My next investment

I think it's time to buy some leashes. Here's my story for the day:

We had a playdate at our neighbor/friend's house and it's just a few blocks away. It was nice this morning, so we walked in the stroller. When it was time to leave, my friend opened the front door and my girls ran out right past their stroller, down the street. Her house is on a dead end street and there's very little traffic, but I was still frazzled that my kids were running away from me. I chased them into the greenbelt where they were antagonizing a Jack Russell Terrier in one of the backyards. Then they decided it would be fun to slide down the gravel hill on their bums and get SO dirty. At this point I'm trying to maneuver the stroller down the gravel hill in flip flops and trying hard not to fall down. I ran after them through the greenbelt, to the sidewalk area, and then they ran in opposite directions. Reese headed right and Ryan headed left toward the playground area that she could see, which was closer to the road. I had to go after Ryan because the road freaked me out and I saw that Reese was fine where she was. I'm screaming out Ryan's name trying to get her to stop or turn around when I see this lady walking her poodle. She stops Ryan and says, "Is your name Ryan? Your mommy wants you." Ryan says to her, "Yea, I'm Ryan and there's my mommy, Lisa." (So much for being scared of strangers). Poodle lady (PL) helped me get Ryan & I tucked her under my arm in a football hold and ran off yelling Reese's name. I looked like a total nut nut. PL followed me and was trying to entice Reese w/ the dog. She said to me, "Wow, you have your hands full". (Understatement of the year) PL told us her dog's name was Abby and Reese said, "HI Abby, HI neighbor". Finally I got them strapped in the stroller and they were crying because they wanted to walk on their own and play w/ PL and Abby. No way. I was a hot, frazzled, tired mess at this point. I got home as fast as I could, almost running through my neighborhood in flip flops & a skirt, and my mom was there waiting to help me. Thank goodness for her help! So I need to make a trip to Target and invest in the leashes. I think they might be my saving grace as we navigate through this crazy period of toddlerhood.