A Hole in Your Heart

I think that everyone knows that we have a Basset Hound named Droopy.  Charles and I got him back in 2004  a couple of months after my Mom passed away.  I initiated getting him for a couple of reasons.  First of all, I grew up with dogs so once Charles and I had a house it seemed like the thing that was missing.  Secondly, my Mom LOVED dogs so rescuing a dog and making it a part of our family definitely would have made her happy, so getting Droopy took away a small piece of the loss and sadness I was feeling.  Lastly, I thought it would be good for Charles and I to take care of something together as we were still newlyweds at the time.  Mind you, we killed 50% of our house plants, but hey that at least meant the dog would have a 50/50 chance. ;-)  Anyway, after a little research I found the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue and on their website I found Droopy (he was named Cleo at the time, which seemed like a girl named to me, and since he had already had like four different names, I figured what was one more, and decided he would be Droopy).  I filled out the application and Charles and I were interviewed and our home was visited.  We passed!!!!  We were now the proud new parents of a five year old basset.  Droopy is a wonderful dog.  He is sweet, gentle, loving, SO EASY to take care of.  He really is the perfect dog for us.  He was Charles' first dog so I took a back seat when it came to feeding, walking, training, etc. so that he and Charles would really bond and they did.  They are two  peas in a pod and Droopy easily favors Charles (unless Melanie and I have a treat for him, then he ignores him like you wouldn't believe). :)

Droopy eagerly welcomed Melanie into our family and from day one he has shown her nothing but love and patience.  When she was an infant he would lick her face (leaving a drool puddle) and just sit there while she would pat at his face and try to grab his ears.  As a toddler he would tolerate her as she would fall on him or pet him maybe a little too hard sometimes.  Now he equally adores her and looks forward to their walks and loves the fact she is always on the floor which means belly rubs for him.  Melanie loves him a ton and refers to him as her brother.

Well, yesterday I took Droopy to the vet and we are devastated to learn that Droopy is in heart failure and probably only has about three months left with us.  We knew it would happen soon enough as he is approaching 14 years old and has always had a heart murmur, but it's still tough to face.  I spent my afternoon educating myself on what to do to make sure his quality of life continues as long as possible and also preparing for how to tell Melanie.  It was almost as terrible as telling her about my Dad as she just sat in my arms crying for what seemed like forever.  There is nothing worse than breaking your child's heart, but we wanted her to know he was sick so she would have time to process and also not be surprised when his time does come.  The toughest comment came this morning when I was doing her hair and she said to me, "Mommy I am really going to miss Droopy, I just love him so much.  I think there will be a hole in my heart."  All I could do was hold her while she cried again and tell her I know and how sorry I am as I too bawled.  She then consoled me with, "At least he will get to live with Grandpa and he can take care of Droopy."  She really is my daily blessing! 

Nothing but praises to God for bringing us such a sweet dog to take care of all these years and prayers as we do our best to care for him until his time is gone.  We love you Droopy!!!!

Six Months in a Nut Shell

Six months.....seriously?????  It is hard to believe that six months have passed since I last posted but it would appear to be so.  I have a ton of posts in my head that just never made it to print.  My excuse of course is that I have been busy.  Not nearly as busy as many other people I know  like my friend who has 14 adopted children kinda busy, I don't know how she has time to breathe, but busy for me and for us.  So just for the soul purpose of catching you up, here has been our last six months:

In December I accepted a position to teach for Sierra Nevada College and Washoe County School District as an instructor for their TESOL/ESL/ELL endorsement program.  For those not in education that means I teach classes so that already licensed school teachers can get an addition to their license and be specialized to teach children who speak another language other than English.  This is in addition to my teaching job so that sucked up a lot of hours in my week prepping, teaching, and grading.  Good news though, I loved it!  So, I will be continuing that in the Fall.

