Turning Lemons Into Lemonade

I have been anticipating the "How to Train A Dragon" movie ever since I saw the trailer. It looks like a fun movie for the entire family and when I showed Mekhi the trailers On Demand, he wanted to watch them over and over again. When I received an invite to attend a screening today I immediately responded yes! Despite the movie screening being 45 minutes away, I knew my son and I would enjoy the movie together. Yesterday I confirmed my reservation and this morning I headed out to see the 11 o'clock show.

I arrived early in anticipation of a large crowd and when I approached the ticket booth the lights were out. I wasn't surprised it was still early and this was a special screening. My mood quickly turned sour when I approached the ticket agent and he told me the movie was screened at 9:00 A.M. we both heard his walkie talkie screeching "credits rolling" and my eyes rolled as the credits drifted up the unseen screen.

My almost three year old was asking about the dragons and while I tried to calm him the manager was called. He apologized and offered to get the representative from the film and when she arrived, she too apologized. Noting that she knew I was coming but the movie time changed late in the day yesterday and although she informed my contact, I was not notified.

This miscommunication made my blood pressure boil. Can you imagine having to explain NOT seeing the Dragon to an almost three year old that is hyped about the movie? As we watched the moviegoers departing the theater with dragon plush toys I implored the representative to at least give me a toy for my son. She only had them at her office off-site but the manager came to the rescue with a toy for my son.

Crisis averted. My son was quickly engaged with the dragon and that was the first drop of lemonade.

After being assured that I'd have tickets next week when the film is released (which really wasn't the issue, I was more concerned about dealing with a disappointed almost three year old) I turned to see my good friend Jennae and her family. More lemonade! I haven't seen her since last year and it was wonderful seeing everyone happy and her daughter looked wonderful. We chatted briefly and as we were going down the escalator I spied a carousel. Score!

My son had his dragon and delightedly rode the carousel on his own horse. After the ride, I needed a quick pick me up so I stopped by Starbucks for my new favorite Soy Chai latte with a shot of espresso, a dirty chai was a quick pick me up!

Mekhi enjoyed a chocolate drink and we sipped contentedly in the coffee shop.

I looked across the way and saw the information desk, after finishing our drinks we trotted to information to see what was going on in the mall and found out that a Handy Mandy celebration was occurring with Kidgets club. For a five dollar annual fee my son can participate in all the club activities at any Simon Mall. We quickly paid the fee and headed down to the celebration.

On the way I rented a race car stroller to push him in and when we arrived at the Handy Mandy zone we were given a gift pack filled with goodies.

Mekhi enjoyed the newest episode of the show, we were entered in a raffle (but didn't win) and had an all around good time.

After the event we looked to our right and saw the Easter Bunny!

A kind man gave us crayons, a coloring book and balloons to add fun.

Our next stop was the indoor playground where Mekhi ran around with a ton of other children for 45 minutes.

While he played I checked our goodie bag and saw coupons for stores. I found a Godiva coupon for a free sample and we headed in that direction for a treat.

I asked for a dark chocolate truffle (figuring if I am going to indulge, I might as well get the "healthy" option) and the attendant told me that if I joined the Godiva club I'd get the chocolate for free. And by the way, the membership was free. Score!

We proceeded to walk the mall (I walked and Mekhi rode in style) to get a little exercise in and my son was soon dozing off. We had one mishap when trying to carry my sleeping son to the car I inadvertently left his shoe in the car stroller that was not in sight when we returned to retrieve the shoe.

Luckily we had a coupon and were able to pick up new shoes for the spring/summer and as much as I loved his old shoes, he is ready to go up a size so losing the shoe was a blessing in disguise.

And this long winded story is the tale of how a day that started off with lemons ended up sweet like lemonade!