Attempting the Impossible

So maybe I am sometimes a little more ambitious than I ought to be.  Like when I decided it was a good idea to bring our 2 week old hiking.  After the 10th person asked how old she was, I started to get a little embarrassed that we brought her out so early.  Some don't even take their child outside the house until they're over a month and here I am hiking a child up a mountain!

Anyway, if you've ever visited or lived in the desert you know that the Fall and Spring time are the most beautiful seasons you could imagine here.  You have to savor them - especially in the Spring - because you know the heat will be here and that's it.  You're not outside unless you're in the water.

One thing I really loved about this house was how close it was to Connor's elementary school.  I imagined walking him to school, and that has only happened a handful of times.  I've had a pretty good excuse of being pregnant up until this point.

I decided that this morning was a good time to try and get the kids to walk to school.  The weather has been beautiful and it's such a shame to drive when we have such little time before this weather is over.

To achieve my goal, I dug out the double stroller.  Even though Maya is only 2 months old, she can hold her head up really well and I knew she was ready for the 5 point harness.  So I strapped her in, and Aaron excitedly climbed into the other seat.  Connor just couldn't stop giggling at the view we had of their heads bobbing back and forth as we walked.  His smile was glued on his face almost the entire walk to school.

Everything was going smoothly, and it seemed like everyone was happy!  I started to really enjoy my morning and was happy that this could work out to be a pretty normal routine.

About halfway to school Connor decided that he was getting the short end of the stick though.  He started to complain about walking and how his feet were really tired.  He wanted a turn in the stroller.  I thought it was a fair request, so I asked Aaron to hoof it for a while.  Aaron reluctantly got out of the stroller and decided that if he had to get out of the stroller he would rocket his way to school.

He looked back for a second and said, "I'm so much faster than you!!!"  and he jetted off down the sidewalk.

Just because it's a jogging stroller doesn't mean you can run as fast as a 3 year old.  I quickly realized that Connor was more interested in touching Maya then taking a break and relaxing.  He began to do his normal touching of her head and getting his finger dangerously close to her eyes.  Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and she began to scream.  I noticed we were coming up to a road, and besides being embarrassed about me not being able to control my kids I was worried that my quick 3 year old was going to bolt into the street before I could stop him.

I started to run.

As I was running I was telling Connor to stop touching his sister (I hate doing that because I know he's doing it out of love, but come on!  I can't handle this on top of what's going on).  As I'm running I'm screaming Aaron's name to stop.  Finally he hears me and turns to acknowledge that I exist.  Thank goodness.  I wasn't so lucky a couple of months ago with my Dad and the Power Wheels.  He kept driving with no regard for anyone - even when Connor used his body as a traffic cone he ran right over him.

So Aaron stopped and waited for us to catch up, but Maya didn't stop.  Her scream became unbearable.  I started trying to force the pacifier in her mouth as I'm pushing them down the street.  Finally I couldn't take the humiliation.  I picked her up and took her in my arms.

She was silent instantly.

Aaron saw his opportunity and he took the vacant seat.  This jogging stroller that I have is not easy to control with two hands, but when I have a 6 and 3 year old in it while holding a 2 month old....now that's really impossible.  I literally had crossing guards helping me push my stroller across the street.  I jokingly was saying maybe I shouldn't have attempted this when she was so young, and the crossing guard quickly agreed that she was too young.  He said, "She misses the warmth of your arms". OK...

Then I got smart...I told Connor to get out and walk.  That helped a lot.  When we finally arrived at his playground I stuck it out and watched him play.  We were 20 minutes later than normal and he only had 5 minutes of recess left anyway.

Maya had tired herself out so I put her back into the stroller.  I put the blanket under her head which helped her to fall asleep quickly.

As we were walking back home things were a little less crazy.  Things were actually quiet & calm.

Aaron said, "Mom, I can hear birds in the trees!"

Yes, that is what I was hoping for on this simple walk to school.