#24: Kristy and the Mother's Day Surprise
It's time for another Kristy book because KRISTY SAYS SO AND SHE'S THE BOSS. Anywho, Mother's Day is rapidly approaching (bummer for Mary Anne) and all the girls in the BSC are at a loss for what to get their moms for gifts.
At the Thomas-Brewer family dinner, Kristy's mom asks everyone what they would think of another brother or sister. Kristy, Charlie, and Sam are cool with it, but Karen, Andrew, and David Michael don't want a baby around who cries, smells, and would take attention away from them. Still, Kristy's open to it and she thinks about how great her mom is and how she wants to give her something special for Mother's Day. And then, of course, because she's Kristy, she has a Great Idea.
At the next club meeting Kristy is dying to tell the BSC about her idea (but first she points out that Dawn is wearing a necklace that says I'M AWESOME). So what's Kristy's plan? To give all of the mothers they sit for (including some of their own) a day off, and take the kids off their hands. Everyone agrees to spend their dues money to take the kids on some sort of "field trip" or outing and get the dads/husbands to pitch in so the moms truly have a day off - the day before Mother's Day, so everyone can still spend the actual day with their families.
While Claudia is baby-sitting at the Newtons', she notices a flier on their fridge for a carnival that would be in town - guess when? Yup, over Mother's Day weekend. Jamie really wants to go and Claudia bets a lot of other kids do, too. She's found the answer to their outing problem! (Just because Claudia can't spell doesn't mean she's a total dumie dummy.) Everyone agrees it's a good idea to pair the carnival with a picnic and a backyard craft project session. Then they make a list of kids to invite - and they come up with twenty-nine. Yikes! Neither associate member can make it, so Claudia has another great idea - invite Stacey! She gets permission from her parents, and Stoneybrook is about to get a lot more sophisticated.
The BSC ends up with twenty-one charges along for the Mother's Day Surprise, and they split them into groups like they've done before (during the Thomas-Brewer wedding week and the New York excursion) because they're suuuper prepared.
The morning at the carnival goes pretty well - the kids ride some rides, Jamie Newton gets his precious balloon (and Jackie Rodowsky accidentally lets his balloon go "to the moon"), and everyone's having a pretty good time. There are a few snafus - Karen Brewer gets scared in the spook house and has to be let out a side door, and Margo Pike barfs all over the merry-go-round, because she's Margo Pike. But everyone survives and makes their way to the picnic lunch at Carle Park. It goes without incident for the most part - a couple of skinned knees and minor accidents - and then they all head back to Claudia's backyard for story-time and card-making. Phew. Another Baby-sitters Club success for the record.
When Kristy and her siblings are all home from the outing, her mom and Watson sit them down and announce something major - they've adopted a two-year-old Vietnamese girl named Emily Michelle! The Thomas-Brewer clan has its newest member.
