Remind me never to think that bringing the girls to the Flea will be a fine idea (“yes, we’ll sit around the booth, sell cookies and have fun!”). This time, however, the main perpetrator of misbehavior was not Mia, but sweet little Claudine, who was neither sweet nor little when it came time to haul her onto the bus. Maybe my first mistake was thinking that we could all walk the 3.5 long city avenue blocks up to the bus stop – she was a champion walker, after all, while we were in Seattle so I didn’t think anything of it. But after a block and a half she just stopped and wouldn’t budge. Like at all. Since we had a bus to catch I picked her up and carried her in my arms, all the while thinking that this was a really really bad idea. I have a weak back due to scoliosis and I probably have close to a pinched nerve down there. I’ve seen first hand how horrible a herniated disk can be since my mom has had 2 major back surgeries, countless steroid shots and acupuncture sessions, so I’m not too keen on experiencing it firsthand, but I swear I could feel that nerve become more irritated the longer I carried this oversized baby down the street (C is big for her age) .

Once there, the girls immediately started asking for treats and Mia charmed her way into getting freebies from 4 different booths (this is the same reason she loves Costco, for the free food samples). Surprisingly, Mia stayed by the booth most of the time trying to get customers to buy cookies (4 year olds are so transparent in their sales tactics. “Hey, come over here. You wanna buy some cookies? They’re really good!). It was Claudine who endlessly ran around the Flea, putting her hands on things and kissing (?!?) tables and mirrors. She ended up back in my arms more than a few times when I couldn’t tear her away from posing in front of this one mirror when it was time to go (how lame are we to think that the easiest baby in the world would transition to an easy toddler?).

So tonight I’m resting my very sore and stiff back, legs and feet elevated on the couch and leaving the Flea to Mark from now on.