the three of us to get a few pictures taken.  Well, let me just say that the entire session was pretty much HELL!!!!!!  I think if Mom and I had our blood pressure taken during that time, it would have been through the roof.  The morning was fine with us getting ready.  We decided it would be cute for Pearce to wear his new boots and cowboy shirt and Pearce LOVED that idea.  Then on the way there, I talked to him about doing exactly what the photographer told him to do and to make sure he smiled like a big boy....just like he did a few weeks before.  All was good until we got there and he saw it was the not the man we had had before.  During the last month or so, I've been trying to do better about preparing Pearce for different scenarios and how to handle them.  I did not even think about what if there was a different photographer.  Oh man, for whatever reason, Pearce did not like the lady and was not nice at all when she first introduced herself.  I took him out of the room and laid down the law about how I expected him to act.  I thought I got the message through, but as soon as the woman started taking his picture, he just would not smile and got so stubborn and huffy.  Yes, the woman was definitely annoying, BUT, I just can't tolerate Pearce being rude to anyone, especially an adult!  All I wanted was three good pics...one of just Pearce, one of Pearce and Mama, and one of the three of us.  Thank goodness we did manage to get those, but just barely and it was just so stressful the entire time.  Mom even resorted to dumping out her entire purse in order to make Pearce laugh!  Finally, we were able to leave and I could feel my blood pressure going down.  The door leading out to the parking lot has a button for handicapped people to push in order for the door to open automatically.  Pearce always likes to push it and then he waits.  I told him he could push it and then I added, "Wait at the door."  Pearce pushed it and then started to run out.  I yelled "Stop! Stop! STOP!!!!!!!"  He totally ran out into the street and did not stop until I ran after him and caught him!  I swear, I could have totally lost it on him.  I was FUMING.  I scooped him up, took him to my car and pretty much yelled at him to never EVER run into the street again, then I gave him two big spankings.  He was a hysterical mess and soon I followed.  I buckled him in his car seat, mom got in the car, I got in the car, and then I just lost it and started crying.  I was so mad about the pictures, then so mad that he ran into the street when he ALWAYS waits for me at the door, and just absolutely livid that he didn't stop when I yelled at him to stop.  I kept thinking about what if a car had been coming.  I felt bad for mom because she felt awful for me, and Pearce was still crying in the back seat.  I still wanted us to go eat lunch together.  I don't think Pearce has ever seen me so upset with him.  I told him he better just sit in the booth and eat his lunch and not say a word.  He did.  Poor thing, I think I scared him, but oh my gosh....ugh!  We got home and I told Chris about everything that had happened and he gave Pearce a big talk.  So, the slate was wiped clean and we decided to all go bowling.  We get to the bowling alley and find out there's a 2 hour wait.  Could this day be any worse?????  Then we decide to go to another bowling alley and it's a 1.5 hour wait, but Chris decided to take Pearce to play the games and Mom and I sat at the bar and each had a vodka tonic and talked.....day just got better then :)  We ended up having a great time bowling and then went to eat at Kobe Steakhouse.  Pearce loves Kobe!  The chef really put on a show and we all had such a great dinner!  Each night after we put Pearce to bed, Mom and I would stay up and watch TV together.....one of our favorite things to do!  Mom left early on Monday morning to beat another round of storms.  Although Sunday afternoon was questionable, the rest of Mom's visit was just so fun!  I loved getting to have her all to myself and Pearce loved having her too.  Thank you for coming, Mama....see you at the beach next week!!!


Here are some of the proofs from our photo session.  The first three are pretty indicative of how the session was :)  I wasn't crazy about the ones of me and Pearce, but thank goodness we got some good ones.  I can laugh about the experience now.  I go to Penney's a lot, because USUALLY he is so good and it's fast and inexpensive and he always has a great smile.....USUALLY :)