Frazzled!

Some days I question whether I'd really be able to make it as a full time stay at home mom. Yesterday was one of those days. I set myself up for failure. I somehow convinced myself that the kids and I would be able to run seven errands right in the heat of the day and before they'd had any lunch.

Jacob has a love-hate relationship with his shoes. He loves to wear them, but then he also loves to take them off and throw them. So, each time I'd put him in the car, they'd go flying and I'd have to crawl around trying to find them and put them back on every time we'd get to our next destination. I think he thought the whole thing was incredibly funny.

He is also going through a very independent stage and has decided that he is "big" now and doesn't need to ride in the cart. But, he doesn't want to hold my hand, either, and so I have to weigh out my options - deal with the temper tantrum that will ensue if I make him sit in the cart or deal with the likelihood that he will walk around the store picking things up at his leisure. His favorites, of course, are the candy that always manage to place right at the registers and at eye level for a toddler...

By the time we reached Kroger which was our seventh (and last) destination, I was singing the hallelujah chorus in my head. And that's when Emily kicked in. "Mom, you're a liar. You said we were going to the grocery store, but this is NOT the grocery store. Grocery store starts with G (and she proceeded to make the "g" sound just in case I didn't know). This is Kroger. Kroger starts with K...(followed by the "k" sound for emphasis)."

We made it home and I was unloading the car and counting the minutes until nap time and then I saw them there together at the window so excited and watching a little Gecko that was on the other side and then it hit me - it's these little moments that I get to share with them that I would ordinarily miss that makes these days that I get to be at home with them so precious.

I got another reminder later in the afternoon when they both crowded up on my lap wanting to rock and read books.