So a few weeks ago, I had one of those weeks. But, today I had one of those days, in a good way. We started the morning as always, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in bed with our little man. As soon as he wakes up, the current ritual is to go get him and bring him into our bed for some toons. Then, we got around and went to McDonald's for breakfast...which was all good until Carl decided to look at the little sheet that tells the calories/fat grams in each item. After I heard that, I was rethinking those 1 1/2 bacon/egg/cheese biscuits I had just scarfed down, I mean nibbled on very lady-like! I shared half of one with Cale. I would have given him more, I really would have, but that was all he wanted. After that we came home and spent the rest of the day playing. Cale was in the best mood I can remember him being in for quite some time. First of all, he felt good, obviously, which makes a huge difference. Secondly, he took a 3 1/2 hour nap vs. his normal 1-1 1/2 hour nap. I have to admit, at hour 3...I was starting to get worried and thinking some pretty scary thoughts. But, he was fine of course. It's amazing how plenty of sleep can completely change a child's, or adult's, personality.

This afternoon we headed to Conway for some Chili's and Playworld. Knock on wood, Cale has been surprisingly good at restaurants lately. But, we've also discovered a trick that works wonderfully for Cale. He wasn't satisfied with us simply putting pieces of food, like chicken nuggets or bread, in front of him. He wants his own plate, some sort of dipping sauce, and a utensil...even though he's still not great with spoons/forks. So tonight, he got his own little bowl of cheese dip, which he used to his enjoyment to make a rather nice mess. But, I've discovered that a mess is better than screaming! He also got a plate full of my chicken strips and fries...which he played with more than ate...but I'm not complaining.

After dinner, was the big finale...Playworld! It was our first time to go to Playworld, but we'd heard all about it because my nieces have been several times. It was really awesome and I think Cale had the time of his little 18-month old life. If you haven't been you should really try it. It cost $5 for Cale to play, which I though was really reasonable compared to some of the other places I've heard about. The best part of the whole place is this huge maze that kids can climb through, but there's also a small play area with toddler equipment and lots of games for older kids. But, back to the maze. Cale was too little to go all by himself. So, Carl nominated me to go through with him because he thought he was "too heavy", great excuse, huh? So, I figured what the heck. It couldn't be too strenuous...I mean it's made for kids. Oh was I wrong. My pregnant self could barely make it to the end. And by the end, I was literally sore and hurting. Worse than a trip to the gym. You had to climb up, down, around and around...slide through tunnels, crawl under things, over things. It probably took us about 15 minutes to go through the entire thing. Yeah, it's really big.

I was struggling a little as we went, but managing. That is, until the reverse slide. It may not sound bad, but believe me...it's torture. There was this very long enclosed, slide that you had to climb up to get to the next part of the maze. Just a word of warning, if you take your kids, don't do that part. I let Cale go in front of me so that I could catch him if he fell...which he did about 10 times until he finally got the hang of it. The problem was that his momma couldn't quite get the hang of it. The slide was fairly narrow and there was no good way to pull yourself up. About half-way up my arms felt like jello and I seriously thought I wasn't going to make it. But, then I looked up and realized Cale was all the way to the top. So, I knew I had to make it...which was a bad feeling. Then I heard someone shout, "You better watch him because there's a fireman's pole and a big drop when you get to the top." So, I guess my motherly adrenaline kicked in because somehow I made it up that slide in time to catch Cale. I guess the visions of Cale tumbling down that hole gave me the extra push I needed. So, I was finally up the slide...problem solved. Wrong. There Cale and I sat, pondering how we would get down this pole. Well, I was pondering. Cale was just trying to pry himself from my arms so he could go, or more like plummet, to the bottom. The drop was much too high for me to just toss Cale down, or believe me...I would have. So, I kept attempting to slide down while holding him...but that was impossible and probably quite funny to watch. I was getting discouraged because I went to all that trouble to get up that darn slide and now we were going to have to slide back down. But, then a girl...probably around 8 years old came through. When she slid down the pole I asked her if I could hand Cale to her. The sweet little thing said yes, even though she probably didn't weigh that much more than Cale herself. So, after all the drama we made it through and found our way back out. Let's just say I strongly think, slides are meant to be slid down, not climbed up.

I told Carl that he had to go through at least one time with Cale, because I wanted him to see that it was no piece of cake. I know he thought I was a wimp when I came out of there so worn out...with my hair coming out of my ponytail and what I think was a slight limp. When Carl and Cale got to the reverse slide...Carl got stuck halfway and I laughed so hard I cried. He finally managed to pull himself up and slide down the pole with Cale. Afterwards, as he emerged, all sweaty, from the maze he told me he couldn't believe that I had actually made it up that slide. Ahhh, the feeling of vindication I felt in that moment!

But, all in all, it was the perfect night and Cale behaved like a perfect little guy. I'm sure it was the first of many trips to Playworld.