Grocery Store with Five 101

Sometimes, I am up for a challenge. Like taking five kids to the grocery store. Here is how we do it.

Two carts, one cart has two babies in their car seats, that takes up the whole cart. Hazel and CC push that cart and it goes behind me. I keep one hand on it to protect the delicate skin on my heels from getting nipped and to protect myself from having to buy a whole row of smashed pickles should the girls become distracted by anything too brightly colored. Hazel and CC think pushing the cart is all too funny and grown up, so they are happy to do it.

There is no time to read food labels, you can't stop to talk, you gotta know exactly what you want and keep moving. Fast, fast, speed is of the essence. At any moment someone will decide that are bored and start making trouble for everyone. That is the challenge.

I push the one baby cart in front of me and put the groceries in that cart. Like I said, sometimes I am up for an adventure. For some reason, I haven't been lately and I would like to get back to challenging myself. Maybe taking everyone to the library or a museum. Send me good thoughts that I will get my joy of motoring and adventuring back. Where did it go? Did it get taken? Who has it?

Heckling

I get a fair amont of heckling for driving a limo. It's totally understandable. I am always curious about who is in there when I see limos drive by.

My friend Becky and I drove the the park a few weeks ago and jaws dropped as we drove up. The parking lot was such that we did make a bit of a splash on arriving.  But no one is looking at me Becky, I am just the driver, everyone is looking at you! Parents turned to see who was in there. We started unloading, one baby, two baby, three baby, four babies (Becky's baby girl). That was shocking. Then four little girls laughing, hair streaming behind them, oblivious of the stares, hit the pavement, running legs and arms pumping for all they are worth, racing, not to be the last one on a swing.

Once, at the dollar store buying snacks, a lady yelled, You drive a limo and you're going to the dollar store?

Once, while getting pizza for the kids, a man yelled, Hey! Does the president want his pizza?! (He yelled it like an angry New Yorker, I felt like I was in a movie and I almost yelled, SHUT UP! in my best italian mobster accent brandishing my angry, flat hand in the air!

While getting gas, I usually end up in a conversation about the merits of driving a limo as our family car.  Men seem to think that it takes a lot of moxie for a gal to drive a car so long. Here is the rub, parking in a busy lot stinks. So I usually just drive up to the front of the store and park in front of the red line. Since no one wants to mess with whoever's inside the limo I have gotten away with it so far...

Jesus for Two Jelly Beans

We just watched General Conference. It happens twice a year. We watch it on TV or listen to it on the radio as we work on the garden or tidy house. Saturday and Sunday for 4 hours a day. 

 When I was a child, I dreaded it. My mom would be all excited and I would be bored to tears watching mostly bald, old men in glasses and dark suits, talk slow enough to put me out. Somehow though, I still found a testimony and now I look forward to the great mens teachings, something in me yearns to hear truths and values spoken allowed. I think as they speak, "yah, you're right! I can do better at that." Or as they teach, I feel in my heart that what they say is right, even though I'm doing it wrong. I then know what I need to work on to be a better person. Somehow though, for all my trying to be good, you would think I would be a little further along than I am! 

I don't require the girls to listen to all of it, a session is 2 hours long and that is plenty enough for their age group, I also let them color and play with paper dolls as we listen. This year, I thought of a simple way my girls could try to focus on listening to the prophets words. We bought a bag of jelly beans and I drew them a key. Any time they heard one of the words I had drawn they could take a jelly bean.

Green= Joseph Smith, President Monson (our current prophet) and anything about prophets

Yellow= Jesus Christ, the Savior, our Redeemer, any name for Jesus

Orange= Heavenly Father, God

Blue= Baptism, member, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the name of our church is worth 2 beans b/c of the Jesus Christ)

Red= Family, love or missionaries (we love you Hannah!!)

Pink= The Book of Mormon

It was way too easy for them. After 2 talks (about 20 mins) Hazel was tapping out. Mom, if I eat anymore jelly beans I will be sick. But she managed it. She started pacing around the room, she would hear something she knew was on the list, "Baptism, got it." "Jesus, got it." " Family, got it". I was surprised at how much they did get. They are smarter than I thought, at least I mean, they can regurgitate words they hear really well.

Next time, I will do something more difficult, family history, temple work, restoration of the gospel- what have you. And maybe in a few years, they too will cherish hearing goodness spoken as I do.