a police officer, four fire fighters, a grandma and a walmart worker

My day started out easy enough; we'd been up late the night before so we all slept in (which means my two toddlers watched a show on my phone and Tim fed the baby while I slept in). Tim fed the girls while I got dressed and I even took a little more time to put makeup on and curl my hair. The kids and I loaded up and picked my mom up then we all headed down to Springville to celebrate my niece's 1st birthday. Sure, we were an hour later than expected but we didn't have any solid plans so it was fine. While driving through Sandy we decided we should stop by IKEA, get some lunch and do some shopping. I felt proud of my idea to eat at the cafeteria at IKEA where we could get some real food instead of just hitting a fast food stand. We unloaded in the following order: me, my mom, older toddler, poopy baby (ugh! poopy baby! unroll my changing pad, lay him on the floor of the van, oh how I love my van! wrestle all his clothes off him, use half my wipes to clean him up, new clothes, done!) at this point I realized I needed to get the stroller out before I got the baby out so I could heft the stroller out of my trunk with both hands then set it up and put the baby inside. Well, being a responsible mother, I shut the van door so my baby wouldn't roll right out of the van while I went to get the stroller. I shut the van door. With the keys inside. Locked inside. With my baby rolling around on the floor and my other toddler still strapped in her carseat. No! No! No! I could have screamed I was so mad at myself! What a dumb mistake. One I'd like to say I've never made before but that's not true. Now thinking about how many times I've done this...it's too many to admit, you already think I'm an imbecile, let's not make it any worse. So back to the emergency at hand, luckily my mom had her cell phone so I looked up a locksmith in the Draper area. After the third attempt to get someone to help us pronto I finally just called 911. I'm proud to say I remained very calm, cool and collected while I related my emergency to the dispatcher and she assured me an officer would be right there. A few minutes later we saw a police car cruising through the parking lot. I went running after him and flagged him down directing him to my parked van. My mom, my toddler and myself had spent the last 5 minutes with our noses pressed against my dirty and increasingly hot van windows talking and singing and trying to reassure my already sensitive toddler that it will all be ok and she will be able to get out of the car soon. She was especially nervous about the police officer using his tools to try to break into the van. After a few tries, an ambulance pulled up and four firefighters hopped out with more equipment to rescue my babies.
A few minutes later the doors were open, the alarm was blaring, and I was holding both babies in my arms. I thanked the officer and the firefighters profusely. If my arms hadn't been full I probably would have hugged them. What sweet relief to know I could call for help and they didn't berate me for my stupid mistake, they just helped and when the job was done, they left, on their way to help someone else in need. Oh how I love and admire firefighters and policemen. My girls still ask me to tell them the story of how the firefighters and the policeman saved them.
Well, the story doesn't end there. We drove to Springville and went straight to Wal-Mart so we could get some balloons for my niece. My mom and my oldest toddler went into the store while my second toddler, the baby and I stayed in the car. (Hoping to minimize opportunities for getting locked out of the car again). A few minutes after they left, my second toddler informs me she needs to go to the bathroom, badly. So I very carefully take the keys out, unload toddler and baby, and lock the doors. I heft both kids in my arms and into the restroom at Wal-Mart (which are always disgusting) and try to juggle them both while one baby goes potty and the other holds on for dear life. Trying to lift my toddler while carrying my baby so we can both wash our hands was pretty taxing. A Wal-Mart worker came in as I was attempting to do all this and she, in broken English, offered to help. She held my toddler and helped her wash her hands. Then tenderly set her down and dried her off. I was so touched by this simple act of service. Nothing melts my heart faster than someone being kind to my kids. Some people complain that as a society we don't value children, that babies aren't adored like they used to be and that mothers aren't revered and praised as they should be. But I have found the opposite to be true. Whenever I am brave enough to venture out with my three littles, I have found people to be incredibly accommodating and understanding of how difficult it is to get anything done with three babies in tow. From holding doors open for me and my front pack and larger-than-life double stroller, to returning socks that slipped off somewhere in the store, I have been impressed with how loving and kind people can be and how most people understand that you do need help and you are doing your best no matter what that looks like.