Shopping with Two Young BOYS

One thing that frustrates me, I never go shopping ALONE. I often come home forgetting half of what I needed  because I was too busy chasing a 2 year old around the store and playing games of in the cart & out of the cart.

My grocery trip with two boys goes something like this; first get Baby K into the cart seat, then explain to AJ that he is to WALK WITH ME, or else he will be put in the back of the cart – and YES I can and WILL make room for him in the back of the cart! AJ does pretty well for the most part. After three aisles he is bored and ready to be done. I really can not blame him, afterall he will be 3 in August and grocery shopping can be a boring event.

This past Friday I decided I would go to the next town over for groceries because the store is way cheaper {saved over $100 on a full cart of groceries cheaper}. Although I knew the boys would fall asleep on the way to this town, I was more worried about saving money since I am trying to get our family back onto the strict budget we created.

As we are walking up to the store AJ sees all the pretty flowers outside of the store for sale {he loves smelling flowers} and so we smell EVER SINGLE blooming flower there was prior to walking into the store. That was the longest session of smelling flowers I have ever been witness of.

As we near the second entry door, AJ decides to just STAND STILL. He will not go through the door, mean while I have someone behind me. It’s okay, I say, “AJ you have to get in the store bud we have people behind us” and it snapped him out of his dazed appearance.

Then we are in the store, which apparently thinks it needs 50 beach balls hanging from the ceiling to remind shoppers Summer is coming and a Cabot Cheese cow above the freezer. It’s just the right amount of “things” to distract my easily distracted AJ. Thank you store owner!

After I finally got AJ’s attention long enough to march, clap hands and keep moving forward helping Mommy get all the groceries into the cart we round the end of the aisle – where appears the beach balls hanging from the ceiling again – there goes AJ AGAIN. He just loves balls, seriously stops dead in his tracks to point out every color and every kind of ball. There were pink balls, which apparently are “sissys” and “soccer balls” again his sisters, and then there are “basketballs”, and after another customer so politely told him that one of the balls was a “beach ball” he started saying “beach balls Mama”. While I was happy the customer taught sweet AJ what the balls were, I was not happy that they were distracting us for a matter of 20 minutes when all I wanted to do was get in and out of the grocery store. {I dislike shopping very much}

So our shopping trip went pretty well. I was able to march, sing, and clap hands to keep the boys happy. I actually had a SHOCKING thing happen  while I was shopping all alone with the two boys; a customer came up to me and said, “I Just had to tell you that your children are so well behaved. They truly are wonderfully behaved”. I must admit I was in shock at first but politely said “oh thanks. I appreciate the kind words”. And then as I finished up shopping I looked around thinking what she saw that was so good? I was a noisy Mama clapping my hands, marching and constantly praising my AJ so to keep him on “happy” time so that I could get in and out of the store fast without a huge scene. I mean I was seriously way loud, I was being a Mommy you usually do not see grocery shopping. Clapping, singing songs, acting like there was no one around except my children and me.

Apparently, positive praise while grocery shopping and allowing your child to help you put groceries into the cart – no matter how long it will take – allows your child to be happy and when they are happy – YOU ARE HAPPY. SO next time you go grocery shopping all alone with your little ones, and are scared they will be crazy out of control; do what I did, sing, clap, march, who cares who is watching – you are being Mommy. Make shopping a fun game and your child(ren) will be happy the whole time, and just think a stranger may pull you aside to tell you how wonderfully behaved your child(ren) are doing!