We did a lot of visiting of family. In February it was Charles' family in Arizona, in March it was my side in Maryland, and then just last week Melanie and I made our yearly trip to Oregon to visit my sister and brother in-law.  All the trips were wonderful and it always does my heart good to see Mel enjoying her extended family since we don't have any locally.

We also tried something new this Spring......T-Ball!!!  Boy what a time sucker, but also a really great experience.  Melanie really enjoyed it and she had an amazing set of coaches who we have remained in touch with and are honored to now call our friends.  I, of course, volunteered to be team mom (can you say sucker) which could be overwhelming, but luckily the coaches wives were equally amazing and we all pitched in and got the job done.  I learned that Mel has such a natural love of sports which is wonderful.  I also learned that I get burned out easily when it comes to baseball/softball.  By the time T-Ball was over we were only two months into the Aces season and I was done!  I took a two week break though and now we are back in the action.  That leads me to Charles.

The Reno Aces are hosting the Triple A All-Star game this year along with all of the festivities that go with it so Charles has been crazy busy preparing for that.  That fun started today and runs through Wednesday so we won't really see him but the season slows down some after that.

So, busy is the word for the past six months but still feeling oh so blessed through all of it!

Oh yeah, the pic reminds me that Melanie has also lost her two front bottom teeth so we have also joined in the ranks of many other parents who have invited some teeth hoarding fairy into our home to fly around in our child's bedroom, take her teeth, leave money, and then fly out somehow.  All in good fun and tradition! :)

Hope your last six months have been blessed and full of memories.  With love from our home to yours!

Voices of Reason, Moments of Faith, God’s Intervention

Normally I blog all about Melanie and my adventures with her but Tuesday, 12/18/12, was such a crazy day that I couldn’t even share the whole thing on Facebook since they only give you the option to continue reading, and not read on forever so here was my day, yes only one day….

I had been feeling not so great for eight days with a sore throat and runny nose, typical “virus” type stuff that you get from working with children all the time.  I hate going in because you always get that look like “Seriously, you can’t tough this out, IT’S A VIRUS!”   So I had avoided it and as luck would have it my doctor was now out of town until after Christmas.  I woke up Tuesday morning unable to swallow and it was very hard to talk.  That was it, unable to talk, that does not work for me.  As many of you know, I love to talk.  I talk for a living.  I teach children to talk (correctly).  I have been that way all my life.  When I was a teenager (back in the day before texting, emails, and I-Pad’s) it was a weekly occurrence that my Dad would find me on the phone after telling me to get off several times and he would unplug my phone and lecture me under his breath as he walked out with it with the final sentence being, “You are never getting this back!”  Luckily my Mom was a voice of reason in my life at that time and after an acceptable amount of time would talk my Dad back into giving me my phone.  However, upon further thought maybe it was simply she was tired of hearing me talk to her and thought I better get my phone back so I can call people before I drive her crazy.  Either way, worked for me. 

Anyway, back to Tuesday….  I decided I was going in to be seen and I was not going to accept being told it was a virus; they were going to help me!!!  I confidently walked in and asked to see a doctor.  I was seen immediately and given a strep test.  I thought, “Great, quick test, positive result, prescription antibiotics, and on with my day, all before 8:00.”  Then the doctor came in and examined me.   The strep was negative and she said I had “a growth in my tonsil.”  The confidence immediately drained from me and I became worried.  She said that best case scenario it was an abscess in my right tonsil because there was nothing visible on the outside of my tonsil but it was so enlarged it was pushing against my uvula and my uvula was touching my left tonsil and restricting my airway.  She said I would need to get a CT of my neck done immediately and some lab work and probably emergency surgery to reopen my airway, so off I went.  I was okay until I then thought, an abscess is the best case scenario, what is the worst????

