Let's Build Something Together

I am one of those people who balk at having to take all my kids out in public by myself, whether it be Publix, the library, the playground, wherever.  So, when a friend of mine emailed me on Friday telling me that Lowes was having a Build and Grow for Saturday morning, my initial reaction was "NO WAY am I taking all these kids out by myself!"  But then I thought...we never do anything fun, because I'm such an introvert and a homebody.  So, I said a few prayers for sanity and signed my kids up.

I've seen other people post pics with their children at these things...goggles on...hammers in hands...wearing their little aprons...and underneath the pics, comments about how much fun they had...  Then there is my experience.  Don't get me wrong.  I asked the kids if they had fun and they said "Yes!"  Ask me if I had fun, and I'll tell you, "Not as much as the kids did."

We get the projects enclosed in little baggies.  We get our miniature hammers, goggles, and eventually our aprons.  I line all my kids up around a large stack of plywood.  I open all their bags and lay out their supplies.  I'm already exhausted at this point.  haha!  Little tiny nails that look like screws roll all around the plywood.  Kids are calling, "Mom!  Mom!  MOOOOM!"  I run from child to child trying to start their nails, only to have them bending on me or splitting the wood.  Some kids sit patiently.  Others do not.   In my chaotic haste, I accidentally make a mistake on all four of their Valentine Boxes.  I end up pulling them all back apart.  We start again; this time I'm paying a little better attention to the directions.  But I'm still making mistakes that I won't find out about until the end.  Another mom, who feels sorry for me, helps me with Ks after she finishes up with her kids.  While she does that, I have to tear the other three kids' boxes back apart, and fix yet another mistake I made in quickly looking at the directions.  Lowes workers stand behind the counter staring at me.  Who knows what was going through their heads.  But, I know what was going through mine..."Stop staring and HELP ME!!!"  They don't, and I exercise patience.  I chalk my abundance of patience up to homeschooling.  I think if I weren't doing that, I would've thrown the projects twenty feet down the aisle and stormed out the door. HAHA!

They finally get all done.  Some kids are ecstatic, others are disappointed that they didn't get to use the hammer and build it totally themselves.  I can't blame the disappointed children...I was really hoping just to stand there, take pictures while watching my children put their boxes together.  But, that's not the way it went.  At some points in the project, it was difficult for me to put together.  With the help of some parents who had great sympathy for me and my poor kids, we eventually got all the boxes done, the right way.  Did I mention that we were the first to get there, and the last to leave???

After we were done, I treated my kiddos out to Chik-Fil-A.  There was no way I was cooking after that project.  I was exhausted!

And because I'm a glutten for punishment, I signed us up for a racecar themed project in two weeks.  So if any of you friends that live close by wanna join me, either to do a project with your kids, or just watch me try to run a 3-ring circus, be at Lowes Saturday Feb 25 at 10am!  Now that I know what to expect, I'm hoping our projects go a little easier.  =)