A Decision.

I finally got around to my Christmas cards this week.  They will be late, I apologize.  But, they are finally in the mail.  I hate to even admit that I've had them sitting in my kitchen since Thanksgiving.  Why couldn't I have got them out in the mail then?  We will never know.  Or, maybe we will...

Yesterday we needed to go to the post office to get stamps for the cards.  Going to the post office, or anywhere for that fact, is no easy matter.  First, I have to figure out timing.  Yesterday I desperately needed a shower before we could leave the house.  So that right there puts us in the afternoon since the only chance I usually have to shower is while the boys nap (unless I make the boys take one with me, which works out OK... but completely ruins the whole point of escaping to a hot, peaceful, silent shower).  The boys wake up from their nap, I'm ready and off we go to the post office.

We were working on potty training yesterday (which is a WHOLE other story in itself) so neither of them were wearing pants. 

Mission 1.  Put pants on boys.  Tantrum 1 (times 2).
Mission 2.  Put boots on boys.  Tantrum 2 (times 2).
Mission 3.  Put jackets on boys.  Tantrum 3 (times 2).
This is where G discovers his cup and goes into complete hysterics because he needs water.  Now.  Get water, solve problem.
Mission 4.  Put hats on boys.  Tantrum 4 (times 2).
Mission 5.  Put mittens on boys.  Tantrum 5 (this is a tricky one.  Zwas happy to have his mittens, and G wanted his mittens faster than I could get them on him so he still had a tantrum).

There.  Now we can go out to the truck.  I had started the truck before this whole process.  I knew it would take awhile to get ready, and its usually enough tine for the truck to warm up.

Open the door.  Z runs outside, excited to see snow.  G refuses to leave the house (where is that child who was so excited to be going 'bye'?).  So I pick him up.
Tantrum 6. 

In the middle of carrying him the 2' out of the house a boot falls off into the snow.  And, here we go again.  Sobbing, screaming.  "MESSY!".  They aren't a fan of snow on their boots.  I get G's boot cleaned off and back on his foot and set him on the porch so I can grab the keys (which is an improvement over normal.  I usually forget the keys.  Get the boys out to the truck, realize its locked, have to make a mad dash back to the house to grab the keys and get back out to the truck before a child goes missing).

And now no one wants to go down the stairs.  I convince Z to hold my hand and get him down the stairs.  I go to hold G's hand, but it was the wrong hand (more screaming).  Switch hands and get him down the stairs.  I realize at this point its a LOT colder than it looks outside. 

Now we need to hurry. 

Go to open the gate.  Our gate has been having issues.  So I decide to stop wasting time and I just pick it up off the hinges.  Not a problem anymore.  Turn around, Z has fallen in the snow.  Its way too cold to be sitting in the snow.  Run, snatch him up, run him to the truck while brushing off the 1" of snow that is stuck to him and toss him in his car seat.  Turn around to get G.  He doesn't want to get in the truck (big surprise).  Carry him to the truck and put him in his car seat.  At this point I realize the truck is COLD inside.  Its been running.  Why is it cold?  Oh!  Someone turned off the heat the last time they were in there.

Buckle a crying G into his car seat.  Run around to the other side.  Buckle a crying Z into his car seat.  Turn the heat in the truck on.  Run back into the house to grab the Christmas cards (oh how horrible would it have been if I had forgotten those... or I should say more horrible?).  So there.  We're set.  We're ready to go.  Its only taken 30-45 minutes.

And we drive the 3 blocks down the road to the post office.  We don't even have a TURN between us and the post office.  A straight 3 blocks.

While I was in the post office I saw that Santa Claus was going to be in town at 3:30!  We haven't been able to see Santa this year.  We've been snowed in more or less for a few days now.  The weather has been bitter cold.  And I just can't bring myself to drive to Minot just to see Santa. 

For just a moment I thought "we should go!".  And then I realized that it was only 3:00.  Which means, we'd go home and repeat.  And that wasn't happening.

And I feel, that I shouldn't fail to mention that upon arriving home the boys, who were still crying because they had to get in the truck, started crying harder realizing that their trip is over and we were home again.  G had taken his mittens off by now, and of course fell numerous times into the snow while making his way from the truck to the house.  Screaming, sobbing.  "SNOW COLD, SNOW MESSY. COLD. COLD. COLD."

In the midst of this I came to a decision. For the rest of the winter. If the drive to our destination doesn't take us longer than it took to get into the truck. We just are.not.going.