 I am probably a little more sensitive about this kind of thing than most due to the fact that I know two amazing men who have both suffered from mouth/throat cancer in the recent years.  One was a dear friend from high school who passed back in May after the cancer that was treated (and thought to be gone) decided to show up in other parts of his body.  The second was my dear pastor who was diagnosed this time last year and has went through an amazing year of surgeries and treatments and appears to be cancer free (PET Scan to follow next week, major prayers for that).  Luckily my pastor recounted his experience publicly because it was certainly his voice of reason that I needed Tuesday.  As I sat there waiting to be seen for further testing I recalled how my pastor had handled the stress, anxiety, fear, unknown, and laid it all at God’s feet to handle.  This is hard for me because I can be a little controlling but I have learned from the experiences of losing both of my parents to cancer that when it comes to the big stuff you are really not in control of the outcome, only the way you choose to approach and handle the situation.  So I just began to pray.  I prayed for the best and if it was any worse, I prayed that God would give me the strength to deal with it and comfort and help Charles and Melanie in any way they needed.  I prayed for the doctors and nurses I would encounter that day.  I went in for the CT which required an IV because they needed contrast.  Due to not being able to swallow to eat or drink I was a little dehydrated and my veins were hard to find and rolling like crazy so after three failed attempts they called in the “vein whisperer”.  She got it first time and we were set.  After the test they put me in what was like a holding cell.  Really it was just like a tiny room with two chairs to wait until they knew where I needed to go next.  Thanks to today’s technology they had my CT up on the computer outside immediately which was good and bad.  Good that they could see, bad that I could hear them analyzing it.  One doctor was sure it was a “mass” as she kept describing it and was sure surgery was necessary.  The other doctor thought it was a puss pocket that could be drained and medicine would clear it up.  The lady who took the scan chimed in a little here and there too.  The decision was made that a specialist would be called in to review the CT and consult so off I went to an actual exam room to wait.  Apparently they needed the holding cell for someone else. J  I sat in there for a long time or maybe just 47 minutes (which seems like forever in this case) while I waited.  I prayed some more.  I thought of both of my dear friends and what they had went through and thought that if this was even a small fraction of the feelings they had been through, how terrible, but then again God was always forefront in their battles and I knew that was the path I was GOING to take and I was even more confident of that then I was of the fact that IT WAS NOT A VIRUS!!! J  So after the waiting I was told they were pretty sure it was actually a serious infectious pocket that had formed and they would drain it a little, give me some steroids and antibiotics, send me home, have me check the swelling and airway, and come back for check-ups.  It was also the first case they had seen of only one tonsil becoming infected on the inside like that and to that extreme without there being an abscess or mass that needed removing so they suggested I may want to be seen by an ENT when all is said and done to have my freakish tonsils checked.  I left soooooo relieved and could not Praise God enough for the results but for more that that, seeing me through my day.  It is moments of faith such as this that make me wonder how people ever get through strife in life without God.

But wait, there’s more…….

I decided to pick Melanie up from school early so that I could go home and just rest without having to go back out.  I figured we could snuggle on the couch, watch a Christmas movie, and just have some mother/daughter time.  Sounds nice huh????  Oh but no, our dog Droopy had other plans.  While I was at the doctor all day Droopy had decided to open some Christmas presents.  One in particular, he just ripped a few getting to the one he wanted.  Without us knowing, someone had sent us a large box of See’s candy.  As Mel and I walked through the door we found our lovable dog with a piece of chocolate hanging out of his mouth.  I could not even imagine where he had gotten it from until I looked outside to see Christmas wrapping paper everywhere and then realized someone had sent us candy and we had put it under the tree and my dogs 13 year old sniffer found it even through the wrapping paper, clear plastic wrap, and box.  I immediately call the vet clinic because I know that chocolate can be toxic for dogs.  They of course asked me to get him there immediately so I loaded me, Mel and the 60 pound basset hound into the car and off we went.  Melanie was whimpering because she was worried about Droopy, Droopy was whimpering because he was scared and probably starting to develop a tummy ache, and while I wanted to whimper too, I instead just prayed.  I know that at the age of 13 our old guy may not have a ton of time left but it’s been a tough year for the Lucas family in area of loss so I just really wanted him to at least make it through one more family holiday.  Confident that if God could heal me that morning he could certainly handle a dog with a sweet tooth, we marched into the vet clinic.  Luckily we got him there in plenty of time.  They induced vomiting until all the contents of his stomach came out (I will spare you the details), rehydrated him with an IV, gave us post care instructions and we were on our way.  We had to watch him for several hours but the vet was fairly confident he had escaped seizures from the chocolate and a heart attack from the mass amounts of sugar. 

