Schnikies...it has been hot lately!! We were on the way to a barbeque at our church at 6:00pm last Sunday and the thermometer still read 102 degrees in our truck! With all this hot weather, we have been staying indoors more, which sometimes leads to stir-craziness and cabin fever among the wee-ones. So, a couple of days ago, we ventured outdoors around 8:30am to try to beat the heat. I had already been up almost 2 hrs and was on my second cup of coffee.....man, my kids get up early sometimes. Did I mention that I am NOT a morning person?? Don't judge me, all you 5am early birds;) Anyway, we went outside and I took my bible study material to try to catch up (I was 4 days behind!!) and settled in on the back deck, where ideally the children would run and frolic in the backyard. Not so....a few minutes later there was crying, coming from my 2 yr old who once again tried to brave the slide with no assistance (he is super independent) only to discover that it still retains its inferior design, in that it self propels children into the air at the end. No, really....who designs these play areas? The slide builds up their speed as they go down and then oh-so-slightly tilts up at the bottom, causing the child to go a bit air-borne before coming to a crash landing on their bottoms. So, after a kiss from mommy, he was on his way again. Five minutes later....."MOM!!! Cohen's head is stuck in the chair and he can't get out!!!" Since the two of them can be super dramatic about things, I meandered over to take a look. Yup. He was stuck. I tried to free his head and he started screaming. As I looked the chair over to find a solution, I saw where they were held together with mere screws, and started to wonder where a screwdriver might be, but then I tried to free him once more and after pinning his ears back and twisting, he was free. Whew! By this time it was heating up, and I had chores and errand to do, so we headed inside. We loaded up to go to the YMCA and were off. Next, a quick trip to Publix. (Yeah right:) Publix runs with the kiddos go something like this: We head for the rocket carts, you know, the ones that two kids can sit in and drive side-by-side? They always want that one, and always sit with Cohen on the right, Rylie on the left. I manage to check a few items off my list before we arrive at the bakery, where we always hit them up for free cookies. Chocolate chip of course:) I manage to round out the produce items and some juice boxes before we land at the balloon area. (I always approach this area cautiously, telling them we only get a balloon if someone happens to be standing there....I am NOT tracking someone down specifically for this. 9 out of 10 no one is nearby...) On this day, there was a smiling Publix employee, who readily offered to blow up balloons for us. (Yay).....so the next three isles I found myself referee-ing between balloons in the face and threatening to take them away as Cohen smacked them with his over sized plastic shovel that he was currently in a phase of carrying around non-stop. As we rounded the corner to grab some things from the dairy isle, Cohen started wailing at the top of his lungs. Rylie simultaneously started screaming "MOM!" loudly. I looked down to see that Cohen had placed the chip clip (attached to the balloons so the kids don't loose them) on his FACE and it was just hanging on his cheek as he screeched like a banshee! Being that I am now out in the open, with plenty of onlookers who have stopped searching through the yogurts and coffee creamers and have turned to see this garish display of bad parenting, I gingerly remove the clip from my toddler's face and massage the area, while giving him kisses on the now-purple boo-boo and whispering calming words into his tiny ear. I try not to make eye contact as I dart down the nearest aisle and glance at my list, hoping that I am almost done. I realize how haggard I must look.... in my exercise gear with no make-up.... and as I look up, I see another mommy with two kids in tow. One is climbing out the side of the cart, the other grabbing things off the shelf. She too is in her gym attire and we exchange knowing glances. We smile and laugh as we make comments about making it through the whole store and she heads off to the balloons. I regroup, then complete my list and we head home. It is only lunchtime........

P.S. I totally found a $5 off your grocery purchase coupon by the carts and added it to my stash of coupons, bringing my total of $93.00 worth of groceries down to $57.00....thank you Lord for even the smallest provisions:) And thank you for my sweet babies who bring me laughter every day:)