So after the hiccup during our adventure on Friday, Chris suggested that we got on and attempted the field trip again. Originally he had suggested it as we ate our dinner around the kitchen table on Friday. I think my response went something along the lines, that he had to let me hibernate for the weekend while I recovered!
This time we had a better formulated plan for today’s adventure. We’d have our lunch, catch the bus so that we could meet Chris at the MK Coachway while he took part of his lunch break. We’d borrow the car to do stuff in MK while he was at work then we’d go back to get him from work when his day finished. Sorted.
With the Easter Holiday being over, I’d got meetings coming out of my ears. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as showing up at the meeting and this meant I needed to do prep before going to one of my meetings. I’d spent Tuesday morning doing what I could to get prepped for the meeting but I think my anxiety level was up as we got ready to go out again.
I realised that about midday, we’d had no lunch and needed to be on the bus soon. Okay new plan, I got Jaxon loaded into the buggy and we headed for the supermarket. Maybe I could rescue this day by feeding us both on the bus. We grabbed sandwiches and crisps at the supermarket and headed to the bus stop. We were there about 5 minutes before the bus was due which was great. Exactly what we needed. The bus arrived and I got the buggy stowed in the hold. Jaxon got on ahead of me and decided where we were going to sit while I got the ticket. Well of course he decided we had to sit right at the very back of the bus didn’t we.
We got settled in our seats and got belted in. Then we had our little picnic. Jaxon decided that he was having his crisps first. Normally I would have told him to have his sandwich first but he was happy and chilled. I tucked into my sandwich and he polished off his crisps. As we got toward the M1 junction and then into Milton Keynes, Jaxon decided he needed the toilet and desperately. Thank goodness for picking the seats right next to the on-board toilet.
This was when my Mummy skills had to step up a notch. Not only were we both attempting to stand up while the bus was moving. We were then trying to balance while I lifted Jaxon onto the toilet. Well we got through it in the end and managed to get him sorted out. The tap wasn’t working so had to get Jaxon back to the seat to attack his hands with a combination of wet wipes and anti-bacterial hand gel. Thank goodness for random things in my handbag!
The Next Step
On our arrival at the Coachway I asked Jaxon to stand still with the bags while I grabbed the buggy from the hold. The buggy had rolled a little bit during the journey so was further from the door than I had left it. I managed to get the buggy out in one go which was good and when I turned round Jaxon was near enough where I had told him to stand which was also good. Next up was to find Chris. We headed into the bus terminal but as we got to the door Chris was coming out the door towards us. Jaxon got excited and took Chris’s hand and they headed to the car. I was left juggling the buggy and our bags! Thank you boys!
We got to the car and within about 15 minutes we were at Chris’s office. We went in to meet the team that he now works with. Chris’s manager and myself got talking about automation using IFTTT. We sat and chatted for a bit for a little while. We sat spotting different bits in the mural on the office wall.
We borrowed the car from Chris and took a trip to IKEA. Jaxon loves the soft play/creche area there so he got to spend an hour in there and I decamped to the coffee shop for a little while. I managed to get a bit of work done but I was running out of battery again (I’d remembered my battery pack but not my charging cable!)
As Jaxon got towards the end of his slot, I wandered through the shop and picked up a few bits. I collected him and we went to pay for the shopping. It turned out that one of the items I had picked up was actually the display model – oops!
Following our IKEA stop we went to the supermarket next door for me to grab a charging lead. I had a “discussion” with another lady in the car park who’d parked in a Parent and Child space and wasn’t accompanied with a child (apparently she’d just dropped her daughter off). But it was also the point that she was across the line so was blocking two bays not just the one.
Following the supermarket we headed round the corner to McDonald’s for ice cream. Jaxon had asked me for ice cream while we were at knitting group the day before but I’d said he needed to have his lunch first. Well once he had his lunch he was too busy playing to have ice cream, so I made it up to him. I should have got it in a pot rather than a cone because as it started to melt the ice cream was going everywhere!
Jaxon loves ice cream – he’s so funny! But he’s also so very sweet, he kept saying “Would you like some?” Yes baby I would – it also meant that I could lick up the bits that were running down the cone! In the end he had had enough and didn’t want any more so I polished off his ice cream before it melted away across the table. He loved playing on the tablets that were available. It was time to head to get Chris by now. Jaxon decided that Chris had to sit in the back with him so I was driving home too.
YES! Our second attempt at our adventure was much more successful than the first attempt which was great. I think we’ll try MK on the bus again but I think I will get Chris to meet us at the shopping centre or I’ll make sure we leave in plenty of time so we can get the next bus if we miss the one that we mean to be on.
