Grocery Shopping This Week

Have you ever taken 5 little kids to the grocery store? It's really quite fun if you're not in a hurry.

This week I took my kids that are 8, 6, 5, 3, and 2. I loaded my 2 and 3yos in the cart and let the boys walk. We did great until we came to the yogurts and then they all seemed to come apart.

"Can I pick some yogurt too?!"
"No, I want the cherry one!!"
"Can I carry mine?"
"Let's open them NOW!"

....all at the same time.

Hmmm, time to re-align the troops. We were taking up the whole refrigerated case and people were waiting for us to get out of the way. So I steered us up ahead and had the boys walk with their hands behind their backs.

If you've never done this with your kids, it is the best way I've found to get them under control in the store. When their hands are still, their mouths usually follow.

The cart is getting full and it's time for Mally to walk. I have her hold hands with Nate with their free hands still behind their backs. This works ok until they decide to have a competition to see who can walk the fastest.

I switch kids and have Jes hold her hand instead. This leaves a disappointed Nate that is still wandering around sorta loose and we're taking up the whole aisle. So now I have them walk in a single file line behind me all with their hands behind their backs. Duckling style.

Now they look just like perfect angels and the other shoppers (especially the elderly ladies) comment on how cute and well behaved they are. HUGE smiles all around. Apparently they didn't see us on the yogurt aisle.

Mally's free hand that is supposed to be behind her back somehow makes it to the front and is rearranging all the jello. Now I have her walk with her hand on top of her head for the rest of the trip. That worked.

We come to the cookie aisle and I remind Jes that we're taking lunch boxes to the park on Saturday and I tell him he can pick some cookies for everybody. Serious decision making going on here. An older lady comes scurrying back and stands right beside me. She winks at me and says, "I just came back to see what he would pick!"

We make it through the check out and to the parking lot. I do a head count. I unload babies and everyone helps each other in their car seats and seat belts.....happy to have free hands again and begging me to let them carry the cookies in the house.