Stinker by Santa

Today we went to the Mall of America, expecting a super fun time at Sky Deck, decorating Christmas cookies, playing arcade games, bowling, and taking a picture with Santa. I had even picked the boys out coordinating outfits, hoping to get a cute picture of them to distribute at Christmas time. I hadn’t spent hardly any time on my own appearance, since I didn’t even want to be in the picture. But, things didn’t go according to plan. The boys had a great time decorating/eating cookies and Jude had a great time playing arcade games. But, then I decided it was time for the picture of my 3 cute little boys that I wanted so badly. I waited in line with the 2 little ones so Jude could get in more game time. Then when it was almost our turn, I called Andy to join us. But, Jude just wouldn’t behave. Andy and I ended up having to be in the picture and Jude kept hiding his face in my lap and being a total pill. I’m sure we didn’t get a single usable shot. Annoying. Then Andy got the good idea of just heading home after that to teach Jude a lesson. When Jude realized that we were leaving because he hadn’t behaved himself, he threw a temper tantrum and was screaming and crying almost the whole way home. It was kind of sad since he was asking me for “one more chance.” He really wanted to go back and play games. Well, I’m thinking it may be memorable enough for him to encourage better behavior in the future. I suppose none of this would have happened if our kids actually believed in Santa Claus because then, I’m guessing, they would have been on their best behavior.