A long, busy day

So we spent half the day out and about.  Well, it felt like it!  After getting a few things done in the morning we needed to go out shopping.  The last of the month is the time to stock up.  This month was going to be a bit different.  We've had a situation arise here that is going to take a lot of our attention to address.  Because of that I was trying to think of ways to make myself more available to address any issues that come up (with the children that is).  Preparing food is a major business in this household.  And although I truly want to be eating high amounts of fresh fruit and veggies, and soak all our grains and what not, that takes a LOT of my time.  Time that I will not have this coming month, and maybe even into the next month.  So I sat down the other day and made up the menu for the whole month of July.  I made all of our dinners and most of our breakfasts things that could be frozen.  So we will have two or three bulk cooking and freezing days coming up so that all my cooking time can be done now, to save me that time during the rest of the month.  This made for a major shopping trip, shopping for the whole month in one day. 

We started out by stopping at the gas station to fill the tank.  Then to the nearest grocery store to grab some muffins and milk, for our breakfast, that we ate in the van.  A quick run to the bank for our grocery money.  Then off to the sporting store for new sneakers for me.  It's been a couple of years and I have been getting sore shins and knees when I am walking with my current shoes.  We then needed to pick up the book that Isa will be doing a group study with some other teens.  We ordered it on ebay but got a notice that it was out of stock and wouldn't be in stock till July 20th, close to the end of the entire study!  The funny thing was that when we got home today, the book was in the mail!  Oh, well, Jeremiah and I had already decided that we wanted another copy around the house anyways.  Thankfully a few of these stores were in close proximity.  Our next stop was BJ's.  We filled our cart to the brim.  I made sure to bring a big cooler and grab some ice so that our cold things would stay cold for the remainder of our errands.  After BJ's it was off to get a haircut for Moira and I.  I'm not exactly happy with my haircut.  I had wanted them to do the same thing they had done with Isa's hair a few months ago.  The stylist that cut her hair is no longer at this salon.  Bummer.  So when I explained what I wanted I was told that they couldn't do that.  Seriously, I was in no mood to try to find another place that could and got a cut that was sort of like what I wanted.  But it's not what I really wanted, and I have to resign myself to the fact that I am not meant to get a haircut that I really want.  It's a long story, but me and haircuts just don't mix.  Ok, after that it was on to Walmart.  We filled two carts to overflowing.  At the checkout I had Isa grab another cart to make refilling them a bit easier.  Our van was full, full, full.  It was way past lunch at this point and I was truly amazed at how all the kids were handling themselves.  So off to get some lunch before we went home.  I had everyone eat quickly as we had defrosting food in the van!  By then I was ready for a nap.  And I have to say that the prospect that we had to *unload* all of this food *and* put it away was a wee bit overwhelming to me.  Thankfully Isa's brain was working still and she suggested that we back up the van to the back gate.  That would save us all from going up and down our 12 steps in the front of the house.  Good thinking!  It took a while to unload and put everything away, but we got it done.  I think when I looked at the clock it was 5:10 when it was all said and done. 

I am very thankful that my brain was working the day before and I had managed to think of buying some frozen pizzas to cook up for dinner on our shopping day, knowing that I would be wiped out.  I almost forgot them, but as we were walking out of Walmart I realized I forgot our dinner!  The lines were all long and I was afraid that *I* was going to have a meltdown, ha, ha!  But I survived!  After all of this I was sooooo tired.  I laid on the couch for about 30 minutes.  But I can't say it was very relaxing.  The boys had been sitting all day, in the van, in the stroller, or in a cart. So they were active, active, active.  That meant Jonah in my face, or Jed crawling up over me, or Jonah crawling on me, or a sword fight gone haywire....you get the idea.  Then Jed really wanted me, and only me, to read him a book.  This took care of the crawling all over me, but didn't help that my eyes were as heavy as one ton lead weights.  Finally, someone asked the dreaded question.....when's dinner?  Dinner?  Are you serious?  Surely you jest.  Even the thought of popping pizza into the oven was overwhelming.  I had one of the girls prep the stove and unwrap the pizzas.  So really I just had to pop it in and set the time on the timer.  I gained back some momentum and was able to carry on for the rest of the evening.  It helped that the kids went out and jumped on the trampoline a bit.  But playing outside makes for some dirty kids.  So I needed to wash up the boys before putting them to bed.  And now, now, I am heaving a sigh of relief that all is done and I can relax a bit before I hit the hay. 

Phew!

Tomorrow is Jed's fourth birthday!!!  He's going to be four!!!  Unbelievable.  The girls made up his birthday sign.  Let's just say that future birthday sign designs will need to be preapproved :-)  Lots of dinosaurs and swords, oh and dragons too.  Don't forget the stick man people Isa says.  Jed has really been into things dying.  He will take one of his toy cars, make it crash and then proudly say to me, "Mama, a die." Or, "Mama, dead."  Then he will tell me they had ouchies and then miraculously they rise up from the dead.  He obviously doesn't comprehend the meaning of 'dead'.  Although.... Isa found a dead mouse today.  Hey, at least it was dead!  Anyways, she had a string wrapped around its tail so that she could 'escort' said mouse to the trash.  Upon seeing the dead mouse, Jed started crying and pointing at the mouse saying, "a die, a die!"  Poor guy.  Anyways, all this to then say the girls put a few dead guys on his birthday sign.  I know that sounds morbid, but it's quite funny how they drew the dead guys.  Ok, I'm probably sounding totally insane, I guess I will have to show you when I get a picture of it.  Anyways, you can see why all future designs will need my approval!  Ha, ha! 

Well, it is getting late, and I really need to get some sleep.  I still need to tell you all about the book Isa is reading and the authors' site.  Isa really loves this book, and that is a good thing :-)  Maybe tomorrow, if I have the time.