WOW!

So in an apparent brain lapse I decided to take my 4 kids and my best friends 2 1/2 year old son to the Providence Hospital Annual Festival of Trees Kick Off today. They had arts and crafts, a choir, cookies and hot cocoa, all the trees they auction off on display and Santa himself. I was really excited for a fun afternoon. I packed up the mini's (the 2 year olds:) and Cam and then headed to pick up Keeg and Laney from Orchestra. They were told to be right out so we could go right there. I got there. They ran out. Changed in the car and we headed to the Festival. I got a great parking spot, everyone started to pile out of the car...HOLD IT... we're missing a shoe, everyone is looking. Under seats, under clothes, under everything that makes it look like we live in our van. NO SHOE! SERIOUSLY! At this point the kids are running circles around the flower pot next to where I am parked, dodging pedestrians and squealing with delight. I could feel my blood pressure rising as I fumbled through all my bags and bins, praying that I was disorganized enough to have some extra random shoes lying around. Only one pair and it was about 3 sizes to big for my little buddy. He tripped over it as I tried it on him. "CURSE this organizational crusade I have been on. A month ago I would have had 6 different pairs of shoes back there :)

"Everybody back in the car!" "WHAT" The moans and groans from the big kids begin. We jump back on the road and run back to school to see if hopefully it fell out in the parking lot. I pull in my spot and look around, don't see anything. Then as I am about to pull out I see it sitting on the sign right in front of my face. YAY! We grab it and head BACK to the Festival. We get a parking spot further away but not horrible and walk the 3 or so blocks to the arena where the Festival is being held. Me and a 9,7,5,and two 2 1/2 year olds. We were a sight. The minis were SO good today though I thought I had it in the bag. But then we walked in.

Perhaps it was the overwhelming sights and sounds of the chaos. People everywhere. So much to see and so exciting to little monsters. The big kids were fine, they were trying to help me corral everyone. But what's that saying? It was kind of like herding cats. Maybe harder. We were a spectacle. Now I have been a spectacle before with just 4 kids and I am somewhat used to it. But with the amount of activity in this group we went from "wow 5 kids" to "Holy S@#* what kind of idiot brings 5 kids to this" That would be me :)

They had their cocoa and cookies and listened to the choir, sort of. They looked at the fancy trees, sort of. I mean they saw them as they ran by to play tag with each other. This is the 2 year olds by the way, not the big ones. They were actually good. THANK GOD! I tried to wrangle them long enough to do some arts and crafts and for a few moments they did. Like literally a few moments. And when they were done. Oh were they done. It was then a few moments of holy #$%& How am I going to get them out of here and how quick can I do it. Cam ever the perfectionist was taking a little longer then I could manage to finish his craft and Keeg and Laney were with our friends happily moving from station to station. The mini's decided that it would be really funny to RUN from where I was standing at the art station to the big windows that overlooked the road. And then sit there and look at me, laughing, knowing that I didn't want to leave Cam to go get them or leave them there to stay with Cam. So instead I stood in the center of both of them saying "Monster's come here!" "Cam finish up!" "Guys Stop running!" Cam we have to GO!" Then it happened I thought we were out of there and disaster. No a tree didn't crash down because of us- don't think I wasn't prepared for that to happen though.

Cam's art wasn't right and I have told you before how he takes that...Loudly! He started screaming and crying and all I could do was try to wrangle the mini monsters that were using me at that moment as their personal playground by crawling through my legs and hanging off my legs and playing tag and wrestling on the floor. Three people almost fell, tripping over them. All the while trying to calm Cam. At that point I was sweating and frantically trying to envision how I was going to carry three children in my arms out of this place.

Somehow I convince everyone its time to go. The circus packs up and we are out the door. FIVE kids running, skipping and jumping up the sidewalk trying to make our way to the car in the most fun fashion :) My best friend is meeting me by my car to pick up her mini monster and as I get half way across the crosswalk I hear someone (her:) yell "Hey what kind of idiot takes 5 kids to something like this!?!"

Yeahhh...That would be me :)