Well, I disappointed myself.

After debating about whether or not to take the kids all the way up to Portland while Eric ran the Shamrock, after posting about it on my blog and e-mailing all my Portland friends asking for suggestions on kid activities, after creating a whole itinerary, complete with times and locations of Portland Streetcar stops pertinent to said itinerary (which I actually wrote down and carried with me in the diaper bag)...I did none of it.





My itinerary called for dropping Daddy off early at Waterfront Park to pick up his registration packet and get all situated for the race, walking .3 miles to Voodoo Doughnuts, getting doughnuts and maybe something hot to drink, walking back to the park to see him take off, then taking public transport to Sip and Kranz, where I would sip more hot beverage while the girls played with the upper-class city children I imagined would be at a coffee lounge with such a chic-looking website. Then, more public transport back to Waterfront Park, just in time to watch Daddy triumphantly cross the finish line. A good day. All in my head.

What actually happened was that it was even colder, rainier, and windier than I could have imagined. And it took longer to walk places with children than I imagined. And we were all so cold and wet that we just staggered into the first coffee house we found open (Stumptown Coffee Roasters; which really is only a tad bit closer than Voodoo Doughnuts. But it was warm and it was open and we saw it first and so that was where we went). And the whole place was crowded with runners for the various runs that morning, so there was a really long line. And Beth spilled her cocoa and I had to wipe it up. And while we were standing in line/wiping up cocoa/etc., we missed our window for walking back to the park to see the beginning of the race.

OK. No seeing him take off. Oh well. But then by the time we finished our cocoa and cookies, and took a potty break, we had also missed the bus I had written down on my itinerary that I was planning to take to Sip and Kranz. And I wasn't sure when the next one would be or where to go to catch it. So I decided to go with the familiar: Powell's. It was about a half-mile walk up Burnside in the driving rain and wind, and the girls were cold, wet, and tired. They made it with only minimal complaints, though, and I was proud of them.

The big, warm bookstore and some reading in the kids' section cheered them up. We were there so early (just minutes after it opened) that it wasn't crowded at all. Beth was particularly enchanted that the stairs leading to the kids' room were pink...and that the stairs leading up to the next floor, where the bathroom is located, were purple.






You see, I knew another bathroom break would be in order. Still trying to be a wise, planning-ahead type of mama, I took the kids up the stairs, made Beth pee, changed Evie, checked Lucy, and led them back downstairs with just enough time to read one more story before we needed to leave to catch the bus back to Waterfront Park to be there at about the time I thought Eric would cross the finish line. We read our one more story. I started to get all their coats and hats and mittens back on. When...I smelled it. Evie had pooped again. Just minutes after I had changed her. When I commented on this, Lucy cheerfully informed me that she was stinky too. That is when I (internally) threw up my hands and howled in despair.

Hats and mittens off, back up the stairs, two diaper changes, back down stairs, hats and mittens on...and we had totally missed the bus we needed to take. I asked the employee what would be the best way to get back down to the park and she said, "Well, it would probably be fastest just to walk." This was obviously true, and if I had been alone, I totally would have. But I knew there was no way my kids were up to walking a mile in the rain again. They may be native-born Oregonians, but even they have their limits. And they had reached them. And I can only carry two of them at a time.

So we waited till the next bus came and rode it back downtown (I think the bus ride was Beth's favorite part of the whole trip). And got there about 20 minutes after Eric had already crossed the finish line. Sad.

I was really quite disappointed not to have been there to cheer him on. Our morning adventure in the city did not match with the fantasy in my head at all. But that seems to be the story of motherhood, doesn't it? You'd think by now I'd know that no matter how detailed my plans are or how confident I feel about executing them, children have ways of throwing our best-laid plans for a loop. That parenting requires flexibility and patience, and that you should always, always, always give yourself extra time to allow for poopy diapers.

Despite my disappointment, it was a fun trip. I like Stumptown Coffee and Powell's, and the girls did too. Riding the bus was good. Eric survived his 15k despite driving rain and 40-degree weather. And I survived a trip to the city with three small children despite long lines, missed buses and way too many dirty diapers.