During the week of school vacation I have:

1. taken all four kids grocery shopping for a week’s worth of groceries
2. taken the three younger kids to Home Depot, where I bought mulch, rocks, and spray paint
3. taken all four kids for a walk around the neighborhood cul-de-sac

These may not rank high in the list of major accomplishments, but to me they are sweet victories. See, until recently (meaning now), I had it fixed in my mind that it was impossible to do anything by myself with all four kids except go to Target. And even a trip to Target has gotten dicey. But circumstances (out of food) and generally stubborn foolishness drove me out of the house and into the greater world with my offspring this week. And to my great surprise, we actually did OK.

The kids were a little wild in the grocery store but it was 10 am on a Monday and 90% of the shoppers were moms with young kids (it being school vacation week). And they behaved well enough for me to grab sustance for my family for the coming days.

Going out with my kids is harrowing. The girls go in two directions, Davey wanders off in a third or sits down and refuses to walk (you try dragging a 50lb kid around a store) or is throwing things out of the cart. It’s madness. Edward is a key player in our trips out. He holds the girls’ hands in the parking lot or pushes one of the carts. Without him, I could not manage the other three safely.

Or so I thought.

Today after dropping Edward at his friend’s house I made the rediculous decision to go to Home Depot with the bulk of my offspring. I was desperate to get another house-readying project crossed off my list before the weekend and mulch was involved. I felt certain I’d be returning home without said mulch but I couldn’t stop myself. I had to know if we could do it.

Thanks to a cool orange race car cart and Davey’s nearly insatiable appetite for pushing, we arrived back home got with three bags of mulch, a bag of rocks, and two cans of paint. No one whined, complained, cried, pulled a wet noodle act… nothing. It was so easy and normal, it was scary.

I am also convinced it was a complete fluke.

To further push the limits of my sanity, I decided we’d go for an afternoon walk. Again, Davey eagerly took up pushing duty on the double jogging stroller. Edward ran off to play with some friends on the street, and I continued on with the other kids. We had a nice long stroll and returned home wind-blown and refreshed. The only hazard we encountered was the baby garter snake by the gate at the edge of the yard who hissed and struck out at us. Jules kept her distance, Mae was fascinated.

My world just expanded this week. Double-V for victory!