Be Prepared!

As a M.O.M. (mother of multiples), I've been forced to adopt the Boy Scouts' motto: Be Prepared. It's great advice for anyone wanting to run errands with wee ones in tow. For this momma, here's what "Be Prepared" boils down to:

Running Errands:

• extra diapers/panties
  
• wipes
• snacks
• sippy cups with water
• small car toy
  
• mental readiness to pay for a treat to get us through the line at the cash register
• mental readiness to offer and try every sample we pass in the grocery store
• an actual meal stop at Chick-Fil-A or similar eating establishment if we're going to be gone more than 2 hours
• mental knowledge of every bathroom we may be near--including general state of cleanliness, size of handicap stall (can it take the double stroller, my toddler, and me all in the same stall?), location in store, and whether or not my toddler has actually used that bathroom before (that ups the chances she'll follow through when we arrive there)
• a detailed shopping list, including listing items in the order in which they will appear in any given store--the less time spent perusing the list or searching the store for something I may have forgotten, the quieter the children....
  
• cheerful attitude
• willingness to speak to people in the store (when you're pushing a double stroller full of two kids and pulling a shopping cart with the third, you ALWAYS get stopped and asked RANDOM questions)
• energy (sometimes that means chugging a diet Coke en route to the first store)
• flexibility (sometimes you just have to cancel an errand or buy a substitution to avoid another stop)
  
• Carpe Diem! (yesterday we walked the perimeter of the parking lot to hit up 4 stores--we got some fresh air, my oldest got some exercise, and I didn't have to load three children in and out of the car 4 different times)
• NO OTHER PLANS (we spent all morning in the same parking lot/few stores, but that was a good day's work)
  

If I leave the house with all of that, then our chances of having a smooth morning are much, much greater than those mornings I try something on the spur of the moment....