our walk

Today Vernon was up early. So was Elsie. There was no coffee in the house.

(do you see where this is going)

As I was popping their frozen waffles in the toaster (ya this mama was not in cooking mode)I had a brilliant idea.

I will wrap their waffles in napkins get out the stroller and walk to my normal drive-thru donut shop where I can get my coffee.

I thought the walk will be good for all of us. To be out in the fresh air bright and early.

Plus it is right next to Trader Joe's, so I can pick up those few items I needed as well.

Yes, this is a great plan I told myself.

I informed the kiddos of the fun morning adventure we were going to go on and got them pumped.

Vernon just squealed because Elsie did, nevertheless we were all excited for our soon to be new tradition of morning walks. I threw on some kicks and we were on our way.

Kids in stroller. check.

sippy cups.check.

blankets. check.

paci. check.

food in everyone's hands. check

We are good to go.

man it is beautiful out. I start singing Rise and Shine with Elsie and realized very shortly after I am out of breath and left the singing to her. Whew.

after getting onto the main street I realized I was already breaking a sweat.

no good. I still had a mile to go and was starting to question my decision in this walk.

I just started to get into my groove when Vernon started freaking out over a red ball he saw in a passing yard. And by freaking out I mean full on tantrum and threw his waffle out onto the street. Really Verns, really?

I stopped, talked him down and gave him his Mickey sippy cup to distract him.

Okay now why does it feel harder to push them all of a sudden. "Shouldn't have stopped, should've kept walking I thought to myself."

I just started to feel a little pinch in my bad hip when Elsie yelled

"Look mama the Donut Shop. YAY!"

Yay indeed!

Who cares that I'm sweating profusely from just pushing oh about 75 lbs, just give me my cinnamon coffee and nobody gets hurt.

then my little asian coffee shop owner greets me.

"Did you walk here?" he asked

why yes I did (proud tone in my voice)

why? he asked

well I thought it would be a good way to break up the morning

"well you're sweating" he said

yes, I know, thanks for pointing that out (I can see this convo isn't going in my favor)

he just chuckled and gave me my usual coffee, donut holes for the babes and a milk for them to share.

I take a few sips, say our good byes and start walking towards Trader Joe's when I realize there is a problem.

I can't place my coffee in the cup holder because it is too full and will spill out everywhere with one minor bump.

It is too hot to take down a few swigs and so I attempt to push the load one handed.

Ya that lasted all of two seconds when the stroller started turning in the wrong direction than I was pushing and the weight was too much for one hand.

Okay, Okay so I obviously didn't think this trip all the way through.

So I lean my stomach on the handle bar and push one handed while trying to gulp my coffee down.

(this is quite the site for the passing traffic)

I get enough of it down by the time I cross the street and make it to Trader Joe's so that I can place it in the cup holder while I pick up a few items.

well the peanut butter and and granola bars I needed turned into apples, pears, lettuce, tomatoes, chips, oatmeal and a few other items.

one of my regular check out girls asked what was up with the stroller. I let her know I walked there and informed her about the coffee debacle and then she so kindly pointed out.

"well now you have all this extra weight from the groceries as well, you think you can make the trek back home?"

I just stare at her. blinking.

yeah, heh, I guess I didn't think about that...

at least my stroller has an amazing basket underneath so I don't have to carry bags I told her and laughed it off. Her and I both knowing full well this was going to be an intersting walk home.

okay I got this no biggie. 

I decide to take a different route home which is technically shorter. it just uses back streets instead of the main streets.

I immediately realize that I'm going to have to chuck my coffee. I was sad for a brief moment but realized this walk was more of a pick me up than any coffee could offer. I take a few swigs and then chuck it.

I make sure the kids have their snacks and drinks because I know I am going to need to press full steem ahead without any breaks in between if I'm going to make it home.

it only took a few moments before I realized that not only was it a big mistake to take this route home but that the whole trip was anything but ambitious and just down right crazy!

