Two Good Reasons

I never venture outside the house with all three kids unless I have a good reason. Usually that good reason is medically related, such as when the boys need a check-up or Abbie right after Abbie dislocates something.

Yesterday morning, I had a couple non-medical reasons for leaving the house. I needed to visit the home improvement store where Tory lost his shoe the previous night. I called them early in the morning, and discovered that they’d found his shoe, and were holding it at the front desk. There was no hurry since I’m sure they would have held onto the shoe for several days before it was thrown away by some overzealous employee, probably the same one who cleans the office fridge weekly and always throws away several lunches people brought that morning. I didn’t want to chance losing it again, though, plus Tory needed it for foot warmth.

We also needed milk.* We weren’t in danger of running out soon, but I knew our supplies wouldn’t last 24 hours. Better to stock up too soon than to run out and hope skim milk will stop a baby from screaming.

That makes two stops. The home improvement store is on the southeast side of town; my preferred milk supplier is on the west side of town. Why not throw in another stop? I’ve been overdue to visit good friend and occasional commenter Patty in the far western exurbs, so we made a lunchtime play date.

First I drove to the home improvement store. I walked through the doors and approached the bored associate behind the returns desk. As soon as I mentioned “boy’s shoe” she perked up and offered it too me. I was hoping she might verify that I was the true owner by asking its color or size; a baby shoe theft ring could be sweeping through town, with members randomly walking into stores and asking if anybody found a baby shoe. Even an unmatched shoe can fetch upwards of a dime at a garage sale in the right neighborhood. Perhaps seeking to prove our rightful ownership, I shoed Tory right there, giving him the Cinderella treatment in full view of the employee. She was too fascinated by their twin-ness to notice it was a perfect match.

Next I drove the 40 minutes to Patty’s. My plan was to let the boys take their regular morning nap in the car, since 40 minutes is all they usually take no matter how much they’re screaming from exhaustion when I set them down. I assume the plan worked well since I didn’t hear a peep between the time I left the parking lot and the time I stopped the car in Patty’s driveway. I heard Abbie sing along with her CD, but the boys were at least quiet.

With everyone fully fed and entertained, we left Patty’s to find milk. I prefer stopping at the warehouse store since their milk is the cheapest, and with three kids sucking down milk like oxygen, those pennies add up. Of course I can’t just buy milk at the warehouse store. As long as I’m there, I might as well get some diapers, raisins, carrots … ooh, and we’re almost out of soap. I had my cart’s basket full of Vital Supplies and the boys in the front seating. Abbie wandered beside us as I tried to steer my 100 pounds of babies and bulk-rate purchases. Several people found our little parade charming, though they found it less charming after Abbie wandered from my side and directly in front of their carts.

With a lot of patience and a little grunting, we made it out of the store. I packed everyone and everything back into the car, and we headed home just in time for the afternoon nap. Abbie fell asleep on the way, though, which was not what I had planned. Her 5-minute car catnap ruined her 90-minute normal nap. At least the boys slept well.

* The boys switched to whole milk right after their first birthday. It’s a fascinating story that will make a thrilling post some day, but not today.