I am fairly confident that I could write blog just about the adventures of going to the grocery store with small children.
I have committed that I will grocery shop with the kids during the week so that it doesn't take away from our time as a family on the weekends. Throughout the 4 1/2 years we have gone through many phases at the grocery store (baby phase = easy, and so on) and there are a number of experiences that stand out. I may have to go into the 'grocery store archives' to share them. It is ALWAYS an adventure.
Gavin has reached a really fun phase at the grocery store. I use fun with a lot of sarcasm. Busy might be a better descriptor.
Two weeks ago he learned how to stand up in the cart. While strapped in the front. Have you ever tried to adjust the straps on those things? Bad things have happened to those straps. They are sticky and grimy. He has short little legs, he gets them under him... and up he goes. Unless I can manage to adjust the straps. Adventure #1.
Last week, once the cart got pretty full.... Gavin started to turn around and throw things out. I have to mention that I go to the grocery store with a really good attitude and it had me cracking up while trying to tell him 'no'. It just makes for an adventure - and LOTS of commentary from fellow patrons.
Today he was managing to grab things off the shelf to inspect (don't worry, he got to the throwing things out of the cart later). He got quite upset when I took them away. He screamed through 2 isles, which probably bothered the other shoppers more than it bothered me. Four and half years of shopping with kids has made me pretty immune to that. I opened a box of crackers and gave him one. He proceeded to smash it into pieces and put it in the diaper bag - guess he didn't really want that. I should think about cleaning that out....
Last week was a favorite for the grocery shopping archives. The kids were really ready to leave and our checker/bagger person was exceptionally slow. They were fussing, so I was doing the standard mom things and telling stories, flipping them upside-down, etc, etc to keep them engaged/not lying on the floor screaming. A bit tiring, but part of our normal gig. The obviously-doesn't-have-small-children-clerk very sympathetically asks "Do you want me to go find someone to help you get to your car?" Uhmmm.... we were at Fred Meyer (think Wal-Mart).... not exactly a 'help to your car' type establishment. I smiled, assured him we were fine, and we were off. I giggled about that one most of the way home. :)
So, did you know they sell beer and wine at grocery stores in Oregon?
Love this! Some of my craziest parenting adventures go down at the grocery store--in fact, whenever I come home my husband promptly meets me at the door to hear "what happened this time". heehee
ReplyDeleteOh--and did you know that they sell beer, wine AND hard liquor at the grocery stores in Arizona? It's been a rough transition for me to get used to having to go to a separate store if I need to pick up a bottle of rum. One of the few things I miss about AZ. lol
you make me laugh! We moved to CO from CA and they sell beer, wine, and liqour in the grocery stores there. We even noticed the missing isles of wine when we moved to CO and we don't drink.
ReplyDeleteStill laughing about the smashing the cracker into the diaper bag. Why? Because that is so something that has happened to me...only you have a much better attitude about it :)
ReplyDeleteYou do have an amazing attitude and patience! They sell beer and wine in FL too, and now it's weird when I visit someplace that doesn't. I also choose to shop where they bag my groceries too (they don't in MN) and always offer to help you to your car. I always decline since I'm able-bodied, but the offer is always nice.
ReplyDeleteI totally hear you about adventures in the grocery store! Ha ha! Tim's mom always talks about the time when his sister got her fingers caught in the wheels while riding under the cart. While trying to get her loose for like 15 minutes, Tim ate through a block of cheese and a package of bacon. Nobody came to help her. To this day she will not shop there!
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