Nope. I'm full.

Last night, I got a late call. It was 8pm. That's late for us. My family and friends know that we are putting the kids to bed between 7:15-7:45pm each weeknight. So I was pretty surprised when my cell started to ring.

Me: Hello?
Caller: Hi. Is this the Princess' Mom?
Me: Yes... [in a hesitant voice]
Caller: Hi. It's C's Mom.
Me: ...Oh....Hi!
Caller: I was planning on going to the field trip tomorrow and driving....
Me: Okay...
Caller: But we've had a puppy emergency. I'm going to have to wake up every 2 hours to feed our puppy.
Me: Uh. Okay.
Caller: So C and I were talking and she said she'd be comfortable with you.
Me: The thing is I already have a full car. Ms. D already has 3 kids plus the Princess designated to me....
Caller: Oh, I see. Okay.

This lady was going to drive to the field trip but only drive her child. I'm fine with that because some people don't want to be responsible for other people's kids. So this puts the teacher in a bind that she's got to find a space for this child on such short notice. Then there's the issue that she called me so late. I know 8pm isn't late for a lot of people but I've got a 3 year old who NEEDS to get to bed or else he's not a happy camper in the morning. Then there's the fact that I don't want to be responsible for HER child. C was the one who came over for a playdate last year and was looking in my pantry for a snack after I'd already put down some bananas, crackers, and peanut butter out.** Plus, I already knew the other girls in my car and last year there was was drama between them and I wanted a stress-free drive today.

So what ended up happening today? C and her Mom showed up at 9am to school and we were all to leave for the trip at 9:30am. The Mom ended up driving her daughter. And ONLY her daughter (which is a good thing). I've seen this lady drive and she isn't the most safe driver. I've seen her weave on the highway and have witnessed her cutting cars off on the road.

But MY car was calm. The kids were happy as clams. I brought everyone a bag of snacks (pretzels, Keebler bug crackers, and goldfish) to eat in the car. I also brought a DVD (Spirit) so they'd have something to watch. The one little girl had never watched the movie so the other kids were 'helping' her understand what was happening. They were giggling and chatting. It was good. Then we all held hands to get to the auditorium. 2 kids on my right. 2 kids on my left. Once we were on street where the auditorium was located, I let the kids loose. I let them 'skip' to destinations ahead of us. "Okay. You can run to that first lamp post." "Okay. Run to that 2nd tree." At each location they needed to touch the thing I had designated as a stopping point. And they couldn't leave it until I gave them their next destination. They were all good about it. Good listeners. And I made sure that they knew I appreciated their cooperation.

So it was fun. A good time. For them. For me. It was good.

**For those of you that don't remember...she went into my pantry to check out the snack situation on her own. I asked her what she normally would have for a snack and she said "Cocoa Puffs". Okay. My kids don't even KNOW that cereal. We don't have those ultra sugary cereals in our house. So the little girl stood there and saw the canned goods and pointed to the back of the pantry. "THAT!" I looked and she was pointing to a can of Spaghettios. That is what she wanted ME to prepare for HER for a snack. Uh....no....