Today my friend Jen and I took the kids to a small local airport. We had a tour set up through the Moms Group. It was great! The kids saw a helicopter and got to sit in the airplanes. We saw planes take off and land and went into the hangar.
After that we went to lunch and had ice cream on our way to the grocery store. That's right! Jen came with me to the grocery store. Why? Did she lose her mind? Did she want to be a part of the chaos? Maybe.
We figured out something really neat while at the store... people don't think my identical twins are twins when they aren't in the same stroller or cart. Jen put her daughter and L in my double stroller. My boys and S rode in the cart. Jen said a few people asked her if the girls in the stroller were twins, but nobody noticed S. It was my fastest shopping trip EVER! (Next time we will tell people the girls are triplets and see what they say!)
So today's trip was great! I guess I am still experimenting with the easiest way to shop with kids. It's not always practical to take a helper with me or to leave all the kids at home. I think if we can get the cart with the extra seats for the boys we would be set. S loved riding in the cart and I could always put L in the Mei Tai.
Speaking of shopping with kids, check out the great suggestions over at the Larger Families blog. I emailed them a few days ago and asked for shopping tips. Those moms all have big families and some have twins too. If anyone knows how to shop it's them, right? At first I was worried when I saw a few of say they don't take their kids. Ideally that would be how I would run errands too, but it's just not possible sometimes. Most of the posts have had some great ideas though!
To end my busy day I had another friend's daughter stop by to help out this afternoon. She's going to be my new "mommy's helper" and she is awesome!!! She came over for 2 hours to wrangle babies and entertain the boys. I was able to wash my dishes, mop my floors, and clean up toys. I wish I had known about her last year when I was by myself with 2 newborns and a 1-year old and 3-year old.! I am so happy to have her help and I'm not at all ashamed to admit that I am accepting help for the first time ever. That's a big step for me, really.
