Errand Sweet Spot

Usually running errands is - and this is putting it mildly - hellish with little kids. They don't want to be there. You don't want them there. But the errands must be run. But every once in a while you hit the errand sweet spot, where everyone's happy, the kids keep themselves entertained, the fighting is minimal, and free treats pop up here and there.

Today was one of those sweet spots.

First stop: We started at Discount Tire Company, where I had to drop off the car to get a tire changed. They were pretty backed up, but I decided that instead of waiting around we would meander around all of the stores in the area. 

Second stop: Hobby Lobby. I'm trying to find material that matches Tess's flower girl dress so I can add some sleeves. (No luck on finding any material that came close to matching. Dang.) Hobby Lobby is one of my kids' least favorite places in the world, so although I really wanted to wander around and look at stuff, we got in, did what we needed to do, and then got the heck out. But not before Cole accidentally knocked over a bunch of spools of tulle. No matter - we picked them all up, had a good laugh, and went on our merry way.

Third stop: Dollar Tree. The kids had a great time looking at all the weird and cheap toys. We actually didn't buy anything, but they sure had fun playing!

Fourth stop: lunch at McAllister's Deli. I was a little worried about this - my kids don't have the best track record for behavior here. But they did great!

First, everyone was just happy to be there because it was a pretty good walk to get there. Each child placed their own order, everyone got as many pickles spears as they wanted (Spencer - 1, Josh - 1, Cole - 0, Tess - 3), and there were no big spills and no big fights. Spencer took forever to eat and I had to hurry him up at the end, but other than that, no big deal. Success!

Fifth stop: Fresh Thyme. I needed some produce and since it's right next to the tire place it only made sense. I knew my kids would have a hard time here; it's like the store just isn't big enough to contain them! I had to deal with Cole running around like a drunk NASCAR driver with his kid-sized cart. And Josh got in trouble for hanging off of one of the scales. But some samples of freshly ground honey-roasted peanut butter got everyone back on track. (Delish. I want to buy a tub and eat it by the spoon full.) They even found the "hidden" toy tractor and got their free suckers, which they LOVED. True conversation that occurred:

Cole: We found the tractor!

Cashier: Where did you see it?

Cole (all sass and attitude): In the store!

The cashier laughed and was going to give him the sucker, but I made sure he told her where it really was. Who wants sass rewarded?!

Sixth stop: Back to Discount Tire Company. I was kind of surprised they weren't done yet - it had been 90 minutes! But we only had to wait 5 minutes and we were on our way. Awesome. (In the interest of full disclosure, I did make a stop at the bathroom when we got there and heard all of my kids yelling and screaming at each other for a good minute. But then they stopped and all had fake, angelic faces when I came out. Hmmm...)

Seventh stop: Aldi. We really needed to stock up on snacks and such, and Aldi is my go to place for stuff like that. I knew they wouldn't be angels, and they definitely weren't. But they also weren't that bad, so, win! We were in and out in less than 30 minutes. I even found a foldable utility table for a really good price. Score!

Eighth stop: Rural King. I decided to tempt fate and take them to one more store. There are these El Milagro tortilla chips that Josh LOVES, but you can only buy them in 3# boxes at Rural King. I had promised him a while ago that we would buy a box for our 4th of July party, and since I'm rarely in Rural King's neck of the woods I decided we might as well go get them now. Plus, Rural King has free popcorn. The kids were in heaven with the popcorn (just popped!) and we were in and out in less than 7 minutes. (Again, I love to meander around Rural King, but knew I'd really be pressing my luck.)

We finally made it home, and the boys didn't even fight too much when I had them help me bring in all the groceries and such. Even as I put everything away I couldn't help but be amazed about how well everything went! We actually had a fun time together during everything. The bickering was minimal, no one got injured or had a meltdown, and even Cole listened to me, for the most part. I had patience! And a sense of humor! Maybe I could start running more errands like this - get them all done in one day?

But then they all got into some sort of big rumble down in the basement and WWIII started, and I realized that this was just wishful thinking. You have to know sorrow and pain to know true joy, right? But no worries; I'm sure the sweet spot will be found again, and I'll appreciate it all the more.