Kids: Why Everything Takes Double The Amount of Time

I'm sure just about every Mom out there has seen this comic strip -- 30 minutes spent running errands with the kids versus 30 minutes flying solo. Can I just say -- SO TRUE! And today, the 30 minutes WITH kids just happened to be the real life in our house. The kids took forever getting ready this morning, and then L decided he wanted to drag his feet leaving the house. As soon as we got to the car door, he remembered that he wanted sunglasses, so I had to go back into the house to grab some. And of course, he had to follow. Then he wouldn't let me near him with a 10 foot pole while he was trying to climb in the car and his carseat on his own. This whole independent stage? I forgot how much more time it takes to do everything.

I had two small errands to run. And wouldn't you know ... they took over 2 hours?! Looking for one thing at Target turned into the kids BEGGING to look at the toy aisles, and neither were satisfied after just one or two. They wanted to see them ALL. They didn't have the one thing I was looking for {Crayola Bath Tablets ... why, oh why, Dollar Spot don't you have them anymore? My kids are so PISSED!} I finally corralled them to the checkout and L was trying to open every cooler door to swipe out sodas. Really?! Paid and treated myself to a decaf Starbucks latte ... and since we were going to go to Harris Teeter, and they have cookies for the kids, I skipped the cake pops at Starbucks. Of course that started a mini riot with L ... until the barrista, being awesome, offered the kids teeny tiny cups of whipped cream with a straw. Granted, I was trying to avoid that extra sugar in them ... but at that moment, it meant I could enjoy a few sips of my coffee without screaming. And they loved the treat.

HT went alright -- I convinced them they were best off in the double shopping cart with steering wheels, instead of both wandering with their own personal mini shopping carts. Mama aint got time for that! Not today, kids! We got what we needed, most of it, and paid. And I held up my word and got them cookies -- thankfully, they are small and were gone before we got to the car.

But seriously ... if I had been alone, Target would have taken 5 minutes [even though its really easy to get lost in that store, and I love it, it's not my one true love. Grocery stores are!] and HT would have taken 15, maybe 20 minutes. I could have spent the rest of that 2 hour span, kicked back at Starbucks, taking in the {people watching} sights, and enjoying a refill or two of that latte!

Someday ... someday I'll run errands solo. And sadly, when that day comes, I'm sure I'll miss my little cohorts! AND all the craziness they bring to the table!