Tommy Pickles: The Terrible Twos (Series; Pt 1)

Babies on Strike! Pt 3

Heyo everyone! Happy weekend, and I hope you had a good one! Here's the next chapter!

The preparations for the twins' birthday continued without much issue, except for the obvious sudden, what the parents thought was, disinterest from the kids helping like they usually wanted to.

"Tommy, sweetie, I thought you loved helping mommy clean up the living room." Didi sighed as Tommy stood before her with his arms crossed, clearly not wanting to comply

"No!" Tommy exclaimed

Didi just shook her head, she still had the snacks to pick out for the party today and didn't really have time to argue with the toddler to convince him to help. Quickly getting the rest of the living room cleaned up from the mess of toys the boys left from playing earlier in the morning, Didi then grabbed her purse as she then scooped up Dil while holding Tommy's hand as she led him to the front of the house. Stopping by the basement door, Didi opened it to call down to Stu, who was still working out some bugs with the Dactar toy he was working on.

"Stu honey, we're leaving to go to the store now! Is there anything you need me to pick up while I'm there?" Didi asked her husband

"Umm, if you could pick up a few springs from the hardware section that'd be great!" Stu called back

"Alright, see you in a little while." Didi replied, closing the basement door back

With that Didi left out the front door with Tommy and Dil as they all were on their way to take a trip to the Home Haven Department Mall once again. Didi figured it'd be easier to not only grab snacks but also grab what Stu needed and even let the kids pick out their presents that they wanted to give to Phil and Lil. Who wouldn't pick the Department mall in this case? After a few minutes of driving Didi pulled into the parking lot as she found a parking spot. Stepping out of the car she unbuckled Tommy and Dil as she scooped Dil up into her arms.

"Okay, are we ready to go shopping?" Didi asked, smiling at her two boys

Both boys just gave each other a look as Didi took Tommy's hand and began heading into the store. Taking a look around the area, Didi could see why Stu enjoyed coming to the place, they had just a little of everything! Walking over to the map, Didi located the three spots they needed to go, which was the toy store, the small grocery store, and the hardware department. Making her way to the elevator with Tommy and Dil, Didi took the boys as they went down to the hardware department first.

"Lets see, springs, springs..." Didi muttered as she began looking for the springs

Tommy had spotted the springs on a nearby shelf as he began to tug on his mom's arm only to stop himself. As much as he wanted to help, he couldn't, they were on strike and he was going to stick with it. As a result of Tommy's actions it took a bit longer to get out of the hardware section but eventually the trio were on their way over to the grocery half of the department mall to grab some snacks.

"Okay lets see," Didi said, grabbing a shopping cart and placing the box of springs in the cart bed along with Tommy as she placed Dil in the seat. "First we'll grab some chips."

Making her way through the small shop she quickly located the chips in the snack section as she grabbed two large party size bags of chips as she turned towards the shopping cart.

"Alright, who wants to help mommy carry these?" Didi asked, offering the bags to her two sons.

Dil looked over at Tommy who shook his head as a response of "no, don't do it" as they looked back at Didi. Of course, Didi handed over the snacks regardless as Tommy just dropped the bag immediately in the cart bed while Dil ended up just copying Tommy only to drop the bag on the shop floor.

"Dil, no!" Didi exclaimed, scooping up the bag from the floor as she sighed

She didn't know what this current phase was with the kids not wanting to help but she'd hope it'd end soon. She'd have to check with Lipschitz once they were home. Placing the second chip bag that Dil dropped into the cart bed with Tommy, Didi went around just to grab a couple other snacks like animal crackers and cookies along with some apple and grape juice. After making sure she had everything she wanted, Didi went ahead to the checkout line as she paid for all the snacks. Leaving the small grocery store, Didi then made her way over to the elevator to the final stop on their list of destinations, the toy store. Didi hoped that this would at least get the boys to participate in their excursion together, especially since it was for their two friends' birthday.

Didi, however, was quickly proven wrong when Dil started to fuss and Tommy refused to get out of the cart bed. In the end, Didi was the one that ended up having to choose a present for the twins as she ended up picking up a magic doodle mat that Phil and Lil could share.

Going to checkout with the gift, Didi could only let out a sigh as she paid, glad that this trip could finally come to an end. Soon, after getting the car loaded up and the boys back in their seats, Didi made her way back home. Once back home, Didi let the boys play in the living room while she gave Stu the springs he needed. After giving Stu the springs, Didi went back upstairs to place the snacks she got away until it was the day of the party. At the same time, Didi went ahead to make a phone call to Betty to tell her she got the snacks needed for the party. Listening to the phone ring, Didi waited on the line as Betty picked up not long later.

"Hey Deed, what's up?" Betty answered, asking Didi how she was doing

"Hey Betty, I just wanted to let you know I got the snacks you needed." Didi answered

"Great! Maybe this party is just what the kids need. I don't know what's up with them, it's like they've hosted their own strike or something." Betty sighed

"Oh, are the twins giving you trouble too? Tommy and Dil also have been off, it's like they don't want to help like they usually do." Didi asked

"Yup, who knows what's going on in their little heads. I just hope they grow out of it before we send them off to preschool." Betty replied

"I'd like to hope they would as well, especially since I know evaluations are coming up." Didi agreed

"Anyway, thanks again Deed. I have to get going, looks like the twins have tracked mud in the house again and Howie is having a crisis." Betty chuckled

"No problem, I'll talk to you again soon." Didi said, hanging up the phone moments later

Of course, Betty's words resonated in Didi's mind as she looked over to Tommy and Dil playing in the living room.

Will the babies ever end their strike? Find out next time!