Yesterday, I needed to go and have the tire on the passenger rear of my car looked at and replaced, because it was so worn down that it was making the whole car bump everywhere we went.    I also needed to go grocery shopping, so I took the three kids with me to Walmart so we could get both done at the same time.

I drove up to the Tire and Lube place, and for some reason, I couldn't figure out how to get into the area where you're typically supposed to park.   There were flagged lines preventing me from getting in.  So I just parked right outside the area.     I told the kids to all get unbuckled and out of the car.  As soon as I set foot out of the door, I realized my mistake, and that there was a place that I could get through to the area.  So I told the kids to hop back in the car and we drove into the parking spot.

I told the kids to get out again, and we all got out, and started walking towards Wal-mart.  A woman met us before we got in, and asked how she could help us.  I told her about the rear tire, and she said, "I hate to tell you this, but I'll need you to park out there (she pointed towards a tented area where some other cars were in line). We have to get a ticket order, then we can take care of the problem."

So I had the kids get back into the car, then I moved into the spot where the car was.  A truck pulled up right in front of me before I could get there, so I had to wait for the truck and the car before getting my ticket.    Then, I gave the woman my information... for some reason, my name was pulling up as Caleb's name?  She had to take about 10 minutes to try to change the information over to my name, then she gave me my ticket and told me to leave the car door open with the keys in the car.

So we finally got out of the car again and went into Wal-mart. 

I was astonished when I got inside and realized how full it was. I had completely forgotten that it was New Year's Eve.   There were people EVERYWHERE. It was like trying to maneuver a buggy through a can of sardines, it was really that packed.   

It didn't help that Noah stood about 50 paces behind me at all times. I had to keep saying, "Noah, please come here.  Noah, pay attention, get over here", over, and over, and over.   He was just such a slowpoke (a cute one though)!   (Too bad he's too big to put in the buggy anymore.) 

So for 2 hours, I pushed the buggy, tried to get everything on my list, and ended up actually circling the grocery section of the store 3-5 times because I kept forgetting where items were that were on the opposite side of the store.   It is really difficult to push the buggy, maneuver around an insane amount of people in the store, try to get the right items and put them in the buggy, all the while having to keep track of 3 kids, especially a little one that likes to take his time! lol

Finally, I was finished shopping, and I thought, "Okay, we'll just check out, and then get out of here."  Ha ha.

Ha.

There were buggies lined up at the checkout counters so far it was ridiculous.  I finally found one that only had about 5 stuffed-to-the-brim buggies, and I got in line reluctantly.

Time kept ticking by.  Tick. Tick. Tick..

The kids kept themselves amused by playing with toy cameras and also the dog toys that are always in the checkout lane. lol
Well, except for Caleb, who for some reason felt the need to jingle a sock full of money over and over and sling it from one side to the next. It got so annoying at one point I just told him to give it to me and let me put it in my purse.  I was extremely tired by this time and just wanted to go home.

Finally it was my turn and I got all of the groceries checked out. For some reason (Murphy's law, perhaps?) my debit card wouldn't work when I tried it twice.  My imagination ran off with me for a moment, freaking out with the thought that I may not have brought my checkbook with me and I might have to leave all of those groceries there after having been there so long.   Ugh, what a horrible thought.

However, thank goodness, it ended up that my checkbook was there after all!   I paid for the groceries, and headed for the tire and lube with all of the kids.

Is this the end of my trip to Walmart?  No, not at all.   

I maneuvered the full buggy (which, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the buggy was one of those that only wanted to go to the right, so I had to work really hard to get it to go straight) all the way back to the Tire and Lube, and looked through the window. I saw that my car was being looked at, so I figured they were putting the new tire on it.    I sat down with the kids and waited a while.  Soon, I saw them driving my car out of the area, and I walked up to the man behind the counter, and asked him, "I haven't heard my name called yet and wondered if I happened to miss it?"    He checked on the computer, and said, "Um, it looks like your car is pending right now."  

I didn't know what he meant, and he clarified that it meant that my car had a problem and a man was going to have to come explain.  So I sat with the kids and waited another 10 minutes on the bench.   The man finally came out and told me that the tire was too damaged to repair.   Which I wasn't really understanding because I had originally planned for the tire to be replaced- but it may have been that I didn't communicate that well enough when I first came in.    Anyway, he told me he could not touch it, because it was just too far gone.  I asked him if I should take it somewhere else.   He said, "Well, you'll need to get the tire replaced."
I said, "Can you do that here?"  He said, "Yes".  I said, "Okay, but how long does it take?  Because I have all of these cold groceries and I don't want them to get ruined."    He said, "It won't take long."

He gave me a choice of tires, and I picked the cheapest, for $80.00.
 
For another 30 minutes, I was waiting for the tire to be replaced, and halfway through that, Noah said he needed to go to the bathroom.  If he had been wearing a pull up, I would have been tempted to tell him to just go, because I was so tired, but I took all of the kids towards the bathrooms, and let him go in the men's room with Caleb.

After about 5 minutes, they came out, and we went back to the Tire and Lube section.

"Miss?", the guy behind the counter said, "I think you left your purse here?"

I said, "I did?", then looked in the buggy, "Oh yeah, I guess I did."

"Well, they have taken it to Customer Service."

"You've got to be kidding me.", I thought.   I said, "Oh really?"

"Yeah, you'll have to go there to get it."

Great.   So I pushed the clumsy buggy all the way back to customer service, trying to think positive thoughts (Well at least I'm getting some exercise) but not feeling very convinced.

I got my purse, and started wheeling the buggy back to the Tire and Lube.  Half way there, I realized that Noah wasn't wearing his jacket, and it wasn't in the buggy anymore.  "No way, this can't be happening.", I thought.    We all walked back to the bathroom and I told Caleb to go inside and look for the jacket. I had this feeling we were going to have to go right back to Customer service.   After 5 minutes, he couldn't find it, so I said, "Well, at this point, I really don't even care about his jacket anymore. He can just wear mine.", and walked back towards the Tire and Lube.

Half way there, I noticed a man wheeling one of those cleaning trays...apparently he had just been cleaning the men's bathroom, because there was Noah's jacket laying right on top of it.  I said, "THERE IT IS!", and said Thank you to the man, took the jacket, and walked back to the Tire and Lube. 

10 minutes or so later, they told me the car was ready.  They asked me if I wanted the warranty for 9.80, or some figure close to that.  I told them "No, I really don't."  
One of the guys said, "It's really worth it." 
I said, "Well, I'll just get one when I can get all the tires or something.", trying to think of an excuse so I could just get out of there.

They said, "well you really couldn't do that unless you got all new tires", and at this point, I just weakened and said, "Whatever, go ahead and add it.". Anything, anything at all to just get out of Wal-Mart!!

Finally, I got my keys and went outside.  The kids got buckled in.  I put all the groceries in the car, and headed home. Seemed like every single red light caught me, and that they lasted longer than they ever have before in the history of mankind.    But I eventually got back home and threw myself on the couch to relax for a while. After putting away those groceries, of course.

BTW, I figured out how long I had been at Walmart- about 4 hours total.  Eeek!   That was my New Years' Eve for you...hope you all had a much better New Years Eve!