Hyrum woke up at 5 am.
Once the sun came up, the weather was divine. Hyrum quickly got dressed (army fatigue patterned shorts, a red checkered long sleeve button up shirt, and a pair of his Dad's black socks which come up to his mid thigh) and wanted to play as soon as possible. I let the boys out about 9.
The neighbor boy came out not long after and I soon caught all three running across the street to his house. They had been specifically told they couldn't leave the yard, and running out in the street is never okay, so they had to come back inside.
I wasn't going to repeat a day of grounded boys, so I decided to get everyone out of the house and away from temptation for a while. I thought maybe the library would be a fun outing. They had a great time picking out a bag full of books...
...then Abraham announced to the entire building that he needed to go potty. I had Mercy in one arm, the diaper bag and bag full of not yet checked out books in the other arm, and a squirming 3 year old yelling about pee. I steered our entourage towards the bathrooms, which are on the other side of the gate thing that makes noise when not yet checked out books pass through it, and of course set off the alarm. It was pretty awesome.
After making as big a scene as possible, Abraham did make it to the potty in time. Wee Hoo!
The tablets and kiddie computers are always the library's main attraction for my boys. Unfortunately, this morning they were all being used by other children. They made a feeble attempt at putting together some puzzles, but were unfocused and really loud, plus Mercy kept using a chair to climb onto the table and another mother was shooting get your kids under control death rays at me, so our entire library experience lasted about 10 minutes.
Since we hadn't even been gone a whole half hour yet, I decided to attempt a trip to Walmart. The kids got their free cookies and there were samples: granola bars, pizza, and ice cream! The boys were reasonably distracted by the food, so I was able to quickly collect my groceries with minimal herding and very little refusing to buy every package featuring Captain America or Lightening McQueen.
I was really excited about the pineapple and strawberries I was planning to price match, but the check out lady wouldn't give me the deal because I was using a WIC check. Mercy started crying and trying to climb out of the cart and I was so frustrated that I ended up refusing to pay full price and left with out any fruit at all. I was over come with anger and fumed about it all the way home.
Luckily, the 5 minute drive was all it took for me to calm down and collect myself before dealing with the kids again. Mercy went right down for a nap with out any fuss and the boys and I enjoyed toasted garlic bread and hummus for lunch. We then spent over an hour reading books together. I really needed to at least do some dishes and pick up a bit, so I gave the boys another chance at playing outside.
They lasted a little longer this time, but almost as soon as their little friend came out to play I checked on them through the window and found them not just crossing the street, but playing in the middle of it. Oh, this boy just sets me on edge. My kids are never as ill-behaved and disobedient as when he's been around. I immediately sent him home and ushered my boys back inside for a time out in their room.
I could tell I didn't have the patience to be reasonable and kind while keeping them cooped up, so as soon as Mercy woke from her nap and had a snack, I packed everyone back in the car and we went to the park. It was a glorious afternoon, the boys played well with the other kids there, and Mercy smiled and giggled in the swing nearly the entire time.
We stayed for a long time, but everyone was starting to get hungry and a little tired, so we headed home around 5. Abraham made it to the van first, causing Hyrum to throw an absolute fit. Why it matters so much who gets in first is beyond me, but boy howdy was Hyrum upset.
Just as we pulled up to the house, our neighbor to the left came over and asked to borrow our lawn mower. As he cut his grass, his cute wife, their 18 month old son, and 2 year old niece came over to visit. It made my heart happy to have my yard full of little kids eating graham crackers and sharing toys.
The rest of the evening was spent in 5-10 minute increments of happiness and hysteria:
Yay! we get PB&J for dinner. Boo! it's the wrong flavor jelly.
Yay! we get to watch Dinosaur Train. Boo! it's not the right episode.
Yay! we get to sleep on the floor. Boo! we can't sleep downstairs.
Yay! Mom gave me a kiss. Boo! it was on the wrong cheek.
I know this was a crazy long description of the many minute details of my day, but it really struck me as I was living it how the ups and downs of it are like life as a whole. We go through seasons of joy and sorrow, times of triumph and trial, and there is happiness and heartache. Maybe in the moment it feels like an eternity, but in the grand scheme of things it's more like these 10 minute increments of good and bad and what really matters at the end of it all is whether or not you insulted the check out lady or smiled and said thank you.
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