Three year check up and ill fated library trip

Cole and Cagney had their three year check up this morning. I LOVE our pediatrician. She is awesome, just the greatest. The kids all love her too. I didn't think that Cole and Cagney would need any immunizations today but they did each need one. So I warned them about it. Told them it would just be a little pinch, "just like Blue in your book at home remember?" (We have been reading that book to get them prepared.) When the nurse came in to do the shots Cagney asked her, "you gonna pinch me?" She didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that this woman was going to "pinch" her. They both actually did great. Cagney didn't cry. Cole did. But not a hurt cry, more a -I can't believe you just let her do that to me mom!-cry.

So here comes the library part. I have been telling Miquelle, Jared, and Gabe that we would go to the library ever since they got off for "summer" break. (I put summer in quotes because three and a half weeks is not a summer break. Darn year round school.) We just haven't been able to do it yet. So I told them earlier this week that we would go on friday. For sure. Completely forgot about the check up for the little ones though. By the time we got home from that it was 11:30. I decided we would do it anyways. I knew I was playing with fire. It was dangerously close to lunchtime and nap time.

We talked about our "library rules" on the way there. The kids did great. They were all on their best behavior. They chose their books, walked quietly and used quiet voices the whole time. And I started thinking that I had worried for nothing! They were doing great! Then we went to check out. I'm not sure what dimension we walked into but everything changed. There was a little toy by the check out that had has the metal wire things that you move the wood beads around on. A toy just like the one that Cole and Cagney had been happily playing with 30 seconds earlier but this time they were fighting over the beads, it went from screaming to tackling and hair pulling in about 2.5 seconds. Meanwhile I'm trying to check out about 25 books and my older kids all decided that their books couldn't be on the check out pad with any other books. See that is the tricky part about being a mom. You never really have "control" over the situation. I went in feeling like a normal everyday mom and left feeling like I had one of those big signs above my head...with a lit up arrow pointing at me...and the sign said "this mom has no control over her kids". But hopefully the other moms could read the real sign that said, "this mom is trying really hard to meet all of her kids needs at the same time, and yes she did leave the house precariously close to lunch time and nap time, but she only has so much time in one day and she has a lot to do and falls short everyday, but she is really trying. And give her a break, her kids are tired and hungry." Maybe they didn't even need to take the time to read the whole sign. I think moms usually just know. And sometimes I think the frazzled mom is the normal everyday mom.

So earlier before the library trip I was thinking that maybe after nap time I would take all of the kids to the grocery store so we could get the stuff to grill hamburgers for dinner. Hmmm. Maybe not.