Come Along With Me

I thought that having child number two would mean I'd become home-bound. I watched mothers at the grocery store with their four kids in tote and marveled. Two would be hanging out of the built-in car in front, the baby would be in its carrier in the basket, and the oldest would be required to walk along side the cart. How did Mom's do it? I knew I didn't have the patience or stamina or talent to pull something like that off. No sir. Solo trips to the grocery store were required for me.

Then one day I got brave. After hearing that the Smith's bakery offers free courtesy cookies to the kids, I thought that maybe I would try it. We found a special "car cart" without trouble (Albertson's is a bit more difficult) and I buckled the kids in while they experimented with the horns and steering wheels. Those carