This morning as I was out walking with the kids, like I have done since Leah was only a few weeks old, rain, snow, cold or hot--we have gone out for a few miles several days a week...I realized how different my morning walks pushing the stroller have evolved over the years. You see, I remember being so excited to get Leah out on her first walk as a baby. I think she was only 2-3 weeks old when we went out on our first walk/jog. I remember I had her in a 3-point harness seat belt, blankets wrapped all around her to make sure she didn't get cold on those late May days, a hat on to shade her eyes from the sun...and of course her cute little hat matched her onesie that matched her socks. I remember we would run around the neighborhood, sometimes stopping in to see Great Grandma and Grandpa, then we'd jog outside of town a ways, then I'd end it all with a stop at the neighbor's pool--where I hoped Leah would sleep for a few minutes longer so I could swim some laps to cool down and further my triathlon training. You know, back when I had nothing else to do...
EEERRRRRKKKK>>>Fast forward a few years...
Now I had a double jogging stroller. Leah was almost 5, but not old enough to ride her bike very far without being a nuisance, but nearly too big to cram into her side of the stroller comfortably. Autum was only a few weeks old swaddled up in a quilt, as it was late October. I think I loosely locked the seat belt around her shoulders. She wore a hand-me-down stocking cap pulled down over her face. A burp rag propping up her bottle. Footie pajamas, that she'd probably worn all day, and a pacifier to stifle her cries with, just to get another mile out of our morning jog. By this point, we'd only last as long as Leah's snack bag lasted. As soon as she ate her last bit of trail mix and sipped the remaining drops of drink out of her sippy, we'd better be within 10 minutes of the house or all hell would break loose. I'd try to buy some time with books, but she'd turn it into a 'throw the book out of the stroller every 10 feet so mom has to pick it up" game. Then we'd try toys, which would end in the same result. So instead it would turn into a sprint home, instead of a leisurely jog. The thought of swimming to cool down turned into running through the neighbors sprinkler as we sprinted home serenaded by screams and cries.
And fast forward to today...
For instance, it takes 20 minutes to even prepare to go for a walk. And it has nothing to do with making sure the kids' outfits match their hats and socks...no, it has everything to do with: packing snacks, packing drinks, loading the stroller with toys/books/games, dumping the stroller over in the yard to rid it of our last walk's remnants...(raisins, crackers, sucker sticks, popcorn), changing diapers, making sure everyone goes to the bathroom one last time before we leave, then changing Blake's diaper again because he pooped in the clean, new diaper right as we walk out the door, then helping Leah find her bicycle helmet, checking the air on the tires on Leah's bicycle and the stroller, then I get myself dressed, shoes on, and gather up the bills I need to pay downtown, get some cash in case we stop in for a treat along the way, fill up my water bottle, grab a few diapers and some wipes, and head out the door! I literally throw both kids in the stroller. I let them fight over who sits where, sometimes they even switch seats mid-ride. I toss a few bags of snacks at them and off we go! Autum usually attempts to climb out a block or so into the walk, so I let her walk. Then Blake decides he wants out. So he gets out...by this time Leah is 4 blocks ahead of us riding in the street, zig-zagging her way all over, with her head in the clouds and 4 cars lined up behind her politely waiting for her to move over...I yell at her to bring her back to reality...and turn around to see Blake heading off into someone's yard after a stray cat that he caught glimpse of, I take off after him only to see Autum take control of the stroller and begin pushing it over the curb into the street. I grab Blake by the seat of his pants, and run toward Autum! I throw him into the stroller and go get Autum. At this point, they are both riding, despite what they want, I can't keep everyone corraled when we are all on foot. So I pop a Dum-Dum in both of the little's mouths and catch up with Leah, who is back on the sidewalk, now, a little more focused, and traffic has returned to normal flow. It is only now that I look down to see what Autum has picked out to wear for today...Orange pants, with black socks pulled up over them...a swimsuit top, and flip flops...*sigh, oh well, I vowed to avoid this battle long before. I decide to take a gander up at what Leah's choice of costume was for the day to see she chose her ruby red, sparkly Dorothy slippers, purple plaid shorts, a pink tank top, a yellow tank top underneath it, and a heavy blue fleece coat. I just shook my head and kept on walking. Oh well...
We went to the park and played and returned home in this condition. Autum had one less sock on because she pooped in her brand-new Hello Kitty cotton panties--which I threw away in the park dumpster (sorry!) and I had no wipes left...used them all to wipe away the stickyness from the Dum-Dum's.. Blake looked like he had been through the dust bowl and had acquired the darkening lens glasses because he found an old dirty tire full of sand...he sat inside the tire and dumped handful after handful of sand on his head for at least 15 minutes before I noticed. He took it upon himself to clean his glasses so he licked them with his sticky blue tongue to attempt to see better, which only made things worse. He was screaming because he dumped his entire cup of water on his lap, instead of drinking it, so everyone else was chugging water while he was wearing it. Autum decided to slap him on the cheek and told him to "be quiet!" because evidently she was getting as annoyed as I was with the crying...Leah chose to avoid my instruction and blasted through every intersection on the way home, getting far enough of ahead of me she couldn't hear my yelling anymore for her to "stop!" I was praying out loud that no one would hit her as we were walking, so I'm sure any passers-by thought I had lost my mind and was having a conversation with my "invisible friends." By this point, I was starting to think I had lost my mind too.
