Photo courtesy of Cindy Seigle
Daddy had to work Saturday morning which means I woke up to two very sour-faced young ladies. Time to implement my Armageddon Formula: a trip to Dunkin’ Donuts paired with playtime at Mass Ave Toys. It’s foolproof, trust me.
The day was so gray that Sara said she couldn’t see through the air. We had a rare snow rain, which is totally cool to witness. The air was equal parts rain and snow, making it appear that it was raining snow. It’s nothing like sleet and feels nothing like snow. Driving into downtown Indy in the bizarre weather made me love the city even more. At the bright and cheery downtown Dunkin’ we shared our frosted donuts that inevitably lead way to frosted faces and sugar high giggles. And because Hoosiers never meet a stranger, I struck up a hilarious conversation with the man next to me about his partner’s 40th birthday party at a skating rink. We grew up in neighboring hometowns, another guaranteed feature of Indiana living.
I think we played for over an hour at Mass Ave Toys, the greatest toy store on earth forever and ever, Amen. It’s the magical old-style store you imagine in your dreamiest of childhood dreams. The toy selection was new to us Saturday, and we took our time as we moved throughout the entire store, where everyone is welcome to stay and play as long as they wish. The warm staff know us by name and we chat about this and that, as I watch them deftly guide customers to perfect gifts for every age. Because “grocery” is Sara’s favorite game, we did walk out with some grocery items:
We also got wooden vegetables and wooden milk, honey, and jelly jars…all so sturdy and awesome. By far the favorite is our new wooden shopping cart, but it’s not on-line, and I can’t find a picture of it anywhere else on the internet. Leave it to Mass Ave to carry something I can’t find anywhere else. I found our wooden food at other websites, for $6 more than what I paid for it at the store. Before shipping!
We met up with Daddy at home, and after naps and some serious games of grocery (I’m the cashier, Kelly is the bagger), we hit Sam’s Club for our diaper run and fancy dinner of hot dogs and pizza. We were in such good moods that we made a special stop at Bob Evans for desserts. The girls loved their smiley sundaes, and crashed out quickly after baths and stories. As I tucked Sara in and whispered to her, “I had the most wonderful day”, Sara whispered back, “I had a WONDROUS day Mommy.”
Not every day can contain donuts, toys, and ice cream, so the rare days that do, should be remembered. And maybe a little pat on the back to Mommy, who saved some pennies, knowing a snowy rain day might need some toys and sugared sunshine. Indiana winters are white, wet, and very, very, very long.