Venturing Forth

Yesterday I took my first trip out of the house with both children and without Matt. All I have to say is that it has *got* to get easier! *grin* All in all, it went pretty well, but I was definitely worn out by the time we got home. Our objective was to go to the post office to mail a box and buy stamps, then head to the library to return books and check out more. First, it took us almost an hour to get ready, with Emma helping me gather library books as I changed and fed Gregory. Matt helped me get everything and everyone out to the car, and then we were off. As we were leaving it, of course, started to rain... but I had already invested so much preparing physically and mentally for this voyage I decided to just push on. Thankfully the rain was light for the most part, and I did have an umbrella (although of course I forgot to bring a jacket for myself!). The post office portion was fine, even though the line was rather long. Getting two munchkins in and out of the car is definitely a bit more time consuming, and I am very glad that Emma knows enough to just stay by the car once she is out of her carseat. The library was a but more challenging, because Gregory was not terribly happy in the sling and the library was fairly crowded. I think the library experience was probably the hardest on Emma though, because she loves to have me read to her at the library in their comfy couches and to look at all the books we are checking out before we leave. I knew that wouldn't work, so I promised her that we'd read all the library books once we got home and she could look at them in the car on the way home, and thankfully that was enough to advert meltdown. We managed to escape the library without further incident and when we got home we snuggled up on the couch and I read all the library books as I nursed Gregory. It was quite cozy, and we were all quite happy. I do feel a little bad for Emma though, because I know how much she liked our library reading time... but I don't think that's something we'll be able to do again unless we go there alone.

Today we need to head to Trader Joe's... which should be ok so long as I can find a parking spot in their notoriously tight parking lot where I can get both the rear doors open! At least I don't have to wrestle the baby bucket carseat out of the car... I can't stand those things so I always take Gregory in and out of his seat rather than clip the seat in and out. Besides, in our car you can't really get the seat unclipped without moving the front passenger seat forward anyways... so it is pretty much a moot point.