Our weekend was more then I could handle! It started out on a Friday night, as Dusty planned a date night for us and we headed to Roberts, WI to watch a tractor pull. Yup, you read that right, my date night was at a tractor pull!

It was actually a really exciting date, as I’d never seen one. It was fun, for the first couple hours, then it got pretty lame and we left shortly after 9pm. I was giving Dusty crap because all the couples around us were all cuddled up and I looked down to see that we had quite the large gap between our two butts on the seat.

Yup, over a foot between us. We’re such good cuddlers!

There were a few girls that were competing with all the boys. I thought that was pretty funny and told Dusty I had to get a picture for my blog and that “the masses would love it”! Here’s to you my masses:

Saturday morning and afternoon were spent at the farm helping to plant the garden. It was raining and I forgot my camera so no picture shots but still great news to share, Rory started saying Mama while we were there. I’m so proud! Saturday evening I left the kids and Dusty at home and headed out to watch a friend’s band in Stillwater. We had a large group of girls and had a great time dancing and singing.

I pretty much danced all night and was exhausted when I got home. Katie also apparently had a good time as I found this picture on my camera on Sunday!

Sunday morning I had to be up and moving as the kids and I had plans to go to Como and meet up with Kristen and her boys. I was so tired, but we went, and when we got there I found out that the Polar Bear exhibit had opened that week, so it was really, really crowded. We had to see the monkey as both Jackson and Max were both talking about them on our drives to the zoo. Here's the kids checking out the animals.

We got the customary picture at the giraffe statue. Yeah, I know it turned out cute!

Then we quickly checked out the polar bears and left there to head to a grassy hill where the kids could eat and play without being so crowded in at the zoo. They had fun running around and Max had been great all day, staying close by if he wasn’t in the stroller and listening. Then the worst experience of my life to-date happened.

We got back to the van and I started to load up Rory and saw Max getting out of the stroller. I told him that I didn’t say he could get out and quickly turned around to get Rory situated in the car seat so I could get him. A couple was walking by and I heard the guy say “no no” and look to see Max walk to the front of the van and look at me with that “come get me look”. I yelled “Max NO” as he jetted out in front of the car. I dashed and miraculously was able to grab him as he was inches from hitting a car driving by. By inches, I mean INCHES, if he had been a little taller he would have been hit by the car’s side mirror, that’s how close it was! I scooped him up and walked around to see the couple standing there. Now in my much saner mind I realize they were waiting to make sure he was OK, but at that moment I was so stressed out by the situation I assumed they were upset with me and I just said something about him being a two year old and breezed past them to get him buckled into his car seat.

I knew I wasn’t calm enough to try to reason with Max. He was looking behind him the whole time, just smiling at me chasing him, and never saw the car, so he didn’t even get scared which would have worked to my benefit. After I got him buckled in I looked him in the eye and told him that he was almost hit by a car and he can’t run into the street. Really, what else could I have done? He’s a two year old and he did what two year olds do. He doesn’t understand what being hit by a car even really means. I think that is what makes me so upset, I couldn’t even use it as a teaching moment in hopes it never happened again; he just doesn’t get it and didn’t even see the car he was almost hit by.

So naturally the scenario has played in my head since that moment and I can’t get the sick feeling out of my stomach. I realize there really wasn’t much I could have done differently. I mean, I could have buckled him into his stroller or I could have put him in the car first since Rory isn’t able to move far on her own, but I didn’t and I can’t change that. I’m not really mad at myself for those things either, I mean, it was an unpredictable situation. I’m more upset that I couldn’t think of something different that would have distracted Max from his initial idea to have me come and chase him. That is what I’m more focused on, that I didn’t think to say “Look a puppy!” and have him look in the other direction long enough for me to get him. I guess if anything, I’ll have to take away something from the situation since Max really won’t be and there is nothing I can do about that.