Oh, for the love of CANDY!

I have 4 boys who love candy. In fact, they would be perfectly happy to live on nothing but candy. They ask for candy daily (okay, multiple times a day) and more often than not I answer "No!" That's when I'm in a good mood and they're behaving. If either of those is not true at the moment, they are more likely to hear "No way! Do you think I'm CRAZY?!?! You guys are hyper enough already. I'd be INSANE to give you candy!!!"

So when Jordan asked me yesterday if he could go to Dylan's Candy Bar on his birthday; and I, in a moment of pre-birthday goodwill answered "Maybe," in his mind it was a done deal! Before leaving for work Jeremy came over, sat beside me, and said under his breath so as not to be overheard by the happy little munchkins busily playing with Jordan's new Playmobil zoo, "Jordan says you PROMISED to take him to Dylan's Candy Bar today." So apparently when you say "No" most of the time, "Maybe" becomes the new "I promise." I told him I didn't think they really needed any candy, to which he replied that perhaps we could go and just get some for Jordan, since he's the birthday boy. Umm, yeah, right. That would go over REALLY well. I could just picture myself walking out of the candy store, a jubilant Jordan sweetly skipping by my side swinging his bag of candy; the other 3 wailing loudly, proclaiming me the meanest mommy in the whole wide world!

Needless to say, we went to Dylan's and ALL four of the boys got candy. Lots of candy. Way too much candy. You see, in a moment of pure lazy genius I decided to leave the cumbersome stroller at home and wear Josiah and let Joey wear his new monkey harness thingy and walk. This way, I wouldn't have to mess with carrying the stroller into the subway station or navigating it in the store. Brilliant, right? What I failed to think through was that now I would be using one hand to balance Josiah, and the other one to hold onto Joseph. Once we got into the store, Joseph went into a candy-grabbing frenzy, and I just plain didn't have enough hands to hold onto him, his brother, and his bag of candy, let alone properly supervise the candy-gathering operations of the older 3. Every time I let go of Joey's hand to open a bin, he would try to grab candy by the handful. He ended up with a wee bit too much. The others, realizing that I was a bit more occupied than even they had dared to hope, took advantage of the situation and filled their bags. Now, I'm not going to make them put back loose bulk candy that they've handled, so I quickly gathered them up and ushered them to the check-out counter before they could grab any more. The damage? Twenty. Six. Dollars. Yep, you read that right...I spent twenty-six dollars. On candy. For 4 boys 9 and under. I think the combined weight of their bags was more than Josiah weighs. Yes, I'm insane. And yes, Jeremy will be hearing something along the lines of "I told you so" when he gets home! And the boys have been informed that their candy will be doled out slowly...like over the next 3 months.

I offered to get them pizza for lunch, at which Jordan immediately recommended a place we like in Times Square. It sounded like a good idea, since we had to transfer at that subway station anyway, but then I realized it would cost an extra $6 to leave the subway and then go back in. (Yes, I'm cheap that way...especially when I've just spent $26 on candy.) We ate pizza in our neighborhood instead.

The boys each got to choose 3 pieces of candy to eat when we got home. By some miracle, the older 3 are playing calmly and quietly in the living room, in spite of the sugar rush, and Joey is actually napping. I'm sure he's dreaming of candy!

Inside Dylan's Candy Bar.


Jonathan selecting from among the dazzling variety of pure sugar bliss.


The birthday boy. Notice he already has the signs of a candy-induced euphoria...and he hasn't eaten a single piece...yet...


Outside showing off their loot. Of course everyone had to have their own bag to carry.


Since I never show up in any of the pictures on this blog, I had Joshua snap one of me. Just to prove that I was, in fact, actually there. What with all the rumors of small children roaming the city alone, and all.


A very happy Jordan on the subway ride home.


Joseph thinks I have no idea that he is trying to sneak into his bag of candy. Umm, yes, I can still see you dear, even if you can't see me!


My big boys.


I told Joey he could NOT have ANY candy unless he ate lunch first. Here he is, finally resigned to eat his piece of pizza, which he sprinkled liberally with oregano first. You can see the signs of our struggle to reach this point...the tear-streaks down his cheeks.


Once again, a happy Jordan.


Joshua enjoying his spinach pizza.


As if that wasn't enough fun already, we checked the mail on the way back in. Not only did Jordan find a birthday card from Peepah, but all three of the older boys had letters from Grandma! The boys LOVE to receive mail! They'll be writing back soon!


Well, I'm glad we survived this morning's adventure, because we still have more birthday to get through. We're taking Jordan and the boys to Chuck E. Cheese after dinner tonight. And yes, that trip was actually a bona-fide promise!