Main Street Days

Last Friday we took the kids to Main Street Days in Grapevine, TX. It's just a little festival they put on in downtown on Main Street. There's vendors selling food and various items as well as a carnival and little shows. Last year we went and we remembered really enjoying it. This was our first big outing besides the mall with the baby. Well big mistake, we weren't quite ready for it. It was in the 90's that day but ridiculously humid. The sun was beating down on us and that was at 6 pm. The kids were fussy and the place was packed. I had some bottles for the baby but I am still nursing. Bryce decided he did not want a bottle at all, I tried my best to give him one but he refused, and if anyone has ever nursed a baby then you know that in 90 degree humid weather it is just not possible to cover a baby in a blanket and try to nurse. I tried over and over again to nurse as well but I was literally smothering the poor thing in the heat. So poor Bryce proceeded to cry and fuss the last hour we were there. We had a bunch of tickets so we decided to take the kids and let them go to the carnival. JT loves rides but was only able to go on a small train ride that they even said he was too small for but we coaxed them into letting him on and the long slide with me as well as the merry go round. We had enough left for each of the girls to choose a ride and so we proceeded to let them go on one. When JT realized he was not able to go on the last ride he decided he was going to have a melt down in front of everyone, and mind you I'm holding Bryce who by now is screaming, but were waiting for them to start the ride for Elizabeth. JT flipped out he was banging on the gate around the ride we tried everything to calm him, he threw himself down on the ground so there he is kicking and screaming hysterically on the pavement his face painting is smearing all over. We couldn't get him to stand up so we had to drag him to the grass so he wouldn't hurt himself. So there he lay rolling around on the filthy grass amongst cigarette butts and Russ and I were helpless. People were staring, we were mortified, we finally managed to get him in the stroller and buckle him in, where he continued to throw himself around. We have never seen him behave so horribly. But things have been tough on us. And we had to sit there amongst everyone because our girls were on a ride while this was taking place, and there were no restrooms just port-o-potties. And our car was parked streets away. I now understand all those parents I criticized before. I used to think there was something wrong with their parenting when I would see a child throwing a major tantrum, but we try our best. Russ and I do everything we can to discipline properly and to not allow the kids to get out of control but you can only do all you can and hope for the best. Throw in a new baby, multiple children and the terrible 2's and there is bound to moments of insanity.