The Day After Effect

Drive up to Costco parking lot and I jump out to get the cart to get my chore done of grocery shopping. My almost 2 year old refuses to get into the cart which happens to be one of the very few times that he has done this.

My 5 year old didn't bring her shoes so she has to get into the cart with her brother too. I get them all buckled after I think is 5 minutes but really was probably one minute.

I then turn to find my 7 year old is opening the back of the car to find her sister's shoes and balloons almost fall out of the car that belong to the 5 year old who starts screaming to shut the door so that they don't fly away.

By this time my 2 year old son has already been in standing position in the cart with the buckle at his ankles. I continue to put him into the cart once again and then my 5 year old thinks she needs to be a "big girl" and sit in the bigger section of the cart.

"Really! Is this what is happening to me?"

I try to keep my cool because others are walking too and from their cars and I really don't want to make a scene. I finally get the two back into the buckles and just start walking hopefully the 2 year old will be distracted by others and watching cars go by.

My vision didn't work out he continued to scream and climb out of the buckle once again and then my 7 year old pipes up that she is hungry and wanted to stop and get a Costco hot dog.

Then my 5 year old agrees and all 3 at this point are all just talking, asking and screaming! I didn't even get 5 car lengths away from my car and just threw in the towel and just gave up on my mission to get my chore of grocery shopping done and just turned around and walked back to the car.

How many of you have done that before?

Everyone is crying by this point and everyone refuses to get into their car seats. I already have a hard time putting my 2 year old in the car anyway so this didn't help out.

The parking spot next to us was open I love when this happens when I have to get my son into the carseat so I can climb in and put my body over the carseat to get him in. This time a car had to wait for me because I was just fuming at his point and I could tell that my face was getting red and his carseat buckle was having issues. So needless to say this car waited for about one minute until I got it figured out.

I tell you this story because I know some of you out there have related to this in some way or another. I just returned from the Power of Mom's retreat and this is why I called my story "The Day After Effect" because I'm sure its happened to alot of us. We go off to enjoy ourselves for a couple of days to come back to our children really missing us and just out of whack!

I was taught while I was away about perspective and I thought about this while on the drive home from Costco and decided that I just needed to do something fun.

I got out of the car and asked the girls to get ready for a bike ride and they were thrilled. I just needed to get fresh air as well as they did after all that had happened. I just knew that if I did this spontaneous activity with my children my perspective would be changed a little and really enjoy the moment.

Well it lasted for quite sometime and we were enjoying the weather and Easton and Paetan were sitting in the bike trailer so Easton had had enough and started to pull her hair.

Why do boys find this to be funny? Honestly he does it to get their attention and its his way of picking on them because they do it so much to him.

So needless to say we ended our bike trip early! But in the end they were just happy to be back with mom and gave me alot of loves!