the "mother"load of multi-tasking

I wish I would've had a camera so I could've captured how utterly ridiculous I must've looked while running errands with Chloe tonight. I had to make a pit stop at Papa Murphy's in order to pick up a meal for a girlfriend who recently had a baby. As a side note, I did feel a little bit bad about not personally preparing a meal for my dear friend, but really, I barely have enough time and energy to prepare meals for our own family, let alone someone else's. Besides, Papa Murphy's makes a mean Hawaiian pizza. Back to my story. For as much as I wanted to leave sleeping Chloe in the car (admit it, moms, you all think like that!), I obviously knew I had to carry Chloe, bundled in her car seat, into the store with me. An order of 1 large pizza, cinnamon sticks, a side salad and 2 liter of Dr. Pepper later, I was ready to go...But wait! I only had two arms, and ONE was already taken by the car seat! What's a girl to do? My pride wouldn't let me ask anyone for help, and apparently, all those "Minnesota nice" manners flew out the window while those hovering around me were waiting for their pizza. Fortunately, those "mom instincts" kicked right in and I knew what I had to do! Balancing Chloe in the arch of my right arm, I was somehow able to squeeze the 2 liter under my arm, leaning it against the car seat. Next, using my available right hand, I placed the large pizza (uncooked, so a little floppy) in my left hand. Once it was secure, I built a pyramid of sorts by placing the cinnamon sticks, along with the salad, on top of the pizza. I was ready to roll. I had parked close enough to the front door where I only needed to walk about 20 feet, balancing all of this food...and my baby. One baby step at a time, and after one very close call, I made it safe and sound. Everything was still in tact, including my pride, and I drove away from Papa Murphy's, very thankful for my children and the multi-tasking abilities they have taught me.