Busy Body

Pretty sure I know how to keep myself from going insane - and it doesn't involve a kid leash or an au pair; Keep the Kids Busy All Day.  This morning I FINALLY got Kitten to school on time with all three kids dressed, groomed (that means hair brushed and teeth brushed, let's not get too fancy pants already) and fed. WOW!
And this is how our day shook out:

 -Drop off Kitten at school
- Drive to grocery store, only to realize I left my phone at home so I drive back home to get it
- Head out to a different grocery store and alternate grocery shopping with helping Super H crack the next level of Angry Birds Seasons (don't judge, it kept him in the cart and mostly quiet and happy) and buying  wipes because all you have is one dried up prune of a wipe left in your ginormous mom bag. Then I run to the bathroom to change Jackalope's diaper but said bathroom is under maintenance so I changed him in a corner by the bathroom with him standing up.  *Sidenote - if you haven't mastered the standing up diaper change I highly suggest you practice now if you're kids are still in diapers.  It's really useful for long car trips horror film bathrooms or non-kid friendly restaurants without a Koala Kare station.
-2 hours later, emerge from grocery store victorious and sane.
-Made a quick freezer meal for a friend, and while that was chilling kept the kids happy making home made playdough with glitter.  Which I'm still finding traces of in the kitchen tonight.
-Run the freezer meal over to another friend for delivery and then hustle it over to the Farmer's Market.
-Allow strangers to ooh and ahh over adorable little boys being pulled in an oh-so-cute wagon that is wrenching my arm out but I smile through.
-Impulse buy $23 of organic, essential oils and a $5 photo of a chipmunk with his cheeks overstuffed.  But that chipmunk photo is worth a lot more, it's by my desk and I'm smiling at it right now.  I mean, who doesn't love chipmunks?  Hawks, snakes, and weasels that's who doesn't like chipmunks, that's who.  But I digress.
-Run home with goodies, make lunch for boys and finally scarf down a microwaved frozen burrito and fresh pepper strips. Stop lunch halfway through to clean up corn nuggets off the floor.  Stop again to clean second spill of corn.  Stop again to clean up third, and final, corn spill.  Make a mental note to skip serving corn for a while.
-Out the door to get Kitten from school... as a giant deluge of Spring rain descends.  Find rain coats, find umbrellas, put on rain boots... and the rain stops.
- Install 3rd car seat in back row for future use while the kids play "Who can splash in the most puddles and get completely soaked?"  Super H won in case you were curious.
-Meet friends for Free Bowling and quickly learn you cannot talk to friends and keep your eye on a two and a half year old, four year old, and a 6 year old simultaneously.  Everyone now knows Jackalope after hearing me call his name eighteen thousand times.
- Go out to McDonald's for the rare Happy Meal dinner and new Play Place.  Kids are all germy from the bowling alley, how much worse can the play place be?
- Drive home for showers, pjs, teeth brushing, two books, homework, and oh-my-gosh-we-have-to-make-the-teacher-surprise-tonight moment.
It's now 10:30 and I've realized something.  I'm tired.  Like really tired.  I better go to sleep before they wake up and want to do this all again tomorrow.

This would have been easier with Dad to share the load at night, but this sure beats a day at the office!  Night kiddos, Mommy loves you.  Try to remember that as I'm barking at you tomorrow to "hustle up", "slow down", "strap in", "unbuckle", "have fun" and "use your inside voice".