Surprisingly Simple

Today I went to the grocery store (again) after I dropped off Mote. And (again) I had the 2 younger boys with me. It must've been "Mommy Shop Day" today or something because when I finished parking the car I seen a Smith's employee taking 2 Shopping Cars from the cart rack back into the store. Lucky for me there was one more left in the rack. Nici and Siope LOVED it! Shopping was a breeze today!!! I had to tell them a couple times to keep their hands in the car, but other than that- it was great! They played "Cash Cab" while I shopped the entire time, and surprisingly the cart/car was easy to maneuver. I've used similar carts at different stores and it's always been so hard to get around those corners, but thank goodness that wasn't the case today. I wonder where these bad boys have been hiding all the other times I've gone to the grocery store! 

And this time, I remembered my debit card =)

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

I'm so exhausted- not really a major reason to be, just tired for free I guess. Today was Mote's last game of the season. I've gotta be honest- I'm a little excited for the break! 3 kids in soccer was a bit chaotic at times. So we've got until March to enjoy a little peace and quiet. Aaah, I remember why I'm so tired. I worked a closing shift last night, got home at around 10pm, dropped off Ti Tonga at work, woke up early, got the kids dressed, picked up Ti, and amazingly made it to Mote's game on time. After the game and a little "Hoo-rah, the season's over" celebration meal I attempted to shop for our "family portrait" attire. I knew I was in for some good ole stress. It seems like every time I shop with something specific in mind I can never find it. I had this fabulous picture in mind about what everyone would be wearing, had the whole color scheme down- and ask me if I found anything remotely similar to what I envisioned??? Not even close. I got to the point where I didn't even care what I was grabbing off the racks. I think I counted 5 near-breakdowns by the end of the night. Sila- I hope you can work some magic! Maybe all of our shots will be black and white. haha

Costume Chaos

We have been super busy lately and haven't gotten around to buying the kids costumes yet. Last year I was smart and ordered them online. However; this year our ward trunk-or-treat is a week earlier than Halloween, so I didn't have enough time to get any costumes shipped. Ti worked a little later than expected and was exhausted once he got home. I had told the kids I'd take them today to get their costumes as soon as Mote got off of school. As it neared 3 o'clock I asked Ti if he wanted to come along. "I'm so tired. If you want to wait an hour or two so that I could take a nap, then I'll go with you." After thinking about it for 2 seconds I decided to just take Nic and Siope with me to pick up Mote and the four of us would go costume hunting together. "Are you sure you want to take all of them?" He kept telling me to just leave the two little ones at home and that they would be fine with whatever costumes I picked out for them. "No, it's okay. I'll just take them." ..... Big mistake! I will never go costume shopping unless there is another adult with me. It was madness as soon as we set foot in the store. None of them were paying attention to the costumes. They were more interested in what toys were in stock.
"Siope, do you want this one?"
"Nope."
"Nici, how about this?"
"No thanks."
Oh my gosh I wanted to pull my hair out! I did not just drive an hour to go home empty handed. Mote finally saw the light and made his costume choice first (but only after causing Mom a whole lotta frustration). I was forced to just make a choice for Nici, and Siope would not for the life of him accept any offers! I got so fed up that we left the store with only 2 costumes. I was so upset with Siope's behavior and lack of interest that I didn't even get him anything. I kind of felt guilty on the drive home, but then when we got in the house I asked him how come he didn't want to get a costume and his answer was "because." That's it?? Just because?! Oh my- you are getting a hand-me-down this year mister!
Never go costume shopping unless your spouse is there to assist you- there is not enough patience in one adult to last the shopping trip. Lesson learned.