1 vs 4

Taking a trip to winnipeg by yourself with 3 children in winter is ridiculous to say the least. the fourth thing i was up against was my usual dud cart I always seem to get at WalMart. I thought today wouldn't be so bad because it was so mild out so off we went to wpg. First stop...Michaels, they're carts are almost useless with kids so all I could fit in there was Sophia. Well Lexi loved everything in there and there were so many flowers for her to go touch and say "mowa? mowa mama?" that means 'there are more flowers over here too mama?' and she loaded up the cart with things she liked while i tried to concentrate on what I all needed for her cake. Perfectly placed in the cake decorating aisle was one of those huge blue ladders that Ryland knows all to well about and sees them and always asks "you have to work here to go on these mom?" "yes Ryland you have to work here to go up the ladder" so of course Ryland and Lexi swing from it and do everything else other then actually climb up the ladder itself. I finally decided to just buy the kit and one thing I knew i'd need for it and i'd read the box at home later to find out what else i'd need for it. We had to make a bathroom visit in the store which is always fun craming a cart load of kids into a stall and deciding which of them can go first and who can hold on to it for just a little while longer. After leaving the bathroom Lexi found a post that she decided to start hugging, passers by just said how cute she looked and said how nice it was she was hugging that post and blah blah blah....do you have kids? do you see that i have 2 more here? do you think that i think it's cute that she is hugging a pole and refuses to let go? I asked Ryland to watch Sophia for me so I could go get Lexi away from that pole and on my way over to her she started to kiss it! gross. So i managed to convince Lexi to come with me by showing her mommy had a sucker in her pocket that she could have and then when I turned around Ryland wasn't just watching Sophia any more he was giving her a ride. Our adventure lasted about another 15 more minutes or so and then we were all safely in the van and off to the mall. What
would Wal-Mart be without a dud for a cart?? I wouldn't know, I always seem to get them. Todays veered to the right. We started out with Ryland and Lexi in the main big area and Sophia on top where the cart is nicely designed for one child to fit in this world of famlies of 3 I guess. I already knew at home it would be a tight fit with winter gear so I had Ryland just wear his runners instead of his big clunky boots to make more room for kids, jackets, diaper bag and anything we might want to buy. This arrangement didn't last too long and we were switching and putting Sophia down with Ryland and Lexi up where Sophia was, this gave a little more room down there as we kept filling the cart. Wal-Mart wasn't too bad I just had to remind Ryland (and Lexi when she was down there with him) to stay sitting and stay to the left or mommy can't push the cart every minute and a half or so. With that done we proceded to go to The Disney Store, yes i said it, The Disney Store. This store is made for parents with kids and obviously they want kids to be in this store yet I'm amazed at how its set up. First of all there is no room to navigate a stroller or a cart and second it's carpet flooring and with a dud of a cart that veers to one side it's really hard to push in the hallways of the mall let alone carpet and i believe its about 15 degrees hotter in here then anywhere else in the mall. So barely in the store I wasn't able to push hard enough to the left (and I think Ryland forgot himself and went to the right of the cart in his excitement) and we immediately crashed into a display case of cups and one shelf was almost totally off so if i backed the cart up before fixing the shelf the entire shelf would have slid right down so i had to pick up everything that fell while convincing the kids not to touch the cups of "cars", "princess"and "buzz light year" even though it was hanging into the cart! Thankfully a lady that works there came to help us out and surprisingly enough mentioned that this happens more then once in a day! Well this store wasn't too crazy actually, Ryland managed to hop out of the cart without me noticing once and Sophia started crying towards the end because it was now past her supper time, oh yes and the kids wanting everything in the store and asking seperately for it all. So now we went to the food court to eat and all was fine and good and then Lexi needed to pee. I am so gratefull that this happened at the end because i could just pack everything into one container and throw it all in the garbage we were right beside, unstrap Sophia from the highchair, place her in the cart, get Ryland into the cart and then chase down Lexi who insisted she walk to the bathroom that we were soooo far from and I ended up having to carry her there while pushing my lovely cart full all the way there. Thankfully the family washroom was empty so we could use that right away but then Lexi wasn't sitting far enough on the potty and ended up peeing all over her pants and boots and some on the floor! Well that is all I am going to say about our trip to wpg. it was one for the memory banks I tell you. Now Jordan, now do you fully understand why I appreciate your help when you're home and we all go out on our little day trips to winnipeg one day and steinbach another? we always say how crazy it is with us 5, this is what it's like when I say us 4. Hey honey, I love you!