Alana dropped the Pizza!

It’s never just as simple as “Alana dropped the Pizza” it’s always just a bit more complicated than that.
It was the end of a hectic week. Friday was slow in coming, but had finally arrived. Mark decided that I wanted a new cabinet for the bathroom, and incidentally, a matching cabinet for the wall. (Actually, Mark decided that there was too much of my stuff, on the very small bathroom sink and no place for his razor.) So he spent most of the afternoon and evening in various stages of “putting them together.”
Now I don’t at all mean to sound ungrateful. I certainly don’t like being the person who has to put stuff together using in the ridiculous instructions and using the even more ridiculous fake tools that inevitably come in the package. That being said, I have (after 8 + years of marriage) finally accepted the fact that during this process, I cannot make things better. There will be grunting and the occasional outburst, and it is best just to stay out of the room and take the kids away from underfoot.
This particular Friday I was tired, and had to stay late for a meeting at work that my boss hadn’t bothered to show up for. I spent the first hour-and-a-half after I got home, straightening up a minor mess and catching up on some housework that hadn’t gotten done, and by the end I was way too tired to even think of making a roasted chicken with several sides for dinner.
But knowing that we all were needing a little break, I decided to go to one of the “take-and-bake” pizza places, and pick up a pizza or two. Alana had been particularly good that day (and she was fully dressed) so I very quietly went up to her and asked if she wanted to go get pizza with me. She was busy on the computer and after thinking it over for a second decided that she really didn’t want to come. That was fine, I asked Anarosa if she wanted to come. Yes she did! Of course Jacob overheard and he wanted to come too. Anarosa just needed to find shoes, but Jacob was dressed in a princess skirt, batman cape and glass slippers. So we had to get him dressed from scratch. And once they were both ready, Alana decided that she didn’t want to be left out, so she was coming too! Well, twenty minutes later we all get into the car.
We were just a tad rowdy getting into the car. By this time, they’re hungry because dinner is late. And so before we get out of the car to go into the restaurant I give them the “we are going to listen to mommy and be good in the store” speech. Now, I’ve been watching Super Nanny lately, so I’m very sure that this is a good speech and given in just the right “kind but firm” tone of voice. In fact I’m very proud of the speech. We get inside the store, and order the pizza, the kids do reasonably well, with just a few reminders that they need to stop jumping off the bench and trying to land on the pizza logo in the middle of the floor!
We finally get our pizza, soda, and breadsticks home. Everyone wants to carry something into the house, Alana gets the pizza, and after several warnings to carry it with both hands straight upstairs. She of course tries to pirouette in the driveway, and in slow motion the pizza tips and then, everything falls to the ground, toppings first of course!
Words cannot describe how frustrated I was! (Well now, yes they can, but I can’t cuss, so I didn’t) I just yelled ALANA!!!! And went upstairs and hid in my room for about 10 minutes, when I calmed down, I took the sobbing Alana and went back to the pizza store, to pick up another pizza!