I'm sure you all remember my first adventure. If not, go read it really quick. I'll wait.
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Well, yesterday I decided I had to go grocery shopping AGAIN. I had made it almost a month without going, but you know how it is
Fair question!
Last time was, for all intensive purposes, a success. I went to the store and did indeed get groceries. However, it wasn't pleasant. I agree with Mr. Einstein when he says, " Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." ***At least that is who Google says said it. I could be wrong.*** Anyway, I couldn't use the wrap again. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my wrap, but I just can't use it when I need to actually be doing things. It is fine when I'm just going to be walking around and need to be holding Dexter for a long period of time. However, my arm length is too severely compromised when I wear it to do anything effectively. Lately, my back has been hurting me so that's another reason the wrap was just not an option. Dexter is turning into a little porkchop and he is HEAVY. I needed to find a better way to do this. So I did. I changed several aspects.
1) I didn't go on a Saturday. It almost killed me as that was my routine. I actually went on a Wednesday. I also went at 8AM. It was blissfully dead. I had to lug both children to the store because there were NO carts in the cart corrals in the parking lot.
2) I also changed HOW I shopped. Usually I start at the back of the store and zig zag so that when I'm done I can just run to the check out. This time I started on the second aisle (which I think the mayo, dressing, peanut butter aisle). I ended at the frozen section, bopped over to the baby section for Dexter's formula and some ravioli meals for Mad and then I shopped along the outside (where the cheeses, lunchmeat, hamburger, chicken etc). With a quick dart into the bread aisle, we then finished up with fresh fruits and veggies. I can't believe how smoothly this went. I actually had MORE groceries this time, but I had PLENTY of room in my cart. Usually I just have to carry the bananas because they fall off on the way to the check out counter. I know that most people will laugh when they read this part, but I have been shopping the SAME way for almost 5 years now. This was a big change for me.
3) This was the biggest change: the "child arrangement." I left Dexter in his carseat and put the carseat up on the "seat part" of the cart. Please, spare me the lectures of how it's not safe and what not unless you are going to offer to babysit when I go grocery shopping. :P Honestly, we will be ditching the infant car seat in a month or so and he will be in Mad's old convertible carseat (she is getting a bigger one!) so he will be sitting on his own in the cart seat soon enough.
I put Maddie in the "cart" part. A friend (yes Pam...I mean you! :) ) actually suggested this. I'm not going to lie. I thought she was bonkers. I guess because I was picturing something like this:
Whoopsie!
It actually worked pretty slick! Mad enjoyed being in the cart. She was actually my "helper." I would hand her things and she would organize them or stack them. This kept her fully occupied until we were at the frozen food section. She started to voice concern because things were falling on her. So I *gasp* let her out and she walked beside me....kinda. She did run behind or ahead of me at times, but she stayed in view. There were very FEW people in the store so she wasn't bothering anyone and the people who did see her thought she was just adorable. Plus, she had spent over half the trip organizing the things in the cart so she still wanted say over where things went in there. So I would hand them to her and she would put them in the cart. I was very very VERY proud of her!
We only had one altercation and it was at the very end of the trip. I was looking for a check out register and I found one (actually there were THREE in a row with NO line.....I'm going on a Wednesday at 8AM every time from here on out!). Maddie, however, was drunk with freedom and decided to take off on a dead sprint. Considering this is like my biggest fear when we are out in public, I freaked and ran after her. She ran all the way to the other entrance to the store. It was probably quite a sight. She was sprinting and I was sprinting after her with a FULL cart with one hand on the carseat so Dexter wouldn't fly off if we hit something. Thankfully, there were 3 Walmart employees who were working on a display. One of them stepped in front of her, stranger danger kicked in and she stopped. I thanked that chick over and over again. We might have ended up in the garden section if she hadn't stopped my daughter. I parked my cart by the display and walked the 6 feet over to get her. I left the cart because I couldn't see her over it and didn't want to accidentally hit her and also because she was kinda freaked out by seeing a giant cart coming at her at full speed....wouldn't you be? I say again, the store was pretty empty and I parked the cart with a sleeping Dexter who was strapped into his carseat and firmly attached to the cart next to the display that THREE Walmart employees were working on. I grabbed Maddie and as I was walking the 6 feet back to the cart, a random guy goes "Sheesh just leave the baby unattended." *eye roll* Yes. He was so unattended. I'm pretty sure the employees would have said something if someone had tried to take Dexter in the 4 seconds it took to walk up to Maddie and bring her up to the cart. If he had seen the situation 20 seconds earlier, he probably would have made some smart ass comment about how I let my child run all over the store. Either way, he looked like a man who sat on the couch and drank beer while his wife raised the children. Hey.....if he can ASSume about me then I can totally ASSume about him :P I just rolled my eyes and made Mad hold on to the cart as I walked to the checkout.
I was pretty happy as I was walking out to the car. To make things even better as I was putting my groceries in the back of the Edge I hear, "Could I help you out with that ma'am?" A cutie employee, who was checking the cart corrals, helped me load the rest of my groceries into my car. Good day indeed. I'll overlook that he called me ma'am. :)
Either way, I have to say that my daughter was a total rock star on this shopping trip! Other then the end, she was amazing and I'm so proud of her for being such a big girl and a great helper!
I will soooo be doing it this way from here on out!!!!!
