Better day

After the afternoon I had yesterday I couldn't possibly have imagined that today would be a better day but I did ask God to take some of the load off and he certainly did. Today I woke up feeling hopeful and with renewed strength. And I needed it would you believe!!!! We had to go to the shops and had to take all four kids with us. Any parent with more than one child knows the feeling of wishing they could just offload a couple, or even just one, onto a babysitter before a trip to the shops because having to take everyone is sometimes just a plain 'ol nightmare. In some families the whole dynamic changes when you take out just one kid. I wish I knew why that was because at home they all drive each other nuts but when you take just one away, for some reason everyone suddenly loves everyone and there isn't any fighting. I completely don't understand the psychology behind it but all I know is it works and we weren't able to do it today.

So we piled the kids in the car and headed off. Caeligh was duly strapped into her pram on arrival, with the shoulder straps crossed over to prevent her otherwise very likely escape. For some reason my boys have never, ever seen the prudence in staying close to me when we're out in public anywhere so it's normal for them to wander far and wide in the shops so at any point we probably can't see at least one kid. I keep threatening dog leashes and one day I'm going to make good on it!!!!! Caeligh threw a couple of cracker tantrums about really minor things like wanting to take a chupa-chup into the toilet with her and not being able to physically get out of the pram and hand the money to the man behind the counter when she purchased a toy for Lachie for his birthday (belated gifts from siblings - another gold-plated slacker mummy trait!!). We've really reached a point now where we can ignore her fairly convincingly but she still grates on the rest of the shopping population in a really visible way. People gawk and stare and whisper - you know what they're saying - "Glad she's not my kid". Mate I'm very glad she's mine, I just wish she had come with a volume knob!!!! And I figure if I have to listen to it then so can everyone else. She has vocal volume and projection that is far beyond her years and everyone should get to enjoy her fire-engine screeches of protest for as long as she wants to continue with it cos I'm not buying into the supplication parenting any more. No treats, no lollies, no doing whatever it takes to make her be quiet. I do not negotiate with terrorists!!!!!

So we made a very loud convoy as we trekked through the shops (I was reading on Kerrin's blog about the same thing - yep, Kerrin, they look in horror at us when we arrive at their store too!!!!). I had to go to Target to put money on the Christmas lay-by and Doug looks sideways and asks why on earth was it again we were spending so much money on them? That's cos by now James has climbed a display cos he wants to reach something at the top, Caeligh has started screaming that she needs the toilet (a new trick she knows gets her out of a boring situation lightning fast), Lachlann has vanished and Blayd is slumped on the floor against a clothes rack as he's currently grounded for the whole "don't give a toss about school" thing so he's determined to show us how bummed he is about knowing he won't get diddly squat on the shopping trip. So for him the day is a total loss and he wants to share it. Jilly, you were absolutely right - the testicles have got to go!!! The whole starting puberty thing is revolting already and we're only at the beginning!!!! Doug has that slightly pained look on his face and I'm sure he's thinking back to when we first met on the internet almost ten years ago and thinking "why the hell didn't I just assume that girl would be trouble and run?????". Granted, he has the patience of a saint with the kids, more than I do most days, so he teeters between that pained look and just laughing it all off because what else can you do some days?

The reason I did end up having a happy shopping trip despite the children all playing a starring role in putting it as far off the rails as possible was that in Target, they were having a shoe clearance and while I've never been a big "I need to have 100 pairs of shoes" type of girl, I do like to have a couple of great pairs if they're a good price, just so I'm in something besides my red $10 imitation converse knock offs from K-Mart (which are getting serious air conditioning in the soles so I really need a new pair of them too!). I will have to take a picture later to show you what I ended up with but I really love ballet flats and while I know that they are now in some seriously hideous pastel shades for spring, I don't wear hideous pastel anything - at any time - so I just bought the winter stock and am very happy with it thank you! I found ballet flats - my favourite shoes right now - in bright red, a metallic maroon colour and a pair with black and white leopard print. They were all $5!!!! You read it right - five bucks a pair! So yes, I bought three pairs of ballet flats plus, just for fun and the very occasinal night out, a pair of 3 inch patent red stilettos - total hooker shoes but I love them with jeans and a nice top - and as long as I know I'll be sitting down most of the evening!!!! lol They were only $5 as well so it's hard to go wrong with them at that price, even if they are only "occasional wear" type shoes. I bought Blayd a new pair of sneaks for school for $6 and Caeligh got a pair of red suede embroidered ballet flats and a pair of cute pink knee high boots for $7 a pair each. Her feet are growing so damned fast right now it's crazy!

Then I stopped into Diva cos I love junky jewellery. My MIL looks down her nose at my cheap and cheerful jewellery and says she only buys "quality pieces" and that's fine love, if you've got someone to buy it for you or you have that kind of money but I don't and besides, I like to change my look a lot and that requires having lots of options so the best way to do that is pick up stuff that's not meant to last a lifetime, just a season. I always just head straight for their reduced rack and don't really buy anything full price - how scummy am I?!?!?! lol But I always find stuff I love and if it's reduced then that's all the better. I got a three pack of earrings with gold hoops, huge diamond studs and small diamond studs for $3, a gorgeous lariat necklace with matching earrings for $3, a pair of cherry earrings for $3, a purple enamel owl on a long chain (like the Hambly rub-on owls) for $5, some headbands and plastic beads for Caeligh and my favourite purchase, a large enamel oval medallion and matching earrings.

I did end up getting paid thank goodness and so Doug and I are going out to dinner tonight - alone!!! The MIL is coming over to watch the troops for a couple of hours and we're going to the Sushi Train at Sunnybank which as the best sushi around plus it's a pretty cheap dinner which is how we like it! Then Jamie and Caeligh are going home with the MIL for a sleep over and I think Doug and the boys are going to LAN over the internet with his friends and play Counter Strike. He's asked me if I'll play too but it's not something I really love like he does, more that I join in cos it makes him happy to have me participate in something he loves to do. And it's not like I don't have a crapload of work to do so I might try to do some of that tonight and spend most of tomorrow working as well. Thinking of the money, thinking of the money. Especially as our car is playing up at the moment. It needs a new altenator belt and new brake pads which aren't much in the scheme of things but she's getting on in age and I'm just holding my breath for something expensive to go wrong. We had a flat battery upon trying to leave the shops this afternoon and the MIL had to drive 20 minutes to come and give us a jump start with her car. So the altenator belt is being replaced first thing tomorrow and we're going to drive her car when we go out for dinner tonight.

I'm off to make a gourmet dinner for the kids of boiled eggs and toast soldiers (hey it's not my fault if that's their idea of an exciting dinner!) and get ready to go out for dinner with my lovey.

I'm trying to update Everyday Garbage with our first hint but Typepad appears to be slightly buggered this afternoon so I'll try to do it later.

Take care and have a good weekend. Lotta love, Lu