Trip to the Mall with my Munchkins

Sandy, one of my sweet sister-in-laws, has planned a fall photo shoot for our family in a couple of weeks. The shoot will take place out by her home in the country and I can't think of a more perfect setting. We have always had our pictures taken inside a chain photography studio so having some professional pictures taken in a natural setting is going to be a real treat. I can't wait to post the pictures!

To have nice pictures taken you need nice clothes which all coordinate nicely.... so off to the mall we went. The kids behaved marvelously. Joshua was decked out in madras plaid shorts, grey t-shirt and a batman mask. The other children in the mall loved that. Our first stop was Gymboree and we had success! I found a pair of jeans that fit Joshua well and two adorable pink plaid matching dresses for the girls. We headed to another shop and I found the perfect white button up shirt for Josh to wear with his jeans. I don't think I have ever had such a successful shopping trip where I found everything I had in mind to buy AND with no major meltdowns. Even Emily was pleasantly peaceful. As a reward for their good behavior we ordered a raspberry slushy for the older two to share and we trekked down to the mall's toddler play area. As we slowly meandered down the mall's corridor to the area, two young teenage boys come racing down the other side leaping over chairs. I stood in disbelief that anyone would actually think that was appropriate behavior but then I am interrupted by "but it's MY turn for the slushy!". We enter the play area, approximately 20ft in diameter where there are probably 8 other children 4 and under. I let them loose while I collapse on the cushioned bench and breathe a sigh of relief that everyone is contained and entertained and I sip my diet Coke. All of a sudden those two 14-15 year old boys enter the area and start wrestling. Like, real wrestling. Emily is probably 3 feet away from them at one point. I guess Mommy Hen kicked in but I immediately feel incredulous anger well up inside of me. Surely, SURELY, they know better? Then, I think, surely, SURELY someone else is going to say something to them.. you know, the whole sociological observation where no one takes action because they think someone else will... well, that was in full effect. I have this complete out of body experience and I find myself standing up and walking over to these boys (all the while thinking.. are you really doing this?) and I confront them and tell them they need to leave that it is inappropriate behavior and a danger to the babies. One of the guys had the audacity to ask me "what babies?" with Emily right behind me. Oh, I was mad. One of them leaves the area but the other starts arguing with me. What was I to do then? My heart was beating so quickly. If you know me, it is so out of character for me to confront anyone. I took a personality test through Freddie's company a few weeks ago and it said my personality type avoids conflict at all cost. Well, not when the cost could be my children's safety. I can't even remember what happens next. I know that I walk away because I am not going to argue with a 14 year old punk. They stop wrestling but then decide it would be cool to play on the equipment meant for children 40 inches or shorter. I could not believe that these boys were so impervious to authority and lacked any respect for other people. How does a child even get to that point? Finally another mother steps up and confronts then and they leave. It probably took me a good 15 minutes for my blood pressure to fall and my face to return to its normal coloring. I wish confronting others when justified didn't make me want to throw up. But, the story ended well because the kids were all safe and enjoyed their time playing and meeting new friends. Here are some pics from our outing...