I got everyone home and settled.  By this point I needed a whole box of chocolate to eat!  As we sat talking about our day that evening we definitely had a lot to be thankful for and realized that it was really divine intervention that made our day so wonderful.  I had no intention of going to the doctor so I am positive God intervened there and taking my voice certainly convinced me to go.  Had I not gone to the doctor and went to work instead I wouldn’t have been home until after 5:00 and who knows what state Droopy would have been in by then so again while it seemed like an awful, no good, horrible, terrible day it was actually just many amazing (but sometimes difficult) moments that lead to us feeling blessed beyond belief.  And last but certainly not least, after tucking my baby into bed that night, having Droopy curl up comfortably on his bed, realizing that my throat was practically pain free and I was talking without any problems, I sat and read the truly heart wrenching stories of funerals that had taken place that day for the victims in Connecticut, and all I dwelled on was how lucky I was to have my little girl to hug and tuck in.  So PRAISE GOD for the people he has placed in my life that are the voices of reason just when you need them, PRAISE GOD for His divine intervention into this stubborn woman’s life and PRAISE GOD for being the center of my moments of faith.  I pray there are more.  May everyone have a blessed Christmas and a faith filled New Year!

 

It's beginning to look a lot like..........

Well, if you were to finish the title of this post in the traditional way the answer would be Christmas.  Am I the only one who felt like you spent October 31st doing the whole Halloween thing and then woke up on November 1st and it was as if Christmas was the very next week and Thanksgiving had just passed us right by.  This was especially true today as I made our Christmas photo cards, answered the door twice for deliveries of Christmas gifts I had ordered, and finished the rough draft (yes there's a rough draft, I'm a teacher with a touch of OCD I think, so of course there is a rough draft) of our Christmas letter.  In my defense I have the month off so it really is the perfect time to get things ready for Christmas since time just flies by once Thanksgiving is over.  But usually I seem to live in my own secret little world preparing ahead so that I can take more time to enjoy.  This year has been different.  Christmas commercials have taken over political ones, businesses are already decorated for Christmas, and stores have "leaked" their Black Friday specials weeks in advance and are starting at like 8:00.  WHAT??????  As a person with a spouse who lives for Black Friday you really have taken all the sport out of it.  My husband used to poor over Black Friday ads on Thanksgiving (this gave me a break from watching football all day long), map out his course because stores had their own deals (now they are all the same) and then he would head out just as I was going to bed with his list, a map, and a kiss for good luck only to get home and crawl into bed just as Melanie was waking up.  This year he will be able to hit Wal-Mart at 8:00, get everything in one place, and be home by 10:00.  How is that ANY different from any other night of shopping???  The sport in Black Friday is gone, much like the focus on Thanksgiving this year.  So I have decided to focus a little more on Thanksgiving in the next week or so.  I thought I would start with a post about what I am thankful for.  I then realized that is the exact subject of my very first post last year.  I then realized I am just as thankful for the very same things.  So here's a few things specific to this year:

I am still so thankful for my Dad.  He passed in April losing his battle with cancer but I am thankful that he was here in Reno so that I could spend his last year with him making many priceless memories with him and Melanie.

I am still so thankful for my husband, Charles.  He was so amazing this year during Dad's illness.  Juggling an 80 hour work week and the schedule that I had with working full time, caring for Dad, and chasing after Mel was not easy but he did an amazing job and even put up with all the emotions that come when you lose someone so close to you.

