Today was a typical day of running errands with the little ones along. I thought you would like to hear how it goes. As stressful as it always seems at the time, I know there will be a time when I will wish to have these days back again!
Today's To Do's:
1. Drop off clothes at the dry cleaner
2. Get new sticker for license plate/registration
3. Go to Costco
4. Pick up a few items at Ulta (beauty supply store/salon)
So we started by getting out of the hosue about 30mins after I wanted to (typical). I managed to get both Noah and Millie and all the dry cleaning out to the car in one trip. Unfortunately, the car was across the street and down two houses. It is so much easier when it is parked right out front! Oh well, that is part of living in the city!
We got to the dry cleaner and I ran the clothes in...only later did I realize I had forgotten the one item Jon told me to be sure to take - his suit coat - even though it was hanging in the dining room right by the front door!
Next I ran into the Currency Exchange to take care of updating the car's registration. This, surprisingly was uneventful and went as planned. A nice treat!
Next stop: Costco.
On our way there I drove by the iron scrap yard. I know this seems weird, but I think it is a pretty cool thing to watch...and I KNOW Noah thinks it is great. There are always multiple cranes picking up scraps of metal, etc and ...when we are lucky...smashed cars! The picture here is actually from the middle of August, but it is pretty much the same sight everytime. I usually park off to the side of the road a little until a semi, scrap truck, or train (see I told you this place is cool) comes by and makes me move. I'm not sure they really appreciate me treating their work site as a toddler attraction, but I know Noah appreciates it and that is what is important to me!
Ok, now off to Costco.
Costco's purpose is twofold. Not only do they have bulk groceries and extra large carts (a bonus when you have two kids), but they have a little area that serves food. It is an easy, quick lunch at a great price that is usually MUCH needed for Noah and me by the time we finish shopping there. We made it through the store without much incident thanks to 20 minutes of Noah's 'knock, knock' jokes. They go like this:
Noah: "Mommy, knock knock"
Mommy: " Who's there?"
Noah: "Bapple" (apple)
Mommy: "Apple, who"
Noah: "Hahahah"
Mommy: "Knock knock"
Noah: "Who dere?"
Mommy: "Tickle"
Noah: "Gickle, who? Hahah!"
Mommy: "Tickle, you!"To Noah, the 'Gickle, who?' part is the punchline. He gets such a kick out of it he can barely say it through his giggles!"
Just before we finished shopping he announced he had to go potty:
"Uh-oh Mommy! Cotty! Cotty!"
So I threw the last item in the cart and zipped through the checkout and straight to the bathroom (which I know is in the back corner from our previous trips). Phew! We made it in time! After the pitstop, we stopped at the food area for a quick bite to eat and then we were off to our last stop.
At this point, two hours had passed since leaving the house. Millie was now awake and we were quickly approaching Noah's naptime. It was all downhill from there.
We get in the store - which does NOT have carts. As a rule, I should never again even attempt to go in a store without carts. That means Noah is left running loose (literally) and Millie feels like she weighs two tons as I cart her around by the crook of my arm in her carseat...but I only need four items (famous last words!)!
As I looked for items 1 and 2, Noah ran up and down the aisle and his puffy coat kept knocking bottles of shampoo off the shelves. I told him the store was not a place for him to run. He did listen, but aparently I didn't mention anything about not touching anything because next I caught him building a 'tall tower' with jars of moisturizer. So then I fed him the line about keeping his hands to himself. He did a pretty good job of not touching anything but instead asked "Mommy, what dat?" to every item we passed! Ugh. I finally gave up on trying to find the first two items and began hunting for the last two. All of a sudden... "Uh-oh! Mommy! Cotty! Cotty!" Was he joking? We just went in Costco! I found the bathroom and, no, he wasn't joking. He went again and not only did he procede to count 'his work' but he decided to announce my 'work' and acted excited for me - just like I do for him. Thanks Noah. The only person excited by this info was Millie, who is always excited by anything her big brother has to say.
Once we completed Pitstop #2, I realized this was a complete waste of time as this store did not have ANY of the four items I needed! Ugh.
The trip from Ulta to home was a quiet one. I had to work to keep Noah awake at this point. If he falls asleep in the car for even two minutes any chance of a nap is out the window...but he made it home...barely.
Once inside, he found his second wind.
While I was bringing in the groceries from the car - which took me FIVE trips (not counting the trip to get the kids in the house), Noah created a lineup of the most random items.
It was actually pretty funny. Somehow, after an exhausting morning I was still able to find humor in it...until he started to build another 'tall tower' with the tub of cottage cheese, hummus, artichoke dip and sour cream. I had to draw the line somewhere...eventhough he had already created his own line right in the middle of the kitchen.
Good thing naptime was next on the To Do list!! Mommy needs a break!
When it came out of the oven, he was so excited and wanted me to 'tut (cut) it Mama!' I explained that the best part about Monkey Bread is you don't have to 'tut' it! You use your fingers and pull it apart! He LOVED that he could serve himself.
