Thursday, November 6, 2008

My Little Personal Shopper

I don't know how you moms with more than one child do it - how can you go shopping without going completely insane? As Lincoln gets older and more mobile, I am quickly realizing that shopping is the most arduous task there is. Gone are the days of lazily strolling down aisles of clothes or taking a long list to Wal-Mart. I make my list, get a game plan ready, and then zoom through the store as quickly as possible while trying to keep Link from standing up in the cart, crying too much, or opening all my purchases before they are paid for. I have to be equipped with candy, toys, and impulse-buys to keep this little guy happy.

Here's a recent story to illustrate my point:

Last week while grocery shopping, Lincoln had already had it with the trip about 2 minutes after walking into the store. I was in the produce department and needed to buy some apples, which Link was very excited about since he likes apples now and thinks they are balls to throw. He wanted to help me by putting the apples into the plastic bag, which I let him do. Then he sat in his seat in the cart happily with the bag of apples, putting them in and out of the bag. "Great!" I thought, "This is going to keep him busy for a while; and I don't even need to break out the M&Ms yet!" A few aisles later I notice Lincoln started munching on one of the apples. Oh well, he was really enjoying it, and again, it's healthier than the M&M option in my bag - so I let him chew on the apple.

This is where I made the fatal mistake: NEVER leave a 19.5 month-old to his own devices with a bag of apples!

The next time I look at him, he is munching on another apple and then I see ALL the apples in the bag with little bite marks out of them! Ahhhh! I took all the apples away from him, paid, and got out of the store as quickly as possible.



It wasn't until after I told Ryan this story that he asked "Well, how did you expect to pay for an eaten apple? Aren't they sold by the pound?" Oops! I guess in my hopes to keep my son quiet I hadn't even considered the fact that I would have to pay by weight instead of just by item (like what usually happens with fishy crackers, fruit snacks, cookies, etc.). Luckily all the bites added up weren't that much apple, so I don't think I ripped off the store too badly. I probably should go back and give them a dollar or something...

8 comments:

Lant Family said...

That's funny. Yeah Lucy hates sitting in the shopping cart. If I am running to Target and want to look at clothes and only get a few items I will put her in her stroller--you know a 5 point harness. But If I ahve to go to walmart or weekly grocery shopping I will only and ONLY go with JJ. I know some moms think that is rude to make the husband go but he really doesn't mind and I can get it done much faster, he just follows me up and down the isle and pushes the cart and I throw things in it. When we have more kids I think I will go late at night when they are all asleep--plus that is alone time!

Karen said...

haha! What a great story!! I love the photo to go along with the story too.

Lulu said...

hahaha, that's definitely a story to tell him one day.
very cute. i can only go to the store w/ the girls if i'm not buying a ton of things. that way i'm not in there for too long.
but be even more careful when he'll get to the point where he wants to walk around.
nina runs up and down the isles and tries to play peek-a-boo. which drives me nuts, and scares the crap out of me. mainly because I just heard that there was an amber alert for a little girl here in elizabeth, nj who got abducted from the grocery store when she was w/ her mother.
so ya, not to freak you out, but i don't think it'll get better till their in their teens.

afro said...

perfectly done.

you're right...they are smart in a different way then you've generally prepared for.

which is why one of the things I really missed after becoming a single parent, was the evening shopping trips I could make WITHOUT my two little helpers.

and how i learned even now to shop on my lunch hour.

they still go in two different directions, but know that the penalty is they either get to stay where I can see them or they keep their hand on the cart or on my belt loop.

Keep up the great work! *big smile coming your way from SLC* -af.

afro said...

oh. and the thing they STILL know about and follow is

"only touch with one finger"

it was instituted with Amy...who is curious beyond belief, and if I said "NO TOUCHING" that was a fast track to a public hissy fit....

so, it was ...ok, amy...touch with only one finger....

i figured that she couldn't pick anything up with only one finger, but she was old enough to feel "involved".

to show how long they've remembered this (yes, i still use it for my 10yr. old and 8 yr. old ;-) amy said to me..."mom, you know you really can't PICK UP anything if you're only touching with one finger...

sweet little angels...that only need a little help here and there...

;-)

one other trick is the ears. pull their ears after counting to three when they're links age, and it will only take a couple yanks before all you'll have to do is touch the back of their ears and they will listen.

even now, i can count to three with just my fingers, and my sweet girls come running. who know's what I would really do if they decided not to

ok...older sister-in-law...lecture done. just your stories remind me of the fun I had with the girls. it was the three of us from two and four years old on.

have fun with the boy! and "hi" to Ry. -af.

afro said...

um...the pulling the ears thing is to get them to obey.

ok. jamie bless your heart...please let me visit here again...even after such a long post...

where else will i use my Early Childhood Education skills/class info...put to be able to feel like i can help others.

heaven knows they don't pay the educators. which is why i moved over to business

happy november. really. that's all for now. i think i'm a little "Blog happy" still....older sister is always fun. just ask Jen Wiener-girl :-)

Sassy Savvy said...

Oh man, Carly isn't as mobile as Link but I hear you! Most of the time she won't sit in the front seat and so she stand in the back part of the cart. I try to keep breakable things like eggs and chips up front, but of course she wants to hold THOSE items. And then she falls over every time I start, stop, or turn!

Katie said...

Jamie,
forever I was trying to get on your blog but it was blocked. little did i know it was your journal -- duh. sorry for the delay in comment.
yes, tyler's my brother. they are living in wisconsin now, expecting baby #2 in just a few weeks.
dave and i are doing really well. i got the update on your little family, too, last night with your parents. sounds like you guys are doing great.
good to hear from you!

katie