I am still so thankful for my sister and her amazing husband.  I have always thought they were pretty great (okay maybe sis and I had a few bad years there during our teen years) ;-)  but they were truly wonderful offering so much help and support over the past year and a half. 

I am still so thankful for the wonderful school and amazing teachers that Melanie has.  Words cannot express how good it does a mommy heart when you know that your child is so loved and cared for when they are away from you.  True blessings in our lives.

I am still so thankful for our jobs.  Charles and I have jobs in our chosen professions that more than pay the bills and not everyone has that for sure, not to mention the many little blessings that they give us just by the nature of what we do.

I am still so thankful for Melanie.  She makes me smile inside and out.  Pure joy.

I am still so thankful for all of our friends and family.  There are not enough words and not enough time to thank all of you that mean so much to us.

I am still so thankful too for reality TV, country music, the Food Network, and Starbucks.  Simple pleasures.

Most recently I am thankful for the family vacation we were able to take to Chicago.  It was a much needed trip for nothing more than pleasure, leaving nothing behind to worry about, and we enjoyed every minute of it.  I hope we take time for more of these in the next year.  As we get closer to Thanksgiving I hope you take time to reflect on the memories and blessings you hold dear.  From the Lucas home to yours, much love and a very Happy THANKSGIVING!!!!

Top of Sears Tower 103rd floor, glass bottom looking over Chicago

Mel sliding like a penguin at Shedd Aquarium

Chicago out of Lego's

Dora in 4 D at Shedd Aquarium

Charles and Mel on the flying bicycles at Lego Discovery Center

Melanie and I waiting for the dolphin show at Shedd




 

 

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Having now spent four years in a place where you actually get to experience four seasons (unlike Phoenix, Arizona where you just get summer and some other time of year with temps over 110 and wildfires everywhere that I personally believe is like a testing ground for Hell) I have personally decided that my favorite season is definitely Autumn. 

As I mentioned in my last post, sometime in September baseball season ends (at least Triple A does which means we get to see Charles for more than a half hour in the morning) and Starbucks brings back PUMPKIN which for me means Vente Non-Fat Pumpkin Chai Latte No Water PLEASE!  This marks the beginning of my favorite season.  Not only do I love Fall for a lot of the traditional reasons that someone would such as changing leaves, cool crisp mornings but beautiful days, football, etc.  I have come to absolutely LOVE what we do as a family this time of year.

A favorite for our family is definitely Apple Hill.  It is a collection of about 40 farms from apple orchards, pumpkin farms, wineries, to Christmas tree farms.  You drive around these little country roads stopping as often as you want to pick fruit and pumpkins, enjoy homemade yummies such as fritters, pies, apple doughnuts, apple ice cream, many offer crafts and activities for kids as well.  It is an amazing family day outside in the beautiful sunshine truly celebrating Fall and enjoying a very special part of California that truly looks like God's country.  Our favorite farm by far is High Hill Ranch.  We've done it a little different every year but this year we started at the outdoor BBQ where we had lunch right off the grill.

After lunch we have a favorite craft stand where a very talented lady makes crafts out of hollowed out gourds.  Melanie's favorite thing is that she sells craft kits where you can make your own ornament.  This year she picked a snowman (pics to follow).  Then it was off to the candy factory to decorate chocolate covered marshmallows. YUMMMMM!!!!

Melanie was then ready to ride a pony.  They have a little pony riding pen set up by a trout pond.  Melanie was super hesitant because as she watched the ponies led around in a circle she was positive that if she got on, the pony in front of her just might need to poop during the ride and it just might come flying back right at her.  She watched for a few minutes and since poop did not seem to be an issue she decided she was ready to ride.  She worried for nothing.  No poop from the horse in front of her.  But hers decided he needed to use the restroom just as Mel was climbing down.  She jumped and was SAFE!!!  Ahhhhh, life on the farm.

