Feeding the ants

For the 4th of July I took Ladybug out to the local amphitheater to see the fireworks. It is not her first time for fireworks but she was all excited. We stopped at the local sub shop and got sandwiches, drinks, and chips. We took a blanket and I remembered the camera.

Of course we had to park a ways away from the site and walk. Ladybug insisted on wearing her flip-flops. Which, of course, hurt her toes. And she has this habit of just stopping. She stops and checks her toes. Or some other boo-boo. And if I am holding her hand it jerks me back. Or the person behind her runs into her. But we finally get to a spot. A spot in the shade, on a slight hill, with a great view of the sky (well, at least I thought so...until I was trying to take pictures of the fireworks and realized I had parked us right behind the port-o-potties. How did I miss that?).

So we hauled out the food and set up the picnic. And the ants came marching in. Have I mentioned that she hates bugs? Or, it appears, anything nature related. They were tiny, tiny, tiny black ants. And she freaked. And I tried to say things that would calm her down. And still eat my own dinner. So I must have said something like "they are not interested in you, they just want food." When I look over -- because she has slowly inched her way over so close to me she is almost sitting on me -- I discover that she has laid out some ham and chips for the ants to eat. Oh, she is not being nice. She is hoping they will go for the stuff she has given and leave her alone. But the "buffet" has just caused more ants to show up. We are being swarmed.

So I brush the food off the blanket. No more food and ants. She decides to sit between my legs -- because I have not dribbled crumbs in my space. My phone rings and I answer it. I am talking on the phone as I slowly begin to realize that she is backing up against me. Backing up. Backing up. Her butt is inching up my belly. Inching up. Now up to my boobs. Okay I gotta get off the phone. Because she is slowly climbing up my body. I can only assume it is to avoid ants. Off the phone. Moved her. Discover that my blanket is covered with ants. Covered!

That's it. I pack up all food and toss it. Now I must entertain her. For 3 hours. Before the fireworks start. 3 hours! Fireworks lasted 10 minutes (with the 2 kids behind us freaking out like we were being bombed during the entire show). And within 3.2 seconds of the the fireworks being done there was a stampede back to the cars. Oh and of course I was called a bad mom on that walk. Ladybug dropped her glow-in-the-dark bracelet the 12th time (on the 5 minute walk) and I told her if it drops again we were leaving it behind, at which point some mom (who obviously has more patience then me) gives me a dirty look and says, "It is only a bracelet!" Yes, lady, I know it is a cheap 30 cent, toss in the trash, bracelet -- which is why I am sick of having her yank my arm out of the socket to protect that family heirloom.

She slept in the car on the way home. And she went straight to bed once home. I didn't even make her change out of her dress. Does that make me a bad mom too?

Mean Mama