success

I'm always posting about the harrowing days. Yesterday was a superstar day. It took a lot of planning, but I pulled off the impossible - a day-long shopping trip with no meltdowns.

I've been wanting for quite some time to take a trip to Home Depot and get some cabinets and wood to build shelving in the living room. When we built the addition on the house, we designed it with cabinets in mind on one wall - even had a special light figured into the plan. But like everything else, we stopped all progress the second Liam came into the world. Long enough, say I.

So off to Kenai we went - after packing a zillion snacks, lunch, iPod charged with Henry Huggins book on tape, etc, etc. Thea slept the whole way up - an hour and a half - and woke about 10 minutes before we got to the store, so she was well charged and ready to go. I loaded her into the backpack and Liam onto a cart and we went in search of cabinets. After a couple false starts, we actually found them! Cabinets for not a million dollars. I even found someone to help me load them on my cart and find the right doors. Yay.

Then it was off to look at carpet to try to find a little piece to fill in a missing spot in the living room. Then I looked at tile, but opted out of purchasing it. Then it was shelving material - seven 8-foot pine boards - and trim. And still, the kids were going strong.

I got ambitious. I found a new sink faucet for $35 and a light for that hole in the ceiling I've lived with for how many years? Kids still going strong. Made it through the checkout - gulp. Got someone to help me load really heavy cabinet on top of the car, and spent a good 1/2 hour roping everything down. Kids start to get antsy. So, we head to the park... first I had to find the park, but I did, and into the sunshine we go. Kept Thea from destroying Liam's dragon lair and eating her body weight in sand, snacked everyone, bathroom break, new diaper, and we're off to mission No. 2 - the bulk food store.

An hour later, Thea is starting to wiggle, and we're done with the food shop. But there's one more stop I want to make - the fabric store for several yards of fabric to make an ottoman out of. Thea, of course, fell asleep before we got to the store. But I was determined, so I went to pluck her out of her car seat and thought, well, I'll put a blanket on my shoulder and just see if she stays out. Would you believe she slept the whole time? Me neither. But it happened. We got our fabric, and out of the store, and back in the car without her waking. And all the way home, too.

Now, I've got the cabinets all put together (that took some brainpower, trust me) and just need a few more things to build the shelves. Success! Sometimes it is possible to actually function with children. Not often, but sometimes.