"You Have Your Hands Full!"

Last Thursday was my second time at story time with John at the library.   Before I go any further, let me just share that story time with a one year old is quite exhausting.  You wouldn't think it, but really, just experience it once.  It basically consists of a bunch of mostly new parents hovering over their babies singing in voices four octaves above their normal speaking voices and clapping hands and shaking feet.

John was more interested in running laps around the room than clapping his hands to patty cake.  But, if you ask me, 3 books and 20 finger plays for 0-2 year old age group is a bit much!  I was ready to break out the shakers and start dancing!  But we did use the shakers at the end for about 20 seconds.  John hugged a smaller child and knocked him over.  He fussed when they started singing.  He stole a helpless baby's sippy cup!  Oh the madness!  I felt like a new mom, but he does have an older brother and sister who are five and six years old! 

Now that story time is over, we move on to the next step, which is to check out books.  It would be safe to say that I really don't love the self check-out.  The librarian is sitting right there looking at her computer, but somehow I feel like I shouldn't bother her to check out our books.  I really need to work on that.  Anyway, for little families, I think it should be called, "group check-out."  Emmett and Carmen love it so I let them work on their independence while I stand there and look on and give verbal directions while holding John, my 35 pound bruiser.  See?  There is a group of us, not just my....self.. :)

Here are some things you might hear while we are participating in the "self check-out":

•  "Emmett, pick up the book, turn it around, push the button."
• "Emmett, that's not the library card, that's the Kroger card."
• "Emmett, start over."  
• "Carmen, wait your turn."  
• "Yes, you are a big girl, and can carry all those books."  
• "That is not the right bar code, it is the smaller bar code."  
• "Look at the top of the book, look at the back of the book, pick the book up off the floor." 
•  "Good job! You did it all by yourself!"
• "Print the receipt and let's get out of here!"
• "Go back and get the books, we forgot the books!!"  

Ahhh...Three children and a million books! I mean, how am I going to carry it all?  If I set John down he is off and running like a gazelle freed after being held up in a cage for a month.  I do have to give him credit, though.  I finally had to set him down because he weighs about as much as a mini refrigerator,  and he did stay put.  UNTIL, I started walking toward him to pick him up again, and he's OFF!  This whole time I am juggling things at book-check out, a woman is standing there by herself right near us holding one book and staring.  Then here it comes, the wonderful acknowledgment of the facts... she says...

 "Looks like you have your hands full."  Well, as my father used to say, "that is intuitively obvious to the most casual observer." (he loved words).

So, needless to say, when I got the ever-loved quote that every mother of two or more children loves to hear,  I was a bit frustrated.   Uh huh...looks like I do have my hands full.  Well, at the MOMENT, YES, I do, so would you mind helping me? Maybe pick up one of the books on the floor?  Maybe say my children are cute?  ANYTHING?  This comment that I get from people bothers me, can you tell?!  Any time anyone makes this comment I think of my own mother...her hands were full with 10 children!  What would people say to HER?  I think it was a different time back then.  People had more children and people were a bit more accepting of large families.  And I don't even have a large family, by any means!

Yes, I may have my hands full, but not with grocery bags, with humans... SMALL human people that I am doing my best to bring up and guide to become LARGE human people...which is why I was at the library for story time and checking out books in the first place.

Next time you see a "large" family out and about doing something productive, how about saying, "Wow, that's great that you are out and about doing something instead of using the TV as babysitter."  Or you could offer to hold the door or help in some way, instead of just staring.  I WILL admit that occasionally I DO have my hands full, but I just wouldn't have it any other way!

After the library debacle, I decided to take the children to the library playground to let them get their energy out since we were just coming off of the polar vortex weather event and were stuck inside for days.

There, now it is all better and we have good memories of the library.  Until it was time to leave and Carmen was having a tantrum and wouldn't get in the van.

There is always nap time, right?  I'll never be too old for nap time...

Having fun at the library playground watching a train go by

You can see the train across the field and my little caged gazelle inside the fence. :)