From there it was onto the hayride and pumpkin patch.  Melanie of course picked this green warty type pumpkin that only a mommy pumpkin could love (typical Mel) and she very wisely turned it into a witch pumpkin which you'll see later.

By this time the farm was crazy crowded, like Disneyland crowded, so we headed to the pie shop and stocked up on pies and cakes for us and many to share and then it was back to the car for the gorgeous drive home through the mountains with the changing leaves and a pass by Lake Tahoe.  Always one of my favorite ways to celebrate Fall.

Another fun place we discovered this Fall was Andelin Family Farm right here in Sparks, Nevada.  It is a wonderful local little farm that I decided to drag the family out to on Nevada Day.  In addition to just wanting to try it out I thought it might be a good time to hopefully help clarify Mel's misconception that milk comes from cow's butts.  I am sure many of you remember this little bit of knowledge she shared with me as we passed many dairy farms on our way to Portland over the summer.  So as we got to Andelin Farm I was very excited to see some cows along with many other farm animals.  We visited the chicken coop and also the turkey pen (felt sorry for those fat guys, only a few weeks left to live), then off to the area where the "cows" were.  Well the cows were way off in the distance but Mel got to chat with the farmer who educated Melanie on the two yaks and one bull that he had.  Mel still seems pretty confused because she thinks yaks are types of cows and they also make milk from their bottoms.  So it wasn't the most educational day but we had fun feeding the goats, getting kisses from a llama, riding horses, watching a puppet show, getting lost in the corn maze, and playing in a mini play vegetable farm.  This farm is a definite place we will revisit every year.  The funniest moment of the day was when we were all fighting our way through the corn maze and as Mel would lead and let corn stalks smack me in the face talking non-stop about which way to go or not go she stops dead in her tracks and says, "I really talk too much, don't I Mom?"  As I just stare at her she turns back around and starts walking again and says, "Yep, I talk too much."  At least she recognizes her weaknesses. :)

In addition to these fun family days we have of course enjoyed the typical Fall family activities such as decorating pumpkins, dressing up in costumes (Melanie of course had to be ketchup, a sure sign of too many baseball games and hot dog races), and Halloween parties with friends.  Truly fun times we wouldn't trade for anything.

While there are blessings from every season, I definitely think I enjoy Fall the best.  I hope you and your family make many wonderful memories this season and many seasons to come.  Much love from the Lucas home to yours.  Happy Fall.

You Know That Fall is Here When......

You know that Fall is here when baseball season ends and Starbucks serves Pumpkin Chai Latte.  Everyone organizes their lives around some calendar, some use the traditional January to December calendar but in the Lucas household we strategically plan our lives around the baseball and school calendar.  This past week another baseball season came to an end.  The Reno Aces had another great season and are currently in Omaha playing in the championship series.  Our final home game was on Wednesday and of course Mel and I were there.

It's always a bittersweet time for me.  In the middle of the season I can give you a laundry list of reasons of why working in the professional sports industry is not all it is cracked up to be.  At the top of that list would be that Charles works 80-90 hour weeks at times with great sacrifice being made by our family.  But then we get to the end of the season and I am always so blessed by the situation we are in.  What little boy (and grown man) doesn't dream of working in professional sports, driving up every day to a baseball stadium, meeting sports legends, and sharing the love of the game with many and getting paid while doing it.  My daughter gets to have experiences most children don't as she goes behind the scenes of a sporting operation, watches fireworks every week, and attends more sporting events than I can even count. 

Mel playing catch with dad on the field before a Sunday game.

We get to treat family and friends to nights at the ballpark for hometown American fun.

Melanie and our friends the Lauf's

And the one I think I love the most is the charity we are able to give to schools, children, and non-profit groups.  The Reno Aces have come through time and time again as I have asked for a variety of things to help children in our community.  While we may sacrifice a lot of family time to the sport of baseball there is no greater evening than: standing next to your child, hand on your heart, listening to the national anthem, nine innings of well played ball, walking around talking with people who have become like family for as many nights as you see them in one season, eating yummy ballpark food, Melanie helping daddy in the ticket office, pulling out a win, and the whole family watching fireworks snuggled under a blanket to end the night. 