I'm now pressing up an incline. Why is there an incline?! it was flat and easy on the way here and now my calves are burning!

okay, okay. breathe I can do this.

ouch, ouch what is that sharp pain, oh you know just my sciatic nerve acting up which in return makes my hip go completely out of commission.

Oh Lord this can't happen. I have a ways to go. I know this wasn't thought out and really just a bad idea but if you could give me the strength to make it home, that would be awesome. Thanks so much.

Elsie: what you praying mama?

me: for God to give me strong muscles to get home

Elsie: you're silly mama

okay sweetie no more talking mama can't breathe (yes I said that)

just a few more blocks until we turn on the street that leads to our street and I'm golden.

wait whats going on. Why is Vernon freaking out. I peek over and ask him whats wrong and realize his paci isn't in his mouth and he is not happy. So I pull the heavy load to a screeching stop and pick him up thinking his paci fell beneath him. It wasn't there. 

I then ask Elsie to stand up in case he threw it into her seat. I search and search and can't find it.

You've got to be kidding me, he had it when I stopped to chuck my coffee and take a picture of me doing so...

oh no, i look back. It seems miles away to that point. I stick him back in and figure we could just get home and I will give him another one there but taking him out and then putting him back into the stroller only ignited his fury.

I sigh turn the cargo load around and start back tracking to find his treasure. I ask Elsie to keep a look out and made a game out of it.

There it is mama! She yelled. 

oh you're right! there it is honey, right next to the trash can where I chucked my coffee.

awesome.

stick it in his mouth. make sure they're both happy and we're on our way.

I'm in full on calorie burning mode now and am kind of starving so I scarf down the last two donut holes and kill a whole water bottle.

I got this, I keep telling myself and I totally did. I was totally back in my groove and actually loved feeling the burn and perspiration start to bead up when what is this?

Why is the sidewalk ending. no side walk.

Okaaayyy I will just walk on the street, or attempt to.

For some reason in the area where we live the streets aren't flat. Like they curve towards the curb and even the curbs are those rounded ones that you can drive onto. All this does is make pushing a stroller incredibly challenging because you have to fight the curve so the stroller doesn't tip. With my load being tripled in weight I asked Elsie to walk along side me which she was so excited to do.

We huffed and puffed most of the way stopping to pick flowers and smell them but Vernon seeing his sister out wanted to get out as well and you could only imagine the ruckus we were causing as with every house we passed Vernon's screams caused the dogs to go bonkers. I asked Elsie to get back in the stroller and I thought my arms and legs were going to fall off. 

so. much. heavier

We made it home. exhausted, but we did it.

I laid Vernon down for his nap and then put the groceries away.

I have a no TV rule during the day, only one show after naps but seeing how my energy was completely zapped I sit here typing while she watches Toy Story and we kill the bag of kettle corn we just bought.

so what did I learn besides ambition and stupidity can easily be mistaken for the other?

one: I need to start my Jillian Michael's shred DVD workout stat because I'm beyond out of shape

two: walking with the stroller to "get things" is a bad idea

three: my kids are so incredibly patient with me as I navigate through this thing called life as a mama.

 four: morning walks are awesome (but only around the block)

This outing was hilarious to say the least. I even left out a few other details, but one thing I don't want to skip was the insane amount of beautiful flowers blooming everywhere throughout our walk. Elsie asked to stop to smell the flowers numerous times and I couldn't help but oblige because they were too gorgeous to pass up.

God has a way of doing that doesn't he. No matter the circumstance he still shines through it all. I loved that though struggling and sweating and at times felt like throwing in the towel these rose bushes and flowers surrounding us were a great distraction from the difficulty at hand. He made it possible to take my eyes off of myself and my situation. Each time we stopped and admired his handiwork I forgot that I was pushing a 1,000 lb load and made the walk home easier and at moments even enjoyable. Less of me and more of you Lord. This is what I needed more than anything today. 

A reminder.

these flowers are insane right?

didn't even realize it until I got home that I was wearing my vintage "Cheer up Buttercup" tee

so perfect