Freak Show

I have been taking the 4 kids out of their cages the house lately, by myself, to run errands. It is more out of necessity than desire, and the reality of my life is that Joseph is super busy with work so I might as well get used to doing things alone with the kids. My goal was to venture of out my comfort zone. And you may be interested in knowing that after a couple of days of venturing, I have decided that venturing out is overrated and perhaps I should rethink my plan and implement "baby steps".

Case #1: We were out of toothpaste, deodorant and most importantly - 409, so I took the kids to Walmart to pick up a few things. I made my list, got my coupons ready and loaded my little darlings into the car. All afternoon I had been thinking through the logistics of this trip and what I would do with the two infant carriers. I decided to put the girls in a cart and shove my merchandise around them. The boys wedged themselves under the cart and off we went to the deodorant aisle. (The whole time in Wally's World we are being stared and pointed at and for someone who doesn't embarrass easily, I was embarrassed.) Once we got to the toothpaste aisle, I knew that it was going to be interesting. The boys got stuck under the cart, the girls started fussing and my organized coupons got all discombobulated. Yeah my carefully, well planned trip went down hill fast. By the time I got to the checkout counter, the cashier (a 16 year old boy!) looked at me with pity in his eyes and said, "I wish there was something I could do to help you." Did I mention he was a 16 year old boy?! For him to even notice, I must have looked pathetic!

Case #2: I wanted to get rocks. I know, what in the world would a mother of 2 small boys want to get rocks for? Good question and long story. We'll save that for another time. Anyway, I went to Lowes with the kids and told Caleb that his job was going to be pushing the double stroller while I pushed the cart with 120 pounds of rocks. Sounds easy right? Wrong! Pushing the limo (long double stroller) without running into people or knocking things over is a difficult feat for me - now imagine how hard this is for a 5 year old that gets distracted by lady bugs, loves hardware stores and doesn't pay attention to where he is walking most of the time. Need I say more?

Although I don't exaggerate these dramas, I do create them. I'm not sure that I really need anything badly enough to go out with the kids by myself for a while. Like I said venturing out, with 4 kids 5 and under, is overrated.