Thanks for the Compliment, Lady

Need a virtual litmus test for your sanity?  Take 4 kids age 8 and under shopping for jeans and sports shoes!

While looking in the skinny, boot cut, regular, or loose categories with 4 different wash choices each for boys size 6 slim jeans, a task all by itself, I had 2 kids trying to show me shirts that Sumner would need for school and 2 kids trying to hide in the racks.  Once the size 6 slim jeans were chosen and Sumner was trying them on I had 3 kids trying to test the flap-ability of the dressing room curtain!  Then as I tried to choose which pairs to purchase and which to put back I had 2 big kids fussing over who knows what and 2 little ones dusting the bottom shelves with their bellies as they crawled military-style under the clothing.  Breathe in, breathe out.  What was I doing you ask?  Hissing discreetly...stop, please...stand over here, please...leave that alone, please...stop fussing with your brother/sister...sit over here, now...the next person that touches that is going to the store's Time Out spot...listen or you'll be losing your popsicle when we get home...over and over again.

Then we moved on to the girls size 8.  Once again there is a plethora of choices in the jeans department.  Four styles of jeans with four choices of wash with 3 different sizes within each size (slim, regular, & plus)...it's ridiculous.  Necessary, I suppose, but ridiculous!  So while Miss Bebe is choosing her pairs of jeans I have 3 kids chasing each other around the racks with one Itty Bitty leading the way screaming like a banshee!  Bebe then abandons her jeans shopping to "mother" the others and joins the chase yelling at everyone to STOP.  Thus, Mommy steps in with the "that's it" voice and says, "That's it!  No popsicles for anyone and sitting in Time Out starts now."  As final jeans choices were made and a frivolous purchase of a sequined tank top was negotiated I had 4 kids sitting quietly on the bottom of a clearance shelf.

About 5 minutes after this a lady comes up to me with her 2 year old in tow and wants to know how far apart my kids are in age.  I tell her and she says she has two kids and wants two more.  "Don't do it lady" I think to myself.  She says she just loves observing moms with 4 kids because she wonders if she can handle it.  She then proceeded to tell me that my kids were so cute and sweet and that I handled them so well.  She was impressed actually with how well they were doing compared to some "big family" kids she had seen.  She was surprised with how well they listened when I was serious with them.  I told her it was always a work in progress, but thank you.  Really...THANK YOU

I try to be very understanding of other people's space and hope my kids are not infringing on their time.  Whether it be at a store or a restaurant I try to be very aware of how my kids behave.  I don't want them screaming or running around or bothering other people.  I know I don't like it when other people's kids are running around screaming while the parents seem totally oblivious, and it drives me insane if the parents just smile like the kids are doing something great.  So as much as I was sure my kids were at their worst...I got a compliment on how well they were behaving!  Compliment = My day made.