Going Dutch 2013: Mommy Meltdown at Ikea

Today we decided to head to Barendrechet to an indoor playground for the boys only to discover it was closed (I know, it's only Tuesday!). So we went next door to Ikea. I was curious to see if Ikea in Europe was any different than our beloved Ikea in Atlanta.
We checked the boys in at SmallLand for an hour and started browsing. Eric and I were making our kitchen wish list when our "alone time" ran out. So I tell Eric to get the boys while I wandered through the kids bedroom department (my favorite) with instructions to meet me back with the boys and we will eat lunch.
Ten minutes passed and he walks back by empty handed. What? "where are the boys?" "I cannot get downstairs because it is blocked for construction!" he says. So start to follow the regular route downstairs only to be at the very beginning of the Marketplace with NO available short cut with out walking through the entire store to the entrance. Those of you familiar with the layout of an Ikea knows that there is a maze of short cuts but it is NOT a short walk to get back to where you started. After asking no less than 6 "employees" no one could offer us a direct route to our children.
This is where my meltdown began. I turned into "Insta-Bitch" and started very loudly expressing how ridiculous this set up was. Showing my true American ass right there in "Lighting and Textiles". So as I raced to the exit through the warehouse, I was stopped by some cashiers who were not too happy with my speed, thinking I maybe stealing. I abandoned my little cart and with them as I walked toward the exit. My eyes welling up with tears and overcome with a feeling of helplessness.
I finally made it to the boys, 20 minutes late, head to the cafeteria and was able to semi-calmly eat my Swedish meatballs. Then I looked at my calendar and realized my hormones were raging.
My apologies to the Ikea employees today, mommy meltdowns can come on at any given moment.

FYI, except for the cafeteria (where they charged .20€ for butter and ketchup) there was absolutely, positively NO difference in our American Ikea's and European. Same stuff, different country.