Grocery Shopping!!

Everyone that HATES grocery shopping...I am right up there with you. It is more than just a grocery shopping experience with our little family. I have never blogged about it before, but after yesterday's experience, it deserves one. For anyone that really wants to know, I grocery shop like my mother did. I plan meals from paycheck to paycheck and then go shopping for all of it in one day. If I were to do this by myself, it would take at most 3 hours, if I go from store to store (usually to get the good deals on meat...STRONGLY DISLIKE the taste of Walmart meat). Since I am at that store, I might as well buy what is on sale there instead of having to price match more goods at Walmart.

Every grocery shopping day I take the kids out to lunch. Somewhere cheap, of course. We usually eat at Costco. After I got all the kids out of the car and into the store, I looked for my membership card and couldn't find it. For all I know, it could be in the garbage from Lavea'i going through my purse. He likes to stick things in the garbage that shouldn't be in there and pull things out that should be in the garbage. Needless to say, I had to take them out of the cart and load them back into the van with Kalena crying because she wanted a hot dog and Maika peeing outside of the van because he couldn't hold it. As we were driving off, it dawned on me that I should just have asked for a new membership card. Oh well, we ended up eating at Sonic. And it is a good thing they have hot dogs. I ordered a foot long for Kalena and she ate the whole thing along with some fries. She can pound them.

After Sonic, we went to Macy's grocer to get "Bear Creek" chili. It really is some "Darn Good Chili" and that is the only place that isn't too expensive that carries it. Macy's has the fun carts with steering wheels in the front that the kids love to fight over and one child is always crying in the beginning because there isn't a spot left. That happened to be Kalena, so I switched carts. That solved that problem. Well, at Macy's I took the kids to the bathroom once. But, when we got out to the car and I finished putting the groceries into the van I went around to buckle in Lavea'i and saw Tula'i standing there telling me that his pants were all wet. He hadn't even given me any warning to take him potty. I had clean underwear, but no clean pants. So, he was stuck in those pants for the rest of the day shopping...poor guy. Done with Macy's at 1:45p.m.

From Macy's we made our way down to Buy Low in Provo (about 20 minutes away) Lavea'i screaming half the time until he fell asleep. At Buy Low I ended up taking Tula'i pee 3x's, Maika 2x's, Kalena once. Back and forth from the bathroom to the groceries. Then, I had to let Tula'i out of the cart because of the groceries and away he went...it doesn't matter what I do to try and get him to stick by me...I NEED A LEASH!!!! Finally, done with Buy Low at 4p.m.

Now onto Walmart, the MOST dreaded stores of them all. 3 of 4 kids are asleep and I have to wake them up. The checkout lines are always long and half the time the checkers are slow themselves. PATIENCE...this is where I learn patience. During this excursion, I am worn out, the kids are all tired. Tired kids + tired Mom = ANGER definitely not a good combo. But, once again you see me running between the bathroom and groceries. Oh, what joy! On top of that, Tula'i running down the aisles and then deciding to come back when he feels like it. I was fuming by the end of this journey. Some lady even stopped me and said, "I have been there before, just breathe." And this was as I was scolding Maika and Tula'i for getting in peoples way from play fighting all over the place. Could I just break down at this point? I wish, but not there. Finally done with the accumulating all my groceries and after waiting in the checkout line for a few minutes (being the next one to set my groceries on the counter to be checked), Tula'i tells me he has to go to the bathroom. I patiently ask him if he can wait. He said he could, but his dancing around kept getting worse, so we left the line and took him to the bathroom for the very last time.

We finally made it home by 6p.m. or so and now I had dinner to cook...cheese sandwiches. Of course, I am not making anything that is going to take more time. The kids were good and helped bring in all of the groceries. Cliff got some video of it because they were so anxious to help out. Cliff helped put the groceries away while I made the sandwiches. Afterward, I got the kids into bed so he could study for a test he had to take today. But, out of all nights, why did Lavea'i decide he needed to stay up. He screamed his head off until Cliff came and got him. I headed off to the Library to return a movie so I wouldn't be charged a late fee...I finally had it. I was done in for. TEARS just came down and was done within a few minutes. That was all I needed. When I got back to the house, I tried once again to put Lavea'i down, but he still decided to scream and not go down. By this time it was 9:30p.m. Cliff came and got him again around 10p.m. and told me to go to bed. I couldn't go to bed though, because I still had laundry to get done and a kitchen to clean up from dinner. I wish sometimes that I wasn't such a maniac about needing to get things done. And now, I am here blogging because I need a break!