Bad Mom

We're here, in Plainfield, attempting to have a mini-vacation while we're staying with Lance's dad. It's been, well, not exactly a vacation. We headed into the city yesterday where we went to Navy Pier, rode the ferris wheel and watched part of the air show, all of which was nice. What was not as nice was keeping the kids entertained on the hour plus train ride each way, navigating our way around the city amongst all of the people there for the air and water show, and dealing with the very hot weather.

And I, in vacation-mode, was a little more relaxed in my parenting than usual. So, as Lance was getting money from an ATM, Tate and I watched Rowan play "King of the Mountain" on a railing. And just as I was going to tell her it was time to get down, she fell, directly onto her forehead. This resulted in a large bruise, lots of crying and Rowan wanting to be held a majority of our walk.

Not having learned my lesson, when we were in downtown Naperville today, we stopped for the kids to look at a fountain. I held Rowan's hand as she walked along the ledge around the fountain. Then she got down and Lance and I were talking. And she got back up, started walking around by herself, and fell into the fountain. Face down. I ran to her, but a man was already helping her out. She was scared and soaking wet and crying--loudly. An older man, who watched the whole event, was glaring at me and shaking his head. I wanted to run over to him and say "This was an accident! I'm really not a bad mom. It was just a lapse in judgment. Really, I play with her. We bake cookies together. We do art projects. Really we do! See my diaper bag? There are healthy treats, activities, even dry clothes for her to change into! We read books. I even listen to Veggie Tales in the car. And I'm constantly telling her stories." But telling him wouldn't make her dry and happy.

So hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I will be a better mom. We will have more fun. We will do our best to enjoy our last day here. We'll start off with a better plan, I'll be involved, observant. We'll have a wonderful day as a family.