I shop for two weeks (or more) of groceries at a time. I do this for two reasons:
- It reduces my spending because staying out of the store keeps impulse items out of my cart (both child impulses and my impulses).
- I don’t have to grocery shop as often. Despite what my daughter thinks, it isn’t my favorite thing to do.
Yesterday, I had to make my bi-monthly Costco run, along with my biweekly grocery trip. We’d gone out of town and then gotten sick, and since I expect the germs to make a fairly regular appearance for the next several months, I knew that this was my window of opportunity.
Costco is usually a great place to go with toddlers. They usually supply 5-6 sample stations throughout the store so you can try the items packaged in such massively-huge bags that it’s intimidating to “try” them by buying.
However, I made a critical tactical error yesterday. I arrived right when they open the store, and then headed straight to the back where the perishable food, and samples, are located.
I now know that it takes those sample stations a good half hour to 45 minutes to get set up and produce the first wave of samples. For a toddler who knows the drill, sees the mouth-watering photos set up, and smells the food cooking, this is sheer torture.
So mine spent that 30-45 minutes alternately screaming, crying, and keening. In Costco, where the concrete floors and metal shelves amplify and reflect head-splitting sounds to shocking levels.
Then, of course, when we tried the tortellini with pesto sauce, we dribbled pesto all over the cart seat, which he was climbing all over. Pesto down the back of a toddler’s white (stupid stupid stupid wardrobe choice!) football pants looks just like… well, I’m sure you can fill in the blank.
As worn as I am at the end of the day and as bad as I hate to put myself alone in parking lots at night, I’m thinking very seriously about doing all future food shopping alone after my husband gets home from work.
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Now there's the sane thought: Go by yourself. It took me a while to figure that one out, too. And believe me, when that toddler is in his teens, he's just as bad to take shopping. My two were recently running up and down the aisles with the new "mini carts" they have at my grocery store. They're so bummed that these were not available 10 years ago. Enjoy your "THAT family"!
That should be a book title!
It would be a best seller ;D
Thanks for celebrating with me!
I usually end up trying to shop at night! I had almost an identical experience at Costco just last week! I will never go first thing in the morning again!
Oh man! I've been there! Only none of our local stores have samples, but if we're ever anywhere that does I capitalize on it!
Ah, groceries stores, and the things I thought only happened to OTHER people…..
So last year or so, I take my happy, healthy kids to the grocery store, and put them in the two seater kid cart completely with their own steering wheels, facing the larger basket that holds the food. Half-way through, making great headway…
until the daughter says 'I don't feel so good' and promply loses her lunch all over the food in front of her.
We had to beeline for the staff bathroom at the back, peel off her clothes, and send a clerk for the largest t-shirt he could find at the front… while another donned gloves and threw everything away.
I think we went home with a frozen pizza and a new shirt, crossing my fingers that we could get out of the store without further ado….
Many years ago I gave up shopping during the day with the children. For several years I only shopped between 9PM and 2AM ALONE. Now that my kids are older I let them take turns shopping with me. Mostly because I can no longer remember everything on the list (because its too long to write it all down) and mainly because I need help with all of the bags. We have 5 kids. Three of them are BOYS with bottomless pits for stomachs.
Love your blog!
I took the herd to Target to get an antibiotic. They had not had it at Meijer or Walmart or Kroger. I had called ahead and they had it.
Except we were well past our prime. Lauren was screaming about her mouth hurting and how she didn't need medicine, Shannon was crying because she was hungry and tired.
Then genius that I am decided to waste time in the shoe section and found two pairs of shoes clearance for $4. Great except I have 3 kids. Anyone who has 3 kids knows that 2 is a VERY bad number.
I ended up buying them all a treat after we left the store. Not to reward their behavior but to celebrate I hadn't killed anyone in the store.