Grocery Shopping with Four Children
Self Torture
I woke up this morning to realize I needed to travel to the grocery store. I had nothing to make for lunch so we needed to go early. I actually thought to myself that this would be a good trip because I can get the kids up, feed them breakfast, make sure everyone is dressed, and we could head out the door before they are completely awake. Wishful thinking on my part... Breakfast went well, as did the dressing and getting in the van to the supermarket. It all went downhill as we entered through the doors or the store. My 2 year old realized he was the only one who was sitting in the cart, this is disturbing to him because he wants to walk like a big boy. He doesn't realize that when I have the whole clan with me that I am unable to watch them all by myself. So he decides to scream at the top of his lungs "I WANNA WALK, I WANNA WALK MOMMY". I finally get him to calm down when my newly turned 6 year old decides to start mocking all of the other customers. I find this really embarrassing because as I am asking him over and over to please behave himself he finds it funny and just laughs at me. So then the 9 years olds decide that the two of them will egg him on. They also decide to turn on their selective hearing so that anything that comes out of my mouth just doesn't exist.
As I am heading through the last few aisles, checking off my items on my list, I am dreading the line at the checkout. We get in line with one person ahead of us who is just about done. I start scrambling to get the groceries out of the cart and onto the counter before my 2 year old mutates into the child with 100 extra hands. To late, he is grabbing everything quicker than I am. As my arms are filling with "squish-ables", (bread, chips, buns) I am trying my hardest to unload the cart without everything winding up in his mouth or on the floor. Also I am trying to keep track of the other three who are not standing where I told them to. Finally I am checking out, the kids are now carrying on about whatever they forgot to carry on about, and I am standing there making sure I did not forget anything. My face said it all to the cashier about how my shopping experience was. She then asks me "Are these all your kids, or are you babysitting?", I paused briefly and then said with a smile "They are all mine". Then I thought to myself what was I thinking, I could have said I was just babysitting!!!!
We were finally done. Now I just have to get the kids in the van and unload all the groceries. But wait, I just remembered I didn't hand the cashier my coupons!!! So I sent in my daughter who is 9 with my receipt and my coupons, because after all it is $5.75. She went in, I was finished loading the van when she came out, and we all drove home in one piece. Well the kids were in one piece, for myself I can't say.
All I can do is forget about the torture I endured on this trip and just gear up for the next trip. At least I had my list prepared so I didn't forget anything that we needed. So in about a week I will venture again down this long never ending road of self torture. I keep asking myself though, when is my fiance going to take a try at it?