Bread And Circus

Yesterday was Veterans Day, so that meant that Ariel had the day off from school, but, Aurora still had her gymnastics class in the morning. So, all 5 of us piled into the spaceship and zipped to it. Thankfully, there are some awesome mama's there who are willing to help me out by holding a baby when they both want attention. We spent most of the time talking baby wearing, strollers, breastfeeding and sleep issues, ya know, typical mommy chatter... which I love. It's funny how that happens, once you become a mom. Suddenly your favorite topics of conversation are the contraptions in which you transport your child, what you feed your child, how your child sleeps, and the color and consistency of their poop. Yup.

After class, I had to go to the mall to make a return. Hmmm... was I really up for this challenge? I'd done it alone before, but not after already having had an activity in the morning, maybe it would be too much... but, the kids were hungry and food was low at the house, so, it was really between the mall where we could have a quick lunch by the pretty sea shell fountain, or Trader Joe's... where I would spend half the time removing random items from my cart that the girls think we can't live without... one baby strapped to me, another in their car seat in the cart, and a 5 and 3 year old walking in different directions.... Aurora chiming "Mommy! Are these happy chickens?" while pointing to, and balancing, precariously, a carton of eggs in her tiny arms... Ariel raiding the sample counter nearby-- um... mall it was!

How I ended up spending nearly 2 hours in the mall, and made it out alive, is still a mystery. I think a soundtrack of circus music following me around everywhere I go would be appropriate, considering all of the looks of shock and awe I get whenever I attempt such an adventure alone with the whole crew. First, we ate. Sweet potato fries, quesadillas, and a veggie wrap atTacone's. Yummy! Then the girls had to go potty, which, let me tell you, is fun stuff when you've got 4 kids. Luckily, the big stall was open, so I could park the stroller inside while I helped the girls and made sure they didn't touch anything gross. Then, when they were done, I made sure everybody was out of the stall before flushing with my foot and hopping out because toilet water sprays up to 15 feet when flushed- big eew. Then it was hand washing time and a nice lady held the door for us and we were done. Whew.!

Then, we headed to Pottery Barn Kids because... it's kind of like an indoor playground, right? After a little while in there, we then went to a large craft table that was set up in the middle of the mall and the girls made cornucopia's out of paper, stickers and yarn. The babies had been rotating from stroller to Ergo all the while, so I could feed them and walk, which saves time. I even met a twin-mommy-to-be who took my stroller for a test spin to see if it's the one she wants to get. I swear, I should be a spokesperson for the Baby Jogger City Select Double stroller- I'm obsessed with it and I think I've convinced just about everybody I've met to get one. I find myself getting a little too excited to tell them about all of its features and even offering demonstrations like a crazy person!

I knew it was time to go when I noticed that Aurora had no shoes on, and I honestly couldn't remember how long she had been walking barefoot through the mall... though she had them on in the bathroom, they were now in the basket underneath the stroller... yup, mom of the year!