Happy Days?

We haven't left the house since we took Owen to the doctor on Monday. He has really enjoyed being able to sit around in his underwear for 3 days and just chill. Bridget on the other hand really loves to get out, see people, and socialize. So this week has been a struggle for her. I did manage to convince her that I wanted to make home a fun place for her as well. So we did quite a few things together that we normally don't have time for. By yesterday she was starting to enjoy life at home, at least a little.

Today, we had a busy day. Both kids wanted to see the new Hannah Montana movie. So we went to the first showing at 12:30. They both had a blast. Bridget's favorite part of the movie was the 'behind the scenes' shots, while Owen enjoyed seeing and hearing his favorite songs. My favorite part was that my Mother-In-Law accompanied us and graciously offered to foot the bill for the tickets.

Immediately after the movie, we took my MIL home and headed to a local indoor water park for a Girl Scout outing. Of course, a fun time was had by all. Bridget did stub her toe pretty bad on a step and get part of her nail broken off, but she recovered quickly and went right back to swimming.

On the way home in the car, Bridget was gushing about what a wonderful day she had. "Mommy this was the best day ever. And it is all because you planned it. You made this day perfect. Thank you for all your hard work. This was the best day of my whole life and it all happened because of you...." I acknowledged her thanks and tried to focus on the fact that her enjoying herself was the most important part. I suggested that maybe the theme song from "Happy Days" should be our theme song to help us remember what is important. It definitely made me take notice that I complain to the kids about planning things (when they don't want to cooperate). Also, we still have a lot of work to do to eliminate the praise mentality from our home.

When we got home the kids were in the highest of spirits. E asked them how their day went. Bridget said, "Not so good. Look, I stubbed my toe really bad." E, of course, winced in disgust (he's not a blood person) and she got the shocking response she was looking for. What happened to 'best day of my life'? Where did all that joy and excitement go? Where did this Mr. Hyde come from? Another reminder to me that her joy in the car seemed 'drummed up' just to make me feel appreciated. She gave E an accurate account of the joys and sadness of her day, but I had to be praised. Yikes. I tremble at the thought of what my kids must think of me.