Family Alive

Today was a first. I went shopping with both kids, by myself. I know you probably won’t believe that after nearly 3 months of being a mother of 2 I’ve not had to go out with both of them. We’ve gone to Chik-Fil-A… well, to the drive-thru. We’ve gone to Bwacka and Boppa’s. But I’ve not had to go anywhere and manage both of them. I’m really lucky that Brian’s always willing to watch one or both while I run out and do errands, or Beverly or Tom are available for me to drop one or both off for a quick trip. More likely, I head out to shop after they’re both in bed. But today I decided I was ready to test the waters. Analise starts her mother’s day out program tomorrow, and I have to find a lunch box and a clear backpack. Walmart is the obvious choice, but I really don’t like WalMart, so I thought we’d enjoy a trip to Target.

All things considered, it wasn’t that bad, at least the kids weren’t. Analise was pretty good, especially since I gave her a package of granola bites to enjoy. I used one of the HUGE child-happy carts. You know, the ones that feel like you’re driving an 18-wheeler. This one sounded like a train. It was so loud! I wasn’t sure what to do with Josiah, as he wasn’t happy in the pouch, so I put him in his carseat carrier in the basket. Now, even with the massive cart, I had very little room for stuff. All the better for my wallet:)

So we walked through the store, clogging up the aisles so people couldn’t get around us. You could hear us on the other side of the store. Anyway, there were no clear backpacks. And no plastic lunch boxes. ARG. And to top it all off, the one other thing on my list was string cheese, which scanned at $3.99/pkg rather than the $1.66 I thought it was. Needless to say, I wasn’t paying $8.00 for string cheese, so I didn’t get it. The cashier wasn’t willing to go check the price, and when I pushed me big rig over there to check myself (after we had finished checking out), I was the one in the wrong. All in all, a frustrating trip, though not because of the little ones.

I hate that I prefer Target to Walmart so much, and I keep TRYING to go there for my stuff, only to have bad experiences. Last time I was in there I was 9+ months pregnant, trying to get Analise a tricycle. Not in stock, had to stand in line for 15 minutes to get a raincheck, this after walking through the whole store. I thought I was going to go into labor for sure. Then a plastic bin I was buying had a broken lid, and the cashier said I could go get another lid. Are you kidding me? As hugely pregnant as I was, I was NOT going to the back of the store. I asked if she could get someone to get it for me. No, she said without calling anyone, we’re too busy and I’m sure there’s no one available. Such customer service!

Anyway, it’s a normal day here. Samford doesn’t have the day off, so Brian had class and we’re just hanging out here. Tonight, though, is our “in-house” date night. For the last couple weeks, we’ve been enjoying an hour of “us” time from 9-10 after the kids go to bed. At 8:30, one of us goes out for nice coffee drinks, and we have a good time together. It’s been really nice to have that to look forward to. Seems like “us” can get lost in the daily grind and the busyness of taking care of kids and life. Hope you’ve had a good Labor Day!