Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. This is the definition that I’ve been working with for most of my adult life. But today, I discovered the <i>true</i> definition of insanity. Seth was working and I was home alone with five kids.
Five kids.
Alone.
Eight hours alone with five needy kids is <i>not</i> my idea of restful. I adore my kids, but with Tobie at this age where I can’t put her down much, it’s very difficult to spend a whole day with them without any help. Keeping them entertained is a bit of a struggle, since they’re all at different levels and have different interests. So I did something that can only be defined as insane. I packed everyone up and took them to Target and then out to lunch. By myself.
Frankly, I’m proud of myself. I generally live in <i>fear</i> of being out with all five of them without any adult backup. I love my kids, but there’s only one of me. I worry about one of them running across the parking lot, one of them breaking something in the store, one of them melting down while all my hands are tied up with other kids. I don’t like cooping them up in the house all day – it’s important to get them out and enjoy the world. So it’s important for me to overcome my own fear about taking them out.
Since I needed some clothes for the girls, and everyone needed shoes, and J was <i>desperate</i> to spend his allowance on crap (a.k.a. Bakugan), Target seemed the logical choice. But by the time we got ourselves together to get out of the house (First I made breakfast* and then got everyone dressed, then Tobie had to eat, everyone needed to get shoes on, then everyone needed diapers again, etc.), it was almost 11am, so I knew that we’d need to get something to eat while we were out or I’d be facing four very grumpy children. Five kids in a restaurant. By myself. Truly insane.
And yet? It all got pulled off without a hitch. J pushed the stroller so that I could navigate the store with the triplets and a cart. No one broke anything. They weren’t fighting me for stuff I didn’t want to buy them. No one was fighting.
We even survived lunch with no scars.
We came home and I attempted to get the triplets to nap (hah!) while I fed Tobie. The triplets didn’t nap (they destroyed their room, instead), but J fell asleep on the couch (score!). And finally, Seth came home from work. I fed Tobie again and we piled everyone back in the car and drove to Costco, where we spent far too much money, but it was entirely necessary, as we had almost literally no food left in the house. Our coffers were bare and it was time to re-stock. So re-stock we did!
It was a productive day. I like productive days. I feel so accomplished and competent when we can accomplish stuff in the midst of parenting five kids. We got laundry done, several loads of dishes, some cleaning, some good quality time with the kiddos, I rearranged the triplets’ bedroom furniture, and still managed to keep Tobie happy most of the day. All in all, the day was a success!
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* Breakfast just for the kids (Seth wasn’t home and I wasn’t eating) took thirteen eggs, 8 pieces of toast and nearly an entire stick of butter. And I wonder why we need to shop at Costco!
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ChezPerky 