One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

So I had a dream last night that I was driving one of those big, white 15-passenger vans. And get this: It belonged to a mental hospital! Cute little Alice was strapped into her car seat right behind me, kicking her legs and giggling. Oscar was trying to escape out of his car seat as usual. Henry and Waverly must have been in lock-down or something, 'cause they weren't there. But isn't this just too obvious of a dream? Is this the best my subconscious/imagination could come up with? The reality of my life as a mom of 4 young kids - trying desperately to keep them fed and entertained all summer long - I mean come on! It just isn't that big of a stretch to imagine myself employed as a chauffeur for some "crazies". Why can't I dream about rainbows and unicorns while I'm "off duty" from my own "crazies"? Sheesh. I need a break.

I took all 4 of them grocery shopping today. It was payday and we desperately needed some kid-food basics. And my rowdy bunch were actually pretty well behaved. I felt more stress entering the store than I did leaving it! I marveled to myself as I pushed my $200 worth of graham crackers and granola bars across the parking lot with all 4 kids in tow. As I put them in the car I told the kids how grateful I was that they were all so good in the store. "You didn't fight and you all stayed right next to me! Thank you so much! It made shopping so easy." And this was Henry's response:

"So, what do we get?"

Me: "You get a happy mom."

Henry (disappointed): "Ohhh! That's it?!"

That's it?! That's IT?! What I wanted to say was, "And you should be grateful! Aren't you tired of having a Nurse Ratched for a mom?" But this is what I really said:

Me: "And a popsicle when we get home."

... Just doing my job ... trying to keep the crazies happy...