Losing it on the Cute Coat

The day started out well. I had plans to go to my daughters school for Parent Teacher Conferences. An outing! A blessed, blessed outing. A reason to don more than a sweatshirt for the entire day (or week as this has been a very "inside" kind of week). To celebrate my coming out of hermitism, I pulled out the cute coat. The only coat that has any shape to it for on this day, my friends, I am driving farther than the bus stop. And who knows, I might see someone! Hurrah! So I hop in the car with my little boy, feeling good, and ignoring the fact I forgot to change my housecleaning, light colored, almost-holey-but-not-in-a-fashion-kind-of-way-jeans(after all I am in my cute-coat and I think they counterbalance to produce some sort of mid-grade hotness right?) and we're on our way. I pull up to the school and debate whether I should park close to the office where I have to check in, or the classroom where I will be leaving from. Office won out, although, close is relative: the only spot open was as far from the office that close could be. The Boy had a mild fever this morning as a result, I believe, of teething. For those of you who don't know him, let me just explain that The Boy is not a small child. He's a thick and tall little eighteen month old. So I'm carrying my chunky, but cuddly, fevery little boy and we tromp across the asphalt to the office. The boy is starting to get heavy, but he's so cute, and besides, genetics from my father's side has equipped me with appropriate Mamma hips. We finally pop in the office only to be told that it was unnecessary and they send us on our way to the classroom. We get to wait outside because Previous Mom obviously has no regard for other people's failing arms. I can't put the boy down because he has now taken a turn for the worse and is obviously feeling pretty crummy. So we stand outside in the frigid weather, me clutching the 30 squishy pounds to my body in hopes I won't drop his hot weight on the frozen concrete. Previous Mom really likes to talk. Ugh. Oh yay! 15 heavy minutes later, Mrs. E open's the door and P.Mom walks out. THEN IT HAPPENED!! The Boy (I'm sorry there's no nice way to say this) lost his breakfast. All over himself, his poor stuffed puppy, and yes cute-coat. Sad.
"Um, I think I'll reschedule. . . " I manage, and Teach laughs and says, " Okay, well, at least you weren't inside! Ha ha!" Hmmph. Cute little joke. She hands us a couple paper towels and takes the next Mom in line. Off comes the boy's coat and into the dumpster it goes. Fortunately cute-coat is not a casualty, so it gets crumpled up into a ball. Now I no longer have a 30 lbs toddler clinging to me, I have a 100 lbs (at least he feels that way now) ticking time bomb, turned outward just in case, and leaning slightly over cute-coat which has now turned pathetically into barf catcher. We get to trek across the never ending lot this way. What do you know? I did see someone today! Lot's of someone's loitering in the massive parking lot who were fortunate enough to see my my ample derriere sticking back at a funny angle so I can lean over ToddlerTime Bomb, who needs to lean over cute-barf-catcher. Thankfully we made it home without another episode. Once we get home, I stick the boy in the bath while I stretch out my gumby arms. When he's dressed, I lay him on the couch for a snuggle with his squishy 30 lbs, and droopy eyes. I decide tonight is a cereal for dinner night, and we both drift to sleep. Him dreaming of Mom of course *wink* and me: dreaming (of course) of a new Cute-coat.