Life is never boring...especially at the grocery store.

You know what they say about praying for patience....well, I have been. And I got more tests today at the grocery store than I usually get in one whole day.

Stephen has discovered the little kiddie baskets at the Kroger. He knows that if he behaves well at the store then he gets to use one at the next visit (and he never forgets). He got to use one today....I'm not sure who invented the little kiddie basket, but I'm fairly certain they never had a 3 year old boy. And I'm fairly certain they've never had the backs of their feet run over by a kiddie basket-wielding 3 year old. At least Stephen has good enough manners to say excuse me when he runs me over or runs into someone else in the store. At one point, as we neared the section where they used to have his rice milk, he yelled "RICE MILK!!!" and started careening down the aisle, nearly taking out a stand up display of panty hose. And there were countless times of him leaving the basket in the middle of the aisle when something caught his attention. By the end of the trip, my 5'8" husband was pushing the 2' cart around....Stephen told him he could. I was wishing I had my camera.

And Sweet little Z was not about to pass up an opportunity to test Mommy's patience. As we stood in line to check out, Stephen wanted to go to the water fountain to get one more drink before the trip home. Knowing I wouldn't get far without him, I took Z out of the cart to take him with us. After being in the cart for about an hour, I thought he'd appreciate walking. And he did. But he didn't care anything about walking to the water fountain and cared even less about holding my hand so I could guide him in the right direction. So, as I grabbed his hand, he layed himself across the floor in the middle of the Kroger. I scooped him up (screaming...him, not me) and proceeded to the water fountain. He began contorting himself in all different ways so I couldn't hold him. I asked him if he wanted to walk, he did, so I told him he had to hold my hand. I set him down and he took off....I took his hand and he again lays himself across the floor (a friend of mine calls this the "Ghandi protest"). All the while, Stephen's whining about how thirsty he is. So again, up like a sack of potatoes went Z over my shoulder. Again, he contorts himself in to ways that I can't hold him (keep in mind my weak and pregnant belly). Again, I offer to let him walk but he has to hold my hand. He takes off, I take his hand, and on the floor he goes.....this is all BEFORE actually making it to the water fountain and we still have the whole trip back. Thankfully, God granted me the patience I prayed for and I was able to laugh and keep on going...ignoring the hairy eyeballs I was getting from people to old to remember what it was like to have a child nearing 2. After playing that game all the way to and from the water fountain, we finally found their daddy. He must've noticed (or heard) the struggle Z and I were having...he quickly took him from me. Miraculously, Z immediately lost interest in wanting to walk.

Today, I found this excursion fun. Any other given day, and I might have found good reason to put them both in a kiddie basket with a "Free to good home" sign. But with the tests God gave me, He gave all the patience I needed....even if I have to finish the day off with a couple of chocolate chip cookies AND a candy bar....