Just another afternoon

So....you're almost 35 weeks pregnant and have a "bad back." Every step is a struggle and just plain hurts. You finally manage to get your protesting toddler into his car seat to go pick up your kiddos from school. Then he falls asleep for 5 minutes on the way to school, since he doesn't nap any longer. You get there and must then carry in 29 lbs. of dead weight across the parking lot to the doors since your child's school has no parent pick up line and the close spaces have been taken up by those who don't have young children to bring with them. You get inside and your toddler wakes up crying, in a horrible mood, and then tries to run off down the hallway into the school bldg. You manage to snag the back of his shirt (a small miracle since you certainly cannot chase him!) and then get his arm when he decides to drop to the floor in a full-blown 2-year-old tantrum. Since people need to walk through the hallway, you force your very pregnant belly and bad back to bend over and lift your 29 lb., screaming, flailing child out of the floor. You take several hard kicks to the stomach and then hold back the tears from the pain as you carry your wild child back to the designated waiting area in the cafeteria. As soon as you attempt to sit down, he tries to run again. So you pick him up and try your best to distract and calm him. After a few rounds of this, one of your children FINALLY shows up. You then go outside to wait for your other child to get off the bus from the other school. Your escape-crazed toddler decides to run as fast as he can toward the bus loop because he wants to get on one of the busses. He loves anything with wheels! You are very thankful for your 8-year-old daughter since she tries to retrieve your toddler and help her mother who is hobbling along behind her. She manages to slow him down but is no match for his screaming and protesting. You catch up to them both and pick up your once-again flailing toddler. FINALLY your other child appears and you can leave! But it's a long walk to your vehicle with a toddler in tantrum mode. You can't set him down because there are cars coming and going and you know he will run. By the time you reach your vehicle, you are sweating like a mouse at a cat convention and are in too much pain to care about the stares you're getting from everyone passing by. You perform a WWF wrestling move to get your toddler into his car seat because that it THE LAST place he wants to be. You drag yourself into the driver's seat and leave school, breathing like you just climbed Mt. Everest. Your older children start to argue and you tell them if they ever want to watch another minute of TV in their lives, they better not say another word. You get 5 minutes down the road and then realize....your gas tank is on empty. You pull off, turn your vehicle around, and pray that God helps you make it back to the gas station. Amazingly, you make it to the gas station, send up a word of thanks, and turn to tell your two older children.....tomorrow...you're riding the BUS!