Let's Go Shopping

For those of you without kids this may be something to think about. For those of you who have kid/s, you know where I'm coming from. Been there, done that. With the holidays fast approaching, the schools are having their holiday parties. My kids are in year-round school and we are on C-Track which exits this Friday and won't return until after the New Year. With that said, yesterday I was on the hunt for an already-baked Pumpkin Pie. (Normally, I would bake one, but I just didn't feel like putting that much effort into it.) Easy you say, not quite so. Appears everyone else was having the pumpkin pie cravings (or buying for their holiday parties, too). I went to one store during the day with all 3 boys in tow to see what I could find. Nada. Well, my timing was bad so I had to go home to put Leland down for his nap. (I had already gone to a couple of other stores to get other errands completed while out.) I decided to wait until the night time to try again. I hate leaving the house more than once with the kids!

After everyone was bathed and the older two went to bed, I decided to take the two little ones with me. After hitting my second grocery store (yes, it took me two stores before I got the brilliant idea) I decided to buy a frozen pie and bake it last night so Loren could take it to his class to share.

Well, shopping with the two boys is not that easy. Here's how the shopping experience went: Once we got in the car to go to the store, Leland decided he was hungry, AGAIN! He cried all the way to the local Albertson's. Now mind you, this store is only 3 minutes away via car, but man, was that the longest 3 minutes. UGH! Once I got him in the shopping cart, I tried getting Langdon in. Ha ha! Kid took off like a bolt of lightning back through the front doors to see if he could get them to open again. All this, while I was trying to buckle Leland into the cart, before he konks his head on the side of the metal shopping cart. Luckily, I got the baby buckled and Langdon came through the doors and I caught him and sat him in the basket portion of the cart. Whew! Now I can feed Leland his bottle while shopping around the market. I started pushing the cart, darnit, the front wheel was bent! Picture this: a mom pushing two boys in a cart, one in the basket jumping, the baby up front- drinking from the bottle mom is holding while she is trying to steer the cart and NOT knock down any displays or run into the other customers in the store. Now mind you, I haven't even been in the store but maybe five minutes. Okay, I'm ready to go home! The things we do for our kids.

So I finish feeding Leland his bottle and I'm able to use two hands to steer the shopping cart. Langdon is still jumping inside the basket of the cart, but hey, I'm not chasing after him. I load the milk, the pies and some bananas. Langdon loves bananas. He starts pulling them apart and trying to figure out how to open one so he can eat it. I finally get him to stop pulling them apart, after the second one is disconnected. Wow, he listened. Leland decides he doesn't want to sit anymore and starts crying. I pick him up and hold him in my left arm, while still using both hands to push the cart onward. I can't stop shopping just because the baby needs to be held. You learn to multitask when you've got kids. So once again, I am trying to push the cart that keeps veering off to the right. What a workout! Even though the two arms are using different muscles to push the cart forward.

Now some of you might be thinking, why don't you let Langdon walk and help you get the groceries? Well, as I mentioned before, he's two. That in itself should be all I need to say. To add to that, he's a rambunctious two year old. I have tried letting him help me shop before, when I was desperate. Then he just runs off down the aisle like we're playing a game of Hide and Seek. He hides and I spend the next 10 minutes trying to find the aisle he's in and then try to catch him before he runs off again, because remember, to him, it's a game. Or, if he's not off and running and I've got a good grip on his hand, he's grabbing food off the shelves and trying to open them. On a side note, Les has taken Langdon shopping and used the "special" carts, you know the ones, shaped as cars, but Langdon will jump out when Les stops to look at an item. Next thing he knows, Langdon has put 3 or 4 food items into the shopping cart. By the time Les gets to the checkout stand, he has to give the cashier about a dozen or so items to put back because he didn't know they were there. Now I must state this, Langdon isn't a bad kid, he's just got more energy than the Energizer Bunny. I just need to find a way to channel that energy into a more productive outlet while still being able to maintain the needs of my 7 month old. (Suggestions are always welcome.)

Needless to say, what should have been a quick 10 minute shopping trip, turned into a exhausting 30 minute, nerve-yanking, hair-pulling event. I was so happy to get home, put the pie in the oven and get the two boys into their beds. Not that Langdon was tired, he kept getting out of bed to see where I was. But that's another story. (Look for: Me and My Shadow.)

The moral of this story. Time your shopping trips right and know your alternatives in case you don't find exactly what you were looking for. There will be at least one time, when you don't have the time to be hunting, that you won't find exactly what you need. I hope you enjoyed my shopping trip. Know this, shopping, albeit grocery shopping, can be a mini-vacation for a parent with no kids around. Offer your friend an opportunity to shop while you watch the kids. Hey, you might need to be reciprocated. Happy Shopping!