Fire Safety - The Perfect Weekend Activity

 This past Sunday, when my mother and sister rolled out of town and returned to Pittsburgh... I was faced with a weekend afternoon solo with three restless children. That is quite possibly my least favorite time of day as a parent. If we have an activity or plans, it can be heavenly to lounge around the house. But if my kids are a mixture of tired, hungry, restless or bored... we can really get on each other's nerves.

 I have been spoiled since Gregory's departure to Oklahoma. My mother had been here to stay with Elliot during naps, help manage the get-ready-for-school chaos and allow me the freedom to take a shower! As a bonus, my sister came to visit too!

 Alas, they had to go home.

  Instead of depressively counting the days until Gregory was to return (at that point it was 3 weeks), I knew we had to get out of the house and do something. Hello fire safety event! Free hot dogs, free rides in the firetruck ladder and free time spent out of the confines of the house. What more could you ask for?

Jackson's version of a thumbs up

Bashful fireman?

 All in all, it was fun. We returned home with our "fire safety" goodie bags and found this gem tucked in with the coloring books.

I have no words, really... this is not the image I have in mind when I consider gun safety!

  On a serious note, though, the local dispatchers were there teaching kids how to dial 9-1-1. They had a simulated operator that asked all of the right questions and a fireman coaching the kids to answer. It seems simple enough, but I would have panicked as a young child if I had been forced to call 9-1-1. I have a phone phobia as it is!

 My one concern is that in the event of a problem... am I creating a disaster by not having a landline? Jackson knows how to change the screensaver on my cellphone, download games and call people based on their pictures. But would he know where to look for my phone at any given moment? I misplace my phone at least 10 times a day and forget finding it quickly in the abyss of my purse. After almost a decade of not owning a landline phone, I am considering it just for safety's sake.