So as it all comes to an end for one more season I can't help but sit and sip a Pumpkin Chai Latte from Starbucks and count my blessings.  Fall is here.   Until next spring...........

 

Parenting at the Wal-Mart

I knew the title would get you to read it! :)  We have all witnessed, whether in person or on some You-Tube video, a horrific scene of some poor mom loosing it at Wal-Mart and yelling at her child in a fashion she certainly wouldn't be proud of.  If you are a mom you have also, whether we admit it or not, have had at least one experience where our child has just lost it in public and as we desperately try every technique we know (usually in less than 30 seconds which is probably why it never works) to get our child to stop screaming, stop touching, stop doing whatever it is they are doing that make us wonder where this child came from.  Some of us handle these moments with amazing composure and others not.  The ones who don't end up on You-Tube.  I've had an incident when Mel was two where she starting crying at the top of her lungs because I took something away she had grabbed off the shelf.  We were 3/4 of the way done and I soooooo did not want to have to leave the store so I threw the mommy look, the threat, and the super quiet serious voice at her all at once.  It didn't work, but that's a story for another day.  Today I want to share how every now and then  by the grace of God, textbook parenting advice does work.

Last week was a long week.  I had been sick all week long and wouldn't you know, it was the first week of school and Charles worked every night until at least 10:30.  So after taking Melanie to swim practice on Friday I decided we would stop at the Wal-Mart to pick up a few things we needed and head home.  Mel was really tired too.  Melanie was awesome while shopping even when we couldn't find the Pirate Booty snack she wanted to take to the ball game.  She took it all in stride, no big deal, awesome.  So as we headed to the check-out we passed the Goldfish display and they had those little boxes that look like lunch milk cartons and even though we had several bags of Goldfish at home I knew how sometimes packaging is everything, so when she asked if she could have one I said yes and we proceeded to the check-out.

Did I mention Melanie was tired, well, she was.  She decided to sit on the floor while we waited for the person in front of us.  Possibly I could have ignored it but I really cringe when I think of the amount of germs on a store floor at the end of the day, plus she was wearing a skirt, so I made her stand up and explained that the floor was really dirty.  It was now our turn to load items onto the belt so as she started to sit on the floor again I asked her what she was doing and she knew exactly what I was talking about and stood up.  By now there was an older couple in line behind us.  Just as I finished getting everything out of the cart I turn around and you guessed it, Melanie was sitting on the floor just staring up at me.  So without a word I took her Goldfish box off the belt and handed it to her and asked her to put it back on the shelf because we wouldn't be able to get it today.  And this is how it went:

Melanie in the whiniest voice you can imagine," I don't want to put them back."

Me in the calmest voice you can imagine, "I know you don't want to honey but I asked you not to sit on the floor and you made the choice to do exactly what I asked you not to."

Melanie still super whiny, "I don't know where they go."

Me pointing, "Right there."

With tears in her eyes she placed them back on the shelf and looked at me.

I asked her, "Why did Mommy make you put them back?"

Melanie said, "Because I sat on the dirty floor after you asked me not to."

My final comment, "Thank you for putting them back like I asked, I'm sorry you made the choice to sit on the dirty floor when I asked you not to.  I love you.  Now please go and stand at the end of the cart so I can load up and pay and we can go home."  Melanie went exactly where I asked her to go.

The gentleman behind me said, "Well done.  You don't see parenting like that often (I'm pretty sure he meant at the Wal-Mart) and it worked out so well."

Before I could even say thank you, Melanie looked at us from above her glasses and said, "Didn't work out for me!"

It was all we could all do not to laugh. :) 

By the time we got to the car Mel was smiling like always and was over it.  Sometimes we loose it, sometimes we handle it perfectly, and usually it is somewhere in between but mothering is a series of lessons guided by love.