Our Neewollah Parade Day...

Today was one of those days.  Today was *the* day that I had described with such sweet cheesiness just a few posts ago.  Today was the Grand Parade for our town's big Neewollah celebration.  Today was the day we were supposed to get up early, and the best mama in the world would have the hot chocolate hot and ready, and the kids all bundled up perfectly cute to eat delicious perfect cinnamon rolls while we wait for the biggest parade of the year.  It was the day I was supposed to have something yummy simmering in the crock pot for when we came home...well...it didn't quite go like that. Today was just not my day...and I failed...so many times...in big and small ways...some that I will share here...and some that I will just tell you were not pretty.  So...here is how our day actually looked...I woke up late this morning, because I coughed all through the night, and just overslept.  I hurried the kids to get them going and sort-of dressed, and we ended up getting to the parade route at 20 minutes until the parade started.  Our town grows from a little under 10,000 people to 70,000 people on the Grand Parade day...so needless to say, we had to park a mile away from the parade route, and I pushed the stroller, with two large folding chairs and a 45 pound baby uphill to the parade.  We got to a spot that I thought might work, and I nicely asked a man if we could set our blankets beside his pickup truck so my kiddos could see.  He gave me a very grumpy answer, so we watched the parade from about 4 rows back.  Asher was able to squeeze through the people to watch it a little closer up.  So...we were late, with no hot chocolate, no cinnamon rolls (you have to get there early and stand in line a long time to get one).  This mama grabbed a bottle of water and 3 bananas out of the fruit basket on our way out the door...so we had bananas and water on this glorious morning that was supposed to be filled with the most delicious calories of the year...anyhoo...so we watched the parade, Asher collected about a million pieces of cheap candy, and we headed back to the car as soon as it was over.  Claire was tired and hungry, and Asher was trying to eat all of his candy before anyone else could and Katie was thinking of reasons we should not have gone...and honestly so was I.  We finally got through traffic and got home, and I decided that since I had failed at getting something yummy in the crock pot beforehand that I would just whip up some taco soup...it's one of our favorites...and so easy and yummy.  Well...I am sure you can guess...that didn't work out.  I opened up the package of ground beef and it smelled horrible...I am not sure why, but it just was not right.  Katie was about to gag very dramatically...and again...honestly so was I.  So...I got back in the car, drove the stinky meat all the way to Walmart for a refund, picked up some new meat...and GREAT NEWS...this is where the story turns around. Kris was working, so Asher and I got to visit him a little bit.  He walked with us outside and told me how much he loved me and how much he loved the kids and appreciated us.  He literally turned my day around with his words.  We got home, got the soup going, turned on the Christmas music, and the kids kicked off their shoes and promptly proceed to play...aka...destroy the living room...but they were happy.  We had a pretty good rest of the day.  Katie had plans with her friends downtown so the little ones and I snuggled in, watched The Polar Express, and then they had a warm bath, and we read some books.  They are both sleeping now...just snuggled in so warm and snuggly.  So...this day...that I thought I had ruined...turned out pretty sweetly...not because of the world's most delicious cinnamon rolls...but because the words of my husband...who I love so very much.  He turned our day around.  I am so incredibly thankful for him.