But I suppose we'll do it all over again tomorrow...because that's what we do.
EEERRRRRKKKK>>>Fast forward a few years...
Now I had a double jogging stroller. Leah was almost 5, but not old enough to ride her bike very far without being a nuisance, but nearly too big to cram into her side of the stroller comfortably. Autum was only a few weeks old swaddled up in a quilt, as it was late October. I think I loosely locked the seat belt around her shoulders. She wore a hand-me-down stocking cap pulled down over her face. A burp rag propping up her bottle. Footie pajamas, that she'd probably worn all day, and a pacifier to stifle her cries with, just to get another mile out of our morning jog. By this point, we'd only last as long as Leah's snack bag lasted. As soon as she ate her last bit of trail mix and sipped the remaining drops of drink out of her sippy, we'd better be within 10 minutes of the house or all hell would break loose. I'd try to buy some time with books, but she'd turn it into a 'throw the book out of the stroller every 10 feet so mom has to pick it up" game. Then we'd try toys, which would end in the same result. So instead it would turn into a sprint home, instead of a leisurely jog. The thought of swimming to cool down turned into running through the neighbors sprinkler as we sprinted home serenaded by screams and cries.
And fast forward to today...
For instance, it takes 20 minutes to even prepare to go for a walk. And it has nothing to do with making sure the kids' outfits match their hats and socks...no, it has everything to do with: packing snacks, packing drinks, loading the stroller with toys/books/games, dumping the stroller over in the yard to rid it of our last walk's remnants...(raisins, crackers, sucker sticks, popcorn), changing diapers, making sure everyone goes to the bathroom one last time before we leave, then changing Blake's diaper again because he pooped in the clean, new diaper right as we walk out the door, then helping Leah find her bicycle helmet, checking the air on the tires on Leah's bicycle and the stroller, then I get myself dressed, shoes on, and gather up the bills I need to pay downtown, get some cash in case we stop in for a treat along the way, fill up my water bottle, grab a few diapers and some wipes, and head out the door! I literally throw both kids in the stroller. I let them fight over who sits where, sometimes they even switch seats mid-ride. I toss a few bags of snacks at them and off we go! Autum usually attempts to climb out a block or so into the walk, so I let her walk. Then Blake decides he wants out. So he gets out...by this time Leah is 4 blocks ahead of us riding in the street, zig-zagging her way all over, with her head in the clouds and 4 cars lined up behind her politely waiting for her to move over...I yell at her to bring her back to reality...and turn around to see Blake heading off into someone's yard after a stray cat that he caught glimpse of, I take off after him only to see Autum take control of the stroller and begin pushing it over the curb into the street. I grab Blake by the seat of his pants, and run toward Autum! I throw him into the stroller and go get Autum. At this point, they are both riding, despite what they want, I can't keep everyone corraled when we are all on foot. So I pop a Dum-Dum in both of the little's mouths and catch up with Leah, who is back on the sidewalk, now, a little more focused, and traffic has returned to normal flow. It is only now that I look down to see what Autum has picked out to wear for today...Orange pants, with black socks pulled up over them...a swimsuit top, and flip flops...*sigh, oh well, I vowed to avoid this battle long before. I decide to take a gander up at what Leah's choice of costume was for the day to see she chose her ruby red, sparkly Dorothy slippers, purple plaid shorts, a pink tank top, a yellow tank top underneath it, and a heavy blue fleece coat. I just shook my head and kept on walking. Oh well...
We went to the park and played and returned home in this condition. Autum had one less sock on because she pooped in her brand-new Hello Kitty cotton panties--which I threw away in the park dumpster (sorry!) and I had no wipes left...used them all to wipe away the stickyness from the Dum-Dum's.. Blake looked like he had been through the dust bowl and had acquired the darkening lens glasses because he found an old dirty tire full of sand...he sat inside the tire and dumped handful after handful of sand on his head for at least 15 minutes before I noticed. He took it upon himself to clean his glasses so he licked them with his sticky blue tongue to attempt to see better, which only made things worse. He was screaming because he dumped his entire cup of water on his lap, instead of drinking it, so everyone else was chugging water while he was wearing it. Autum decided to slap him on the cheek and told him to "be quiet!" because evidently she was getting as annoyed as I was with the crying...Leah chose to avoid my instruction and blasted through every intersection on the way home, getting far enough of ahead of me she couldn't hear my yelling anymore for her to "stop!" I was praying out loud that no one would hit her as we were walking, so I'm sure any passers-by thought I had lost my mind and was having a conversation with my "invisible friends." By this point, I was starting to think I had lost my mind too.
But I suppose we'll do it all over again tomorrow...because that's what we do.
Ha! I can relate SO well to this post (with only two children!). Brax is hardly ever strapped in completely anymore. And Mackie tries to crawl out half the time mid-stride. Oh well. We LOVE our BOB double/single strollers and don't know what we'd do without them! Enjoy while you can still contain them in the thing, right?! :)
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