Now that we can laugh about it…
I mentioned I was wound a little tight by the weekend.
It all started on Thursday. It was a cold, rainy, ugly day. I got out of bed and started the long process of getting everyone ready to leave the house. I got Tessa bathed and dressed and changed and fed. I changed, dressed, and fed Sabrina. I settled Tessa into her crib and Sabrina in the bathroom with me so that I could take a quick shower and get dressed. I had bottles and sippy cups and snacks and extra diapers. I was ready to head out for my almost hour drive. I looked at the bulletin board to verify the time of Tessa’s pediatrician appointment. I was correct – 11am. However, it was for 11am Monday 3/16. Oh eff.
You ever have one of those days where it feels like every dirty diaper you change and every spot of puke you clean off yourself sucks out a little piece of your soul? I was having one of those.
Later that afternoon, I needed to pick up a prescription. (Remember the cold, rainy, ugly part from above.) I went through the Walgreens drive thru (bless these people for not making me cart 2 small kiddos inside). Sabrina assumes any drive thru, including the bank and pharmacy, means french fries. (I swear we might get fast food 8 times a year. But it is like crack to a 2 year old – they are always looking for their next hit.) So she starts with a cute “Please fries” from the back seat. It stops being cute quickly because it is on a continuous loop with ever increasing volume. I tell her I don’t have any fries and she begins screeching, sure that I am bogarting the fries. I show her the bag to assure her that I’m not holding out on her. The volume lowers but the pathetic pleas for fries do not stop.
Since we are out, I think we might as well stop at the grocery store. We recently ditched Tessa’s infant car seat and installed a full sized seat. This was my first trip to the store with both kiddos and no carrier. In the cold, windy rain, I run with both kiddos to the store to search for an elusive double cart. I find one but see that unlike Target’s double carts, these do not have 5 point harness belts. I nervously put Tessa in the cart with just the lapbelt. She is fine for awhile but then starts gyrating around and bouncing her head off the plastic seat at regular intervals and sobbing each time. I try to carry her and steer with one hand but those double carts are impossible with steer w/2 hands let alone just one. So, I fly through the last 3 aisles and check out. I refuse help out to the car (why, why, why? enough with the pride!). I sprint with the unweildy cart to the car. Both kids are cyring because it is cold and raining. I get Tessa strapped in and then Sabrina strapped in. I have rain dripping off my nose at this point. I throw the groceries in the back. I take the cart to the cart return. I hurry to get into the car and smack my head into the door frame hard enough to see stars. I sit hunched over my steering wheel weeping for 5 minutes before I can muster the will to drive home.
The next day, I plan to go meet Steve for lunch. I get the girls and myself ready with all of the assorted items that entails. We manage to only be 10 minutes late due to Tessa pooping with enough force to require a wardrobe change in addition to a diaper change just as we are leaving the house. We pick Steve up and head to a Japanese place. I’ve been anticipating a bento box lunch all week. We arrived well before noon but still found the restaurant quite crowded. We get seated with our booster seat and our high chair. Tessa is initially quite happy to be free of her carrier and look around. That lasts 3.5 minutes. Then she starts fussing. I’m trying to hold a squirming infant and eat with chopsticks and Steve is trying to convince Sabrina that eating the miso soup that came with her veggie fried rice isn’t something “Nina can do for self”. Sabrina is on the edge due to the soup and Tessa is on the edge for who knows what reason. We managed to get through lunch with having An Incident but just barely.
I then declared that it has officially become more trouble than it is worth to leave the house with the kids. No need to tell me to buck up and that it will get better – I don’t tend to tell these kinds of stories until I find them funny. Yesterday we had to do the pediatrician and went to Trader Joe’s after with no problems what so ever.
