Errands

This morning at breakfast, Cucumber made the declaration that she is the smartest in the family.  Well, that just instantly fueled a debate among the other children.  Sweet Potato told her that she absolutely was NOT the smartest person in the family.  Honey Bunches said, "If you are the smartest, then what is 2 hundred million thousand fifty four plus 5 gazillion jillion?"  Cucumber looked really sad and I think Honey Bunches must have felt a little bad because he came back to ask, "o.k.  then what is 16 plus 16?"  Cucumber replied, "42," and Honey Bunches looked at me and said, "how did she know that?"  I just smiled and said Cucumber is a really smart little girl.

Once the older kids were at school, the little ones and I decided to go for a walk to the post office and grocery store.  Even though we have a double stroller, Sweet Pea insisted on walking, so our "stroll" took a bit of time.  On our way to the post office, I told the girls that I expected them to behave.  Cucumber replied, "I always behave."  As I walked up to the counter in the post office, the girls decided to push the stroller into the wall to which Pumpkin (who was buckled inside) belly laughed and the clerk behind the counter had a look of horror on her face.  So I turned around and hooked my foot between the wheels and gave my sternest look I could muster, while writing out a check.  We then went out into the lobby so I could stamp my mail.  The girls began running around in circles.  I told them that if they didn't stop, I would find a way to put all three of them in our single stroller.  Sweet Pea took this as an invitation and decided to crawl into the basket underneath.  Her attempt flipped the stroller back, onto her, leaving her screeching that she was stuck.  At this point, I debated with myself if we should continue to the grocery store, or simply head home.  Apparently I was up for the challenge and we continued with our errands.

In the store, I put Pumpkin in the grocery cart and told the other two that they needed to hold onto the cart at all times.  They actually did pretty well, until I discovered 4 jars of Parmesan cheese and a banana in my cart - items I did not place there.  We eventually made it up to the check-out and of course there would have to be a big bucket of suckers on the counter at the girls eye level.  "Mommy, pleeeeeeeeease can we have one?"  "No, not today."  "But mommy, we want one."  "No, I am not going to buy candy today."  "Pleeeeeeeeease, I WANT A SUCKER."  By this time, I began feeling a bit embarrassed and I have no doubt my cheeks were red.  I tried to distract them by inviting them to each carry a bag to the stroller.  It actually worked.  I went to pick up Pumpkin out of the cart and one of her boots caught on the cart and fell to the ground.  As I bent over to pick it up - with Pumpkin in my arms - I hit her head on the cart handle.  I tried to race out before her cries erupted.  I'm sure we were quite the spectacle.  Our walk home, although very slow, was enjoyable.  The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and it felt wonderful to be outside.  The fresh air actually did all of us some good.  The girls took long naps, which allowed me some time to work on laundry, prep for supper, and actually put my feet up for a bit.  All in all, it was a good day.  I worked hard, the kids played hard, and now we are all ready to rest well.