When Andy was Amanda's age, he was obsessed with Elmo. A lot like she was, but possibly more. We got a flyer in the mail about Sesame Street Live coming to the area right around his second birthday. My parents were planning on being here then, because my mom has this thing about coming for all the grandkids' birthdays, so we got tickets for all four of us to go to the show. We ended up having a great time. Andy loved it and, in the amazing way that Sesame draws in adults as well, my parents and I a very enjoyable time too. We bought the soundtrack to the show and listened it for months after that. It was simply fabulous.
The next year I took him again, but after that he moved on and became obsessed with something else, probably the Wiggles, and we didn't go to Sesame Street Live again. When Sarah was two I took her, but it wasn't the same. She didn't have the awe that Andy had and didn't even seem to enjoy the show that much. It makes sense because she still to this day can't sit through anything longer than about 30 minutes. Plus the show was good but not as good as that first one we went to. She did not get a repeat visit.
When we got the flyer this year announcing the show I knew this was the year to take Amanda. She still loves Elmo and we would have fun just the two of us. I talked it up all week and she was so ready to see Elmo this morning. We showed up early and saw Ernie, Bert and Zoe dancing in the lobby and took a few pictures in the interactive backdrops they had set up (This was before my camera died. It never fails that I bring a camera to something like this and forget to check if the battery needs charging. It did.) before we got a few snacks and headed to our seats.
She sat in my lap for the first half of the show happily eating her cookie and popcorn, singing and dancing along. At the intermission we bought a huge mylar balloon of Elmo's head with the eyes bulging out. Every time I have taken one of my kids to this show I have seen these balloons, but I have never bought one. They are ridiculously expensive and it's just a balloon. However, I have had friends tell me that have had mylar balloons last for months in their house to their amazement, so over the course of time the cost isn't that great. I figured if it lasted for two months it would be worth it. Two months was a long shot, two weeks would have been great. At this point I would have been happy with two days. But this is where our happy tale takes a wicked turn.
I took the girls up to bed and noticed the string to the balloon was on the floor, but the balloon was nowhere to be seen. When I inquired where it was, they told me it was in my bathroom in the garbage can. How could that be? First, it was huge. It wouldn't fit in my garbage can. Second, it was full of helium. Duh! Or was it? Apparently Amanda had gone into Charlie drawer and gotten the scissors to the manicure set. These are the most harmless scissors ever. No more than four inches long total with a one inch blade. But they can cut.
The girls told me that Amanda had cut the Elmo balloon and all the air had come out. Huh? What? When I went to investigate, she hadn't just made a tiny slit in the side of the balloon. No. She had basically blinded the poor little monster and cut straight through his eyes. There was no taping the little hole that she made, she maimed him beyond repair.
When we asked her why she had cut Elmo she responded, "Because Elmo is mean, mean, mean." And Lotso is so, so nice? It seems that my last post was incorrect. She isn't just a crazy two-year-old, she's evil.
Needless to say, the scissors have been put out of reach and she will not be getting any souvenirs for many years to come. I'm not sure Elmo, or I, will ever be able to forgive her.
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