I had a very interesting experience recently. I had to run errands with my two year old and my one year old solo. It was things I had to get done in a short amount of time. And had to be done that specific day.
Just a little background. I work with a non-profit program that runs a Fall and Spring season at Elementary and Middle schools in my county. It is a wonderful program. I work closely with the schools in my county that I am the one to deliver supplies and communicate their needs before and during each season. It's been a lot to balance with staying home with two very little girls and going to these schools during the day. My husband works from home only once a week, so it will work this season on the days that he works from home that he can have the girls while I go out and visit the schools when they have practice. However, recently, I had to go to the schools while my husband was at work and during the day while school was in session. I had no choice but to bring my girls with me.
I made sure to have my double stroller with me, extra diapers, extra wipes, drink cups, and my phone for car music. I also wrote down everything I needed to do in a check list. Helped me stay on track of everywhere I needed to go. I had a total of 7 places to go. Gas, my in-laws, and 5 schools.
9:00am: I had the girls ready to leave and my two year old used the potty, fresh diaper for my one year old, socks, shoes and jackets are on. We are on the road. We first stop for Gas at the station about 5 minutes from our house. So glad I did this first. It was one less thing to worry about when I was running around from school to school.
9:15am: We stopped at my In-Laws. Early in the morning, I received an email from one of the school's secretary and teacher that they needed a form printed because they were unable to open the PDF. Of course I don't have a printer at home and this was definitely an inconvenience. I already planned to go to the school anyways to drop off their supplies, but had to figure out how to print the form for them without a printer. That's where my In-Laws came to the rescue. Luckily, they live super close to me so driving there wasn't an issue. The issue was getting my girls out of the car, printing the papers and just hoping that there will not be a meltdown when we leave. The whole time driving over to their house, I made sure to communicate with my two year old that we weren't staying. Thankfully as we were leaving, she did not have a meltdown. I put them back in the car after about 15 minutes and we were on the road again.
10:00am: we have arrived at the first school. I take out the double stroller, put the girls in the stroller, walk to the school, drop off the bag of supplies, walk the girls back to the car, put them back in their carseats, and then the double stroller gets folded up and back in the trunk. It is a whole ordeal. One kid is hard enough, but two that are unable to buckle themselves in or responsibly walk by their parents side, is tough. I don't know how one parent manages more than two kids. Thank goodness for a double stroller though. It's heavy and a pain in the butt to put in and take out of the trunk, but it does a good job keeping my girls in one place, so I'll take it.
10:30: We arrive at the second school. Same routine as the first school. The only difference was, as we were leaving, my newly potty trained two year old tells me she has to "mee mee". That means she has to pee. Obviously, a school is not the best place to take my toddler to the bathroom, so I had to think quickly. It was getting close to lunch time too, so I had to think of that as well. The school we were at was about 10 minutes from my parents house, and my sister is currently living at my parents house, so I thought why not give her a call and see if she is there. After the second call, she picked up and confirmed she would be home all day! THANK GOD! So I decided to do a quick drive thru for lunch on the way and stop at their house to use the potty, both me and daughter, change my one year old's diaper and feed them lunch. We were there for about an hour. AND there were no accidents! I honestly don't know what I would've done if we weren't close to someone I know that was home.
12:00pm: We ate, used the potty, fresh diaper and on the road again. Off to school #3! I park the car, take the stroller out, put the girls in the stroller and as I am about to grab the bag of supplies, a lady with a walkie comes up to me. She asks me if I am picking up a kid. I explain to her that I am there to drop off a bag of supplies for the non-profit as well as pick up paper registrations. She luckily knew what I was talking about. However, I was not allowed in the building at the time because they were currently dealing with a student having a meltdown in the lobby. So basically, I took the girls out of the car for no reason. She apologized to me and I literally responded as nice as possible "this is my life". I have learned that in situations like this that is out of my control, I have to go with it. I can't let little things bother me. The taking out of the carseats and in the stroller and then back in the carseats is just a lot. And yes, my life. She took the bag for me and went back in the building to get the paper registrations. During that wait time, I put the girls back in their seats and waited for the lady to come back. Then we were on the road again to school #4.
12:15pm: I had no idea where this school was which is crazy because I am a former teacher from this county so you'd think I know where it was located. I did not. So I used the GPS to help with this one. Luckily, it wasn't too far. However, I had another issue. I had to pee again. This wasn't a "wait until later" pee, no it was an emergency. I was doing the pee dance all the way to this school. My two year old even asked "what was wrong". I was very obvious that I was uncomfortable. Meanwhile, my one year old is falling asleep in the car. She usually naps around 12. I knew this would be a nap in the car kind of day, but I was hoping she'd fall asleep while we were in the car a little longer. Her sleep was maybe only 10 minutes. I felt horrible. We get to the school. I didn't even take out the stroller. This school didn't need a bag of supplies. I just had to pick up some paper registrations. I had to add them to my "errand list" last minute. I carry my very drowsy one year old and have my two year old hold my hand as we we walk to the door. I parked in the fire lane but didn't care. I knew I wasn't going to be long. I picked up what we needed and then walked back to the car, hoping I don't accidentally pee myself. I didn't thankfully, however my two year old decided now would be a good time to fight me going into the carseat. She rarely fights me on this, so I have no idea why now. I somehow wrestled her into the carseat and got her buckled but man, I was sweating. She made that wayyyyy more difficult than it should've been. AND I still had to pee really bad. As I was leaving the school, I knew I was not going to make it to the last school. I had to figure out where to safely take the girls in the stroller, and I can use the bathroom. Target was nearby the school.
12:40: Impromptu Target Trip! This was fun! I put the girls in the stroller and we walk in Target. I think I sprinted to the bathroom. Pulled into the large stall, and I finally went to the bathroom. I cleaned all our hands and then decided that since I was already in Target and I only had one school left, why not just walk around and give the girls something else to look at. So that's what we did. We went to the craft isle and I found a cute notebook with mess free markers, so I bought that for my two year old. Then I went to the toddler clothes area and bought matching outfits for the girls! As I was about to pay, I saw a Colleen Hoover book on display, and decided "sure, why not" and bought myself a new book! Of course I got some STARBUCKS before I left too. I felt like I deserved it.
1:15: I get the girls back in the car, and we go to school #5. THE LAST SCHOOL! It wasn't too far away. We did the same routine when we got to the school. My two year old was enjoying her new mess free coloring book. She was pretty distracted. That was definitely a good buy. It wasn't an issue getting her out and then back in the carseat because of that coloring book. She loved it. I dropped off the final bag of supplies and then went back to the car. After putting the girls in their seats and I sat in mine, I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. I was exhausted but I did it. Yes, it would've been a lot faster if I did not have the girls. Unfortunately, that is not an option for me. If I want to get something done during the day, they have to come with me and I have to deal with the in between. It took about 30 minutes to get home.
2:00pm: home.
Overall, my girls did a great job. I made sure bedtime was slightly earlier for them that night because my one year old barely napped, and my two year old always benefits from an early bedtime. Especially, after a busy day. My girls had adorable matching outfits to wear the next day, I got a Starbucks coffee, a new book, they got to see 2 cousins, two grandparents, and one aunt and one uncle, and spent the day with me. It was going to the bathroom that was probably the biggest issue, but we made it work.
What is it like when you run errands with your kids?
Thanks so much for reading!
Susana
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