Grocery shopping

with my four kids is actually not as difficult as it sounds.  I had Tess in the sling, and the store we go to lets kids have a free piece of fruit with each visit, which means that the first half of the shopping trip is beguiled for the kids by eating fruit. 

The hard part is staying on target.  It seems like roaming the aisles of the stores loosens up memories and questions and all kinds of commentary that my children have stored up.  Except for Tess.  She was content to chew on the edge of the sling. 

The others, however, had all kinds of things to ask, communicate, show, etc.  “Mom!  Guess what?”  “Mom, look at this!”  “Mom, do you remember?”  “Mom, what’s in Pirate Booty [which we weren’t getting, but was an Item of Interest]?”  With all of that, it’s very difficult to remember tomato paste – or anything else, for that matter.  It’s written on the list, of course, but between looking at the list and looking at the shelf, I had 3 or 4 other requests for my attention. 

Of course, the kids are also quite helpful, and they know where things are, what brands we get, and how to put things in the cart, it’s just that that much talking does make me forget what I’m doing, besides getting me home worn out and ready for quiet time!