Priceless

In the midst of our mad dash to get the forms all filled out to register Jessa for school, we found ourselves at the mall. We were headed to Sears for an eye exam. And I am SO glad we went there, the Optometrist was awesome!

Anyway, we went to the mall early so we could have lunch. We were beyond happy to eat lunch at a real Chick-Fil-A! Woo-hoo! They are few and far between around here. . .

We had a nice lunch and headed to Sears. The kids were being so precious.

We got to the appointment early and waited patiently. Once we were in the room, Jessa was intimidated by all the equipment and the big chair. The doctor was nice and patient and gave her time to warm up. Spencer and I were seated in the corner of the room, quietly observing. And boy was Spencer awesome! He sat still and watched every move that the doctor made - he was very concerned about Miss Jessa. As we sat there, there would be small lulls in the testing while the doctor recorded her findings. Spencer said to me one time, "Mommy, Jessa is being so good." And I agreed! Jessa beamed. Then one time, Spencer said to Jessa, "We are so proud because you are being such a good girl." Such a supportive brother.

Well, of course, I am a mom who believes in bribery. So the deal was IF she was cooperative and did not act ugly, we would ride the carousel AND get a Chick-Fil-A milkshake on the way out. Wait, did I mention we found a Chick-Fil-A?? Well, she made the case that she was SO good that we should ride the carousel AND the train AND still get the milkshake. I was so ecstatic to have the last of the important pre-registration forms completed, that I agreed.

First, they rode the train. They waited until it was empty so that Jessa could ride in the engine and Spencer in the caboose. Such a good team!

Next we went to the carousel. They were also the only kids on that ride, too. They walked around several times until the selected the perfect two horses that were right next to each other. They rode the whole way holding hands. . .

Then we made our way to the third and final bribe, Chick-Fil-A. Yes, we went to Chick-Fil-A twice in one day. Yes, the manager at the Chick-Fil-A noticed that we were frequent customers. AND we bonded because he used to live in Georgia, too - a land rich in Chick-Fil-A, Dwarf Houses, and Truett's Grills. And we headed out of the mall with 2 happy babies, one happy mom, and 3 delicious Chick-Fil-A milkshakes. And Idid tell you that we got to go to Chick-Fil-A, didn't I??

They held hands the whole way to the car.

When we were almost out of the mall, Spencer said, "Hey, Jess. My hand is a little tired. How bout we switch hands." So they stopped walking, let go of the middle hand, switched their milkshakes to the other hand, and resumed hand holding.

I live for moments like this. My goodness, how I love those 2!

My fashion plates

My children love Chick-fil-A. This makes me happy because I also enjoy Chick-fil-A about 1,000 times more than McDonald's. So I am thrilled with their new love. And it is nice to be at Momma's where we have lots of Chick-fil-As to choose from, unlike Ft. Polk.

Jessa used to call it the footprint resturant because to her little eyes, the logo reminded her of a footprint. (Look at it with that in mind, and you can sort of see it or at least I can. . .) Then she called it "Chickayay," which is what Spencer still calls it.

This summer when we were driving home from my Daddy's house, she refused to eat anywhere but Chick-fil-A. Daddy is currently at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois. Not rich with Chick-fil-As!! So I programmed it into the Garmin, which did not distinguish between mall ones vs. freestanding ones. We were not in the market for something that did not have a drive-in window set-up (We had me, momma, my cousin Nikki, 2 babies, 2 dogs, and 10 catepillar chyrsalids that we had to keep at a constant temp and very still if we wanted them to become butterflies). Se we tried to find her a Chick-fil-A all day. We all ate. She refused. FINALLY, after we drove all the way through Illinois and all the way through Kentucky, we found a free-standing Chick-fil-A just past Nashville, Tennessee! Boy was she thrilled. My point: the girl loves Chick-fil-A.

Almost every day, one or the other of them asks to go and eat there. I try to limit our visits to no more than 2 per week. In order to try and regulate our eating, I have decided that Monday is a good time to get our fix (since Sunday is a hard day because we all seem to want it more that day ;>). Plus, they love the train at Truett's, so we have taken to eating there every Monday night.

Jessa was already excited about it when she got home from school. After naptime, she started preparing. She got change for the gumball machine - a highlight on the way out for children who eat well and behave. And she packed her backpack so she would be ready to go.

THEN. . .

My two sweet independent children proceeded to dress themselves. What was wrong with the clothes that they wore to school you may ask? NOTHING. But where is the fun in that, right?

Jessa chose a red Hannah Montana t-shirt (I am not a huge fan of t-shirts with writing on them when we go out to eat, but the point is that I was not choosing, right?). This prompted Spencer to choose a red Old Navy American Flag tee. Jessa chose black knit shorts; Spencer chose navy knit shorts. Jessa chose white socks and pink jelly sandals. Spencer chose white socks and his black loafers. The icing on the cake was Jessa adding a large plastic bib. She grabbed her backpack and was ready to roll.

Let me say that the pictures DO NOT do these ensembles justice. I did not realize that I had my camera until after she had removed the bib, but I included a shot of the bib, too. I promise I do buy them NICE clothes, decent matching clothes. But I also try to pick my battles, and I do think it is important to let them express themselves. That is not to say that I do not hope that people we encounter realize that I had little to do with their outfits. I even asked Mom to walk ahead of us last night and actually say it out loud. . .hee-hee!!

Jessa has been up to this for a while. . . BUT, I had hope for my Spencer, my sweet cooperative little boy, but I am afraid that her influence on him is just too strong!