It gets better? 😉
I have an 8 1/2 & 4 year old and…well…that brings about it’s own drama, lol! I might not need diapers, sippy cups and wet wipes anymore (well, actually, wet wipes still do come in handy!) but the fighting and the tantrums and the yelling often make me rethink outings with the two of them! That being said, J can get herself in and out of the car w/o assistance and G is now in a booster seat instead of a car seat, so things are getting easier 🙂
I was so anticipating having one of those days last week when I was home with all three kiddos for Spring Break. The reason for my anticipation? Three weeks ago we were at the grocery store (“we” meaning all four of us, no dad) and I put Julia and Cecilia in the “car” cart – the one that has the car below the actual cart basket. Not two isles into the grocery shopping (with Amalia in the sling) Cecilia threw herself out of the car, with her jacket still caught in the seat belt and I promptly ran over her… Nice huh? I would love to see the security tape of that.
Oh I hate those days when the all mealt down at once!! I have that same problem with my girls!
Ok – Michelle your story was pretty bad, but PP nora running over her daughter has me literally LOL in my seat here at my office. Yes I read your blog at work – its like my crack, what can I say? I hate not being a SAHM mom so I check my blog to see cute pictures of my daughter, and remind me of why I am at said job and not at home with her. Not to mention that her other mom is a SAHM and last I checked some one had to work. So basically checking my blog means checking your blog and today your story and that of nora made me feel just a bit better about working in an office all day and not at the SAHM thing. So thanks for sharing your aggravation and frustration. Ohh the toddler whine in loop fashion – you described it perfectly.
Nora – you win the prize! I am laughing my butt off (along with Julie) at your child throwing herself out of the cart only to be run over by you. Sorry but that is funny stuff (in retrospect).
Michelle, I keep hearing it gets better. But it must still be coming later! I still refuse to take our 2 y.o. and a 3 y.o. to the grocery store at the same time! (actually, i prefer to go at night while daddy does bedtime….it’s my time to “run away!!!”)
If it helps, when i take the baby and the older toddler grocery shopping, I use the double stroller. I put 2 baskets on the handles and heavy stuff (like milk) in the stroller’s basket. I can usually get a whole week’s worth at a time (for a family of 5)…I do Target this way too.
Ok, my stomach hurts and I have tears from laughing so hard. I am sorry, but I have so been there!!
I may be able to beat Nora. Just about a week after Reese came home I had the carrier seat in the front of the cart (where the manufacturers don’t recommend it–pish posh) and I hit a bump going out of the store, and dumped him and the seat upside down. He was sleeping. He woke up SCREAMING, and I freaked. Drove right to the ped. office, who happened to be my cousin. She laughed so hard that she cried. By this time he was back to sleep, and we deemed the crying was because he was mad that I had disturbed him.
We all have our days. Glad things went better on your last outing–anyone catch the plague yet??
Thanks for sharing this. I spit my diet coke up through my nose with the Nora story…so NO thanks for that! : )
As I am approaching the due date of our baby girl, I am practicing at the grocery with my almost 3 year old OUT of the cart and walking on his own. HOLY MOTHER OF BURRITOS… he is like a crazed octopus in there. I am thinking of putting mittens on him so he can’t actually GRASP anything!
Thanks for the laugh, Michelle. Totally understand the weeping over the steering wheel—some days are just like that! Glad it seems funnier with a few days in between.
Yup, I feel your pain…I find it hard to go out with just my one, I don’t know how you do it with 2!
I stumbled across your blog this morning, and I’ll laughing her in No. Ill.
My son’s 22 and I’m well past where you are, plus I only had him, so I cannot totally relate…
Your story was funny, and it pulled at my heart. The weirdest part is you will, someday far far away, miss these times–okay not every aspect of them, but some moments.
I remember the time my son threw up in my hair, all down my back. It makes for a good story, if I’d only had a blog then.
LOVE your stuff! I hope to return on my next blog world rambling,
ellie
ellieisanewthing.blogspot.com
(I clicked on your blog because you had a photo of my favorite flower on someone’s comment page. Thanks for a bit of summer.)
thanks for making me laugh. i needed that. xo
Motherhood is joy and hell. To quote a great, very funny blogger, mother of 2 “It’s a good thing they’re cute!”