You Scream, I Scream, Ice Cream

When you have two toddlers that are a year and nine days apart, life is just fun. They have so much fun wherever we go and they always draw the attention of those around them. Some of this attention occurs during cute moments, during fits, or while they look out of control. However, what people do not understand is that chaos is our life. We love it, we are used to it, and it no longer stresses us out. To others however, any given situation may look like a train wreck. This is exactly the scene that happened when my husband and I took the girls for ice cream in a trendy part of town.

It was a rainy Saturday night and everyone in our family needed to get out of the house. We decided to go for a drive and ended up at our favorite ice cream place, Jeni’s. Jeni’s ice cream is like nothing that you have ever had. They have flavors like sweet corn and blackberries. Who would have thought that corn and berry flavored ice cream would work? Oh my gosh…it is AMAZING! My mouth is watering just thinking of the surprisingly delicious concoction.  Anyway, this crafty ice cream store is located on a very artsy, trendy, college street in our town. It is usually filled with college kids or with tourists. So, taking kids to a store like this is great birth control for all the college kids there. You’re welcome parents!!!

We walked into the store and the line was wrapped around the ice cream case. It was very busy. It was a neat little store. The walls and floors were light-colored hardwood. There were multi-colored burlap banners hanging from the ceiling and beautiful paintings hanging on the walls. The round tables were made of marble and what looked like church pews lined the store. It smelled like sugary perfection. This was not exactly a toddler friendly place, but we gave it a whirl.

I was holding Turkey 2 in line. She was flirting with a man behind me. She was grinning ear to ear and playing peek-a-boo. She was swaying from side to side as I was holding her and giggling so loud that everyone noticed that we were in the store. I turned and smiled to the man, more to make sure that he was not a creeper than anything else. He immediately apologized. I responded, “No worries. She is having fun.”

Goodness, I thought, she is full of energy tonight.

We order, pay, and find a table. Turkey 1 ate her ice cream very neatly and sat like a big girl. She loved the store and truly enjoyed her peanut butter ice cream. Turkey 2 was dominating my ice cream cone and her entire face was covered in strawberry goodness. Suddenly, Turkey 1 jumped up, grabbed herself, and said that she had to potty. I handed my cone to my husband and took my girl to the bathroom. So far we have had a very nice outing and we had all enjoyed our ice cream.

As I exited the bathroom with my daughter, I made eye contact with a very frazzled and ice cream covered husband. In a matter of minutes, Turkey 2 had managed to ensue chaos. There was a bowl of melted peanut butter ice cream laying on the floor. My husband had ice cream running down both hands with an ice cream cone in each hand. There was ice cream on his shirt, shorts, and on his feet. My poor husband was leaning forward while Turkey 2 was laying halfway on his back. Her feet were on the back of the pew and she was trying her best to climb on his shoulders. He could not move or she would fall on the floor. I ran over and snatched her up as she let out a high-pitched but playful scream. This drew all eyes on my poor husband who was covered in ice cream. I went to get napkins, lots and lots of napkins. My husband got himself cleaned up while I held two cones and wrestled a very active 21 month old. We cleaned everything up (as much as possible) and I carried the bowl of ice cream to the trash. I did not realize at the time that I was dripping ice cream all over the floor and had made a clear path of peanut butter ice cream to the trash can from our table.

As I walked to the trash can, Turkey 1 ran up and tackled my legs.  I almost hit the ground but managed to catch myself.  As I did, melted peanut butter goodness spilt all over the carpet in front of me.

I looked back at my husband who was holding Turkey 2 upside down with his arm around her belly. She was trashing and giggling and just wanted to play. His ice cream was again dripping down his hand.

There we were…two parents covered in ice cream. My shirt was covered from trying to stop the bowl from falling, I stood beside a puddle of ice cream on the floor as Turkey 1 ran circles around me.  My husband had wet splotches all over his shirt and shorts where ice cream once was. His feet stuck to his sandals as he walked over to me. “Can we go now?” he asked.

“I think we need to take this kids and run!” I jokingly said to my husband.

We left the store with peanut butter ice cream everywhere. We could not stop laughing at what had just happened. We put the kids in their car seats and finished what is left of our ice cream in the car as the kids watch a movie in the backseat. My husband and I cannot help but wonder what all of those college kids were thinking in the store as they watched our life. One thing that everyone might not have known is that this is our life on day-to-day basis. I love our life and I would not change one thing about it. I love our kids and how they turn a simple trip to an ice cream parlor into an adventure we will never forget.