We ran out of a few staple groceries in the last few days, so I decided to take the kids in for them, rather than sending Brady on another errand. He’s always more than willing to run errands, but because of my ultrasound this week, he lost a few hours, and I don’t want to make it harder to catch up by sending him all over the place. So when the kids got up this morning, I got them fed and dressed and loaded into the van.
My plan was to hit Walmart, and get the kids some McDonalds for lunch afterwards to keep everyone happy. We needed a couple of things from Costco as well, but I am not that crazy to try to hit both big busy stores in one day without some extra hands to help. But I needed to fill the van with gas, so when I was at Costco doing that, I figured we could get those things after all. I found a pretty reasonably close parking space and got everyone into/onto the cart. Rowan sits up in the basket seat thing, Dekker rides on the end, and Solly was in his bucket in the actual cart. Laela hates to ride in the cart with Rowan, so she is VERY well mannered in grocery stores and we let her just hold hands and walk alongside. But today, I had to push the cart and couldn’t hold her hand. So we compromised, and it worked! She agreed to ride in the cart beside Rowan through the parking lot, and once we were in the store, she hung onto the side of the cart and walked beside me. I’m so thankful that my kids are exactly who they are. She didn’t stray or try to bail once. She just wants to walk rather than ride. I get that. She really earns those things, as simple as they sound. Proud mommy moment.
We got through Costco and everything was soaked. There had been a super quick downpour, and I was pretty thankful that it had stopped in time for us to get to our van without getting too soaked. Though my shoes took a bit of a hit. Also thankful I wore some super old shoes today…
As we drove to Walmart, it POURED. As we parked, it POURED. It was a bit ominous. The kids were a bit hesitant. There were no carts super close by, and I wasn’t about to try to run them all in through a crowded parking lot in the rain when I only had two arms. We waited a few minutes, and it didn’t let up. So I left the van running and went to find a cart. Don’t worry, the van was in sight the entire time. I got everyone into it as fast as I could, and Dekker and Laela were super obedient when I told them both to climb on the end and ride inside together. Everyone did as they were told, and we made it inside looking pretty “drowned rat esque” but it worked. We really enjoyed the Walmart shop, and the kids were on their best behaviour. The biggest fight was that both Dekker and Laela wanted to put the cucumber in the cart. That was it. Pretty easy to handle, if you ask me.
When we had paid for our stuff, we walked past the McDonalds, and it was PACKED. Worst of all, it was packed with people waiting, not people eating. I couldn’t imagine trying to get the kids fed there, so we walked past it. As the power of suggestion tends to work, Dekker and Laela saw those dang golden arches and expressed hunger. I told them I was hungry too, and once we brought daddy a coffee, we would go home and make lunch. And somehow, that was enough for them!! We headed for the exit and, praise the Lord, the rain had stopped momentarily. So we made a big scene of running to the van and being super loud about it.
We picked up coffee for Brady and drove to his job site right around when he was planning to take his lunch break, so he brought his lunch in and ate with us. It was such a pleasant family date in the middle of the day. And the kids weren’t complaining about being hungry or anything like that! Total champs! I finally got them fed around 1:30, and all has been well 🙂
I’m calling today’s outing a raging success!!! I had no idea that this would feel so easy, and while I’m sure it won’t be easy every single time, I don’t feel in over my head at all. Very thankful for these little loves! (I’m super thankful for Rowan too! He’s just napping. We’ll get him next time 😉 )
Its been a great day <3