When this weekend came round we were ready for a break, but we had a busy weekend planned. So busy, in fact, that I'm having trouble remembering it as well. Bear with me, but I'm going to do this post backwards. I'll work through Sunday and give my mind some time to recount Saturday's adventures. Here we go.
We had three goals to accomplish this Sunday: 1. Get new tires for the BMW; 2. Borrow camping gear from the parents for Steve's camping weekend with the guys; 3. Get a "big girl bed" for Mimi. While we struck out on the tires this time around (I'm not satisfied with the options just yet), we did get to visit with Grandma and Grandpa to pick up the camping equipment, and we secured Mimi a new bed. Two out of three is perfectly acceptable.
It had been a balmy 72 degrees, at most, in San Francisco when we headed out to the east bay this morning. By the time we reached Grandma and Grandpa's, it was at least 157 degrees Celsius. Yes, I know I used to live in New York and I know it was far hotter and more humid there, but I've acclimated. Anything over 90 degrees is just obscene these days. Mimi thinks so, too, so she insisted on jumping into the sprinkler.
All that playing in the sprinkler wore Mimi out. She must've been running on adrenaline when we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa because three minutes after we pulled away she was dead to the world, passed out in her car seat.
I've written of our beloved little wagon before, but it deserves multiple mentions. Some may believe that an SUV is the ultimate multi-purpose vehicle, but none of them (save perhaps the Range Rover) even come close to fulfilling the number of roles my little 3-series wagon hacks carries off with ease. It's terrible off-road, but that's the only drawback.
This car is nice enough to take up for a weekend in Napa, but pedestrian enough to never raise an eyebrow. It's safe and dependable, but handles better than some sports cars. It will seat five in relative comfort, with all their luggage, but is still small enough to parallel park with ease. It will putter along the freeway without complaint at 60, but feels even better at 80 or higher. The fuel economy is reasonable, the looks are good, it's reliable, it's handsome, and it's humble enough (at least in white) for the CHP to disregard. If BMW imported an M edition of the 3 series wagon I'd never buy another car.
Let me give you an example of this car's capabilities. Today, we loaded up the car as shown below.
- Camp stove
- Four person tent
- Sleeping bag
- Sleeping mat
- Fuel for the stove
- 3 camping chairs
- A camping set of pots and pans
- Several bowls from Ikea
- A complete child's bed frame
- A full-size child's mattress
- One insane toddler
- One petite Japanese nephrologist
- One fat, balding man of European ancestry
Everyone arrived around 6. Jenny brought her 3 month old son Russell, who the rather pregnant Jen is holding below.
Mimi became a little over-excited playing with everyone and when I picked her up for trying to take someone's drink, she retaliated by slapping me in the face. She's been doing a lot of this acting out recently - she's not exactly sure of the harm she can cause just yet - so I gave her a second chance. She hit me again. That was it. Time out in the back bedroom.
I set Mimi on the bed in the guest bedroom, facing the corner as usual. She had two minutes to sit, pretend to moan (she still thinks we'll sympathize), and contemplate whatever it is a toddler contemplates when its parents want it to think about what its done. Soon the two minutes were up and Sumie went to go get her. That's when we realized that Mimi's slapping me was not what she had in mind to derail the dinner party. She had something must more sinister up her sleeve. Or should I say, under her diaper.
Sumie entered the room to find a noxious smell and an even more vile river of refuse streaming down Mimi's leg and soaking into the bedspread. She grabbed the vengeful, and by now quite satisfied child, and took her to the bathroom, where Mimi was placed in the bath tub clothing an all. I heard from the bathroom, "Emergency!" and came into the back bedroom to find a miniature Niagara Falls, rendered in septic brown, streaming down the bedspread.
As I ran a code blue on the bed spread, Sumie began showering Mimi, who immediately decided to slip in the bath tub and let out a wail so piercing that it very well may be the clarion call of the zombie apocalypse. Our guests, traumatized I'm sure, continued to eat and converse in the living room as Sumie and I scurried to hide the horror of our toddler's creation. It was a full 20 minutes until Mimi was subdued and the laundry was running downstairs.
The party ended on a high note, though (good pie and even better macaroons), and Mimi made up for her blunder with lots of kisses and hugs as our friends made their way out. Even when Mimi horrifies, she can still cute her way out of it.
It wasn't the most restful of weekend, but it was a memorable one. And that's important when we're so busy. So much can get lost in the rush of things, but Mimi always has a way of making sure we never overlook her. Even tonight, after a weekend we won't soon forget, Mimi managed to put a final, personal stamp on our day. Halfway through this blog post I heard some serious struggling from Mimi's room. I stopped, listened, and then went back to writing. A few minutes later I heard a few clunks and clangs and then a "Papa!" Mimi didn't sound worried. She didn't sound in pain. It sounded like she wanted to show me something. When I walked in, I discovered I was right.
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