Things are getting easier?

In the past week, we've had three major outings, and they've gone amazingly well. It's sad that I look at these things as something I just want to get through, instead of enjoying them. But I actually enjoyed myself and the fact that we made it through each thing with no major problems. Last Friday was Pirate's preschool graduation, Saturday was my nephew's baptism, and this past Monday was Pirate's school field trip to the zoo. We made it to all three things, on time, and had no problems!

One more personal accomplishment, that my husband had already done successfully, was last Thursday when I took the four boys out to a real store, on my own. It took me 14 weeks to get up the courage (or cabin fever) to do this on my own, but I did it. I even came home with all four kids, and with everything I went to the store to buy. One thing is for sure, there should be parking close to the store for parents with a lot of kids. I feel almost handicapped when taking all the kids with me, so a close-to-the-store parking space would be appreciated. Pirate walked, I put 5's carrier on the front part of the cart, and Trouble & Donkey rode in the back of the cart. Fortunately I know where everything is in Walmart, so I had a plan and was able to get in and out pretty quickly. The only problem I hit that I hadn't counted on was Trouble and Donkey opening everything I put in the back of the cart with them. Easy fix, I just had to put the things on the bottom shelf of the cart. Although this trip went smoothly, I wouldn't make a it a regular occurrence. And I know for sure I can't do the grocery shopping with all of them. There would be nowhere to put the food! At least I finally took a trip on my own. Oh, and my husband still wins on this accomplishment. He only took the three little boys out with him, but he bought a bike that day, so he had to push the cart and pull a bike through the store. I'm not that brave!

My little graduate

On Friday, we had to be at McDaniel College at 8:45 for Pirate's graduation. I knew it was going to be a busy morning, so Thursday night I did everything I could to be ready for the next morning. I packed the diaper bag full of snacks for Donkey and Trouble. I knew if the toys and books failed, that eating would keep them quiet during the ceremony. That morning, we took Princess to the bus stop, loaded everyone else into the car, and made it to the college early! The graduation ceremony itself was really cute. The class sang a bunch of songs, marched in to 'Pomp and Circumstance', walked across the stage to receive diplomas, and threw their hats in the air. It was so cute! The boys were really good the whole time. We were even able to stay afterward for snacks with Pirate's class. Success!

family picture 

Saturday morning we had to be in Baltimore by noon for my nephew's baptism, so we had to be out the door at . I was worried about the baptism because we were the godparents, and I didn't know how the kids would act during the ceremony. There was a party afterward, so we knew we'd be out for a good part of the day. I packed extra clothes for everyone since they would be dressed up for the ceremony, lots of snacks and drinks since it was taking place during lunchtime, and toys and books to keep them occupied. We were out of the house on time, and were early for the ceremony. The kids were good the whole time too. Thankfully my family helped watch everyone while we were on the altar. We were able to stay for pictures, and make it through the party with no melt-downs. My sister's sister-in-law had the party, and they had an awesome back yard tons of fun stuff, including a moon-bounce. The kids ran around the whole time. Buster and I were actually able to eat while we were there! We even stayed much longer than we thought we would make it. When we got in the van to go home, we high-fived each other because we successfully made it through our first big event. The kids slept the whole way home. We were out of the house for six whole hours. Success!

sleeping on the bus ride home

The zoo trip wasn't as big of a deal as the other two things because the whole family didn't go. My dad came over to watch the babies, and Princess was in school. I had to get Trouble and Pirate to Pirate's school by 8:45, so the morning was still a little busy. I didn't want to leave everything on my dad, so I made sure to get Donkey up and give him breakfast before my dad got to the house. I packed the bag the night before, again with a ton of food. I had to take lunch for all three of us because I didn't want to pay for food there. I gave my dad the run-down on the little boys, and headed out with the other two. We arrived at school early (3 for 3!) and waited for the buses to get there. I was so proud of Trouble! He was so excited and so good the whole day. When we got on the school bus, he said, "Wow, I can see everything up here!" from his seat. It was a 45 minute ride to the zoo, and the boys entertained each other the whole way. They had a blast at the zoo. They had both been once before, but Trouble was just a baby, so this was pretty new for them. They loved seeing all the animals. The train ride was a thrill, as was eating lunch at the picnic tables. Pirate even got to feed a giraffe! I was impressed that they were able to do so much walking. Trouble asked me to carry him a few times, but for the most part, they walked the whole time. I really enjoyed getting to spend the day with them and seeing their excitement all day! Both boys fell asleep on the bus ride home. Success!

Things seem to be getting easier. Either that, or we're just getting really good at getting out of the house. I'll take it either way because with it being summer, we can't stay home inside all the time!