Library Adventures

This afternoon we all went to the library. Normally, I go by myself, as Bob kindly allows that to be my "Mom's Night Out" activity. Hey, it's cheap and fun! But we needed more books, I did my homework ahead of time by finding likely books in the Story of the World Activity Guide, looking them up on the library's website to make sure they had them, and even writing down the call number on them so I could find them right away, so I felt confident we could be in and out with no real problems. Well, Jonathan was a real pistol. For some reason, I did not put him in the stroller, although I did clearly tell him that he needed to stay right by me and be quiet. Somehow, the message wasn't heard though. He did okay for a few minutes, then he started climbing the shelves. That was quickly stopped, so he and Caleb started playing some kind of giggle game, which got loud pretty quickly. Again, that was stopped. Caleb's big thing is that he just wants to touch Jonathan, all the time, preferably around the neck. Of course Jonathan protests loudly, so I had to tell Caleb not to touch Jonathan AT ALL , not even to try to hold his hand. I felt like a circus clown, juggling library books, sending out piercing glares all around, grabbing little boys' shoulders, chins, etc. as need be, all the while there was a constant chorus of "SHHHHHs" from Nathan and Luke. Poor Luke is so mortified by his loud brothers! We finally made it to the end of the juvenile section, but then Jonathan decided to start running from one end of the aisle to the other. So I had to hold him as well as our big sack of books. Finally all we had left was one book for Bob, so we headed over to the adult non-fiction side. I got it and started marching towards the front, naively thinking that everyone was following behind me like little duckings. Then I heard a "thump" and a piercing cry. Jonathan had made a detour to sit on a chair, which he then somehow pulled over on himself, bloodying his nose, and he was now letting everyone know about, right under a big sign that said, "QUIET AREA". Now I was mortified!! I muffled his face against my shirt, but it didn't really make that big of a difference. I kept shushing him, and finally, an eternity later, he calmed down enough that we could walk out and check out. So now I am back to pledging only to go to the library by myself! Library trips should not contribute to ulcer formations!