Sunday, September 5, 2010

Exhausting.

Taking kids places is exhausting.

First, there is all the prep. You have to make sure you have everything that your kids might possibly need while you are away from home. Even if you are just going somewhere for an hour or two, there seem to be a million things you might need. There are the basics, like diapers, wipes, bottles, and formula. Then all the other things - a change of clothing, a hat, sunscreen, a jacket, a blanket, a stuffed animal or two, a book, a toy, a sippy cup of water.... Well, you get the point. If you have two kids, everything is doubled... And that's just for summer trips! Imagine all the extra gear you need in the winter....

So once you get it all packed up, then you have to get your kids prepared. Diaper changes, clothes changes, wrestling your 2 year old around for 15 minutes to get a pigtail in her hair (or is that just me??).

You make sure you've double checked the bags, and start the process of packing the car, and getting the kids buckled in. The two year old wants to do it herself of course, so this takes extra long.

To be honest, I'm exhausted before we even pull out of the garage!

The car ride includes stuffed animals being 'dropped' (aka, thrown) on the floor and then a yell for someone to pick them up, begging for there to be 'more cows!' to look at along the way, adults remembering that in all the fuss to get ready, THEY forgot to go to the bathroom before we left, and then some general yelling and shushing, because the baby's trying to sleep.

You finally arrive at your destination (whether it's 15 minutes or two hours, it probably seemed like an eternity)! Time to unload all of your belongings, and your kids, and haul them in. Then you hope you remembered all that 'other' stuff too...whatever that might be. The birthday gift, the potluck contribution, whatever.

Once the kids warm up to the new surroundings, you hope for a little time to relax and visit with your family and/or friends. This is silly -- it's not going to happen. You are chasing the 2 year old, feeding the baby, digging through the diaper bag for whatever is needed at any given moment. If your child happens to catch a glimpse of people in a swimming pool that she wants to swim in, you get to listen to her yell and scream about it for 30 minutes or so.

After a lot of whining and chasing, you decide it's time to head home. This sometimes involves diaper changes, changing into pajamas, maybe another bottle. Then it's all in reverse as you load the kids into the car again, and make sure you haven't left any important items behind. Finally you are on your way home...and hoping the kids will both sleep...which is of course, wishful thinking.

Undoubtedly once you get home, you realize something you either forgot, or forgot to do, while you were out.

But you're mostly too tired to care...

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I hear ya!

Sarah said...

Oh man, that is the story of my life! Right there with ya!