Happy Fourth of July . . . Not!

What is more fun than watching fireworks on the Fourth of July? According to my daughter, anything else! Last year she was a wee little baby who slept through the entire show. This year she was an over tired, cranky toddler.

Fireworks were set to launch at 9:30 but you have to arrive early to have a spot to view them so we headed out about 8:00, my daughter's bedtime. We completed the bedtime routine before we headed out in hopes that she would pass out in the car, I could wake her up for fireworks, and then she could pass out on the 15 minute ride back home. I am fairly certain moms cannot make plans, nothing ever goes the way we suspect. Needless to say, the plan backfired. She stayed awake, super happy and antsy. All she wanted to do was walk around and see all the people, but mostly their dogs. When it was just about time for fireworks we snuggled under some blankets, after all at 9,000' above sea level it gets chilly at night, she wanted nothing to do with snuggling. Full back arch, screech, and strange Chewbacca whine ensued. The first fireworks launched and she calmed down. I thought that was the end, she would be ever-so-happy to see the show. Again, backfired! I am also certain that moms cannot even think happy thoughts without their child deciding they should prove them wrong. More screaming, back arching, grandma telling me what I should do. I got up and danced, that was okay for all of two minutes. Sleep is what she needed so I decided maybe she would like to just sit in the car with her water bottle . . . nope!

At the end of the night I realized that I should have just followed our normal nighttime routine because she would not have cared about missing her first fireworks show. Do you drag your children to events that they don't even care about? What helps you when your child meets the end of their rope?

#momlife #fireworks #FourthofJuly #Chewbacca #starwars