My Perfect Children

Last week I had one of those days when I was faced with running several errands with the kiddies.  I love getting out of the house, and I love my children, but I do not love the combination.  At this age, there is countless buckling of the kids in and out of their car seats, keeping two kids nearby while the third is unbuckled, loading and unloading of the shopping cart/stroller, finding the nearest bathrooms for potty trips and diaper changes, scrounging up a snack for cranky kids, etc.  And then of course, I am always a little anxious about my kiddies' behavior in public.  If running all the errands takes too long, someone is bound to be cranky and stubborn and an absolute joy to be around! :)

I realized that morning that I had to go to two different doctor's offices, Costco, and then Target.  I was already dreading the day!  I packed the diaper bag with extra bribes (fruit snacks).  (Don't be judgmental, people; fruit snacks have saved my sanity on many an occasion!)

This is basically how the day went:

1)  First doctor's office (in which I had to fill out a lot of paperwork and discuss some things with the receptionist) - perfect, well-behaved children

2)  Second doctor's office (in which a mean old nasty nurse made me hold down Michael while she administered his shots) - perfect, well-behaved children; even Michael barely cried during his shots.

3)  Costco (in which I did a lot of calculating to make sure I was getting the best deal on the items we needed and in which the kiddies and I ate lunch) - perfect, well-behaved children

4)  Target (in which I was again searching for the best deals) - perfect, well-behaved children

When an elderly gentlemen came over to me while we were eating lunch at Costco and told me how much he appreciated the children's good behavior and my "gentle" way with them (ok, laugh if you want but he said it!), I was shocked.  I suppose I shouldn't be shocked - after all, the discipline and instruction I use every day is to produce this kind of behavior.  I was so proud of them, and it made the errands go so much smoother.

I was thinking about this today while I was dragging my three perfect children through the craft store and David was crying loudly that he was "done" and that he wanted "gramma, not you momma!"  Gabi had opened up a package of stickers that I now had to buy, and Michael had just puked all over his car seat and outfit.

So, for one day, my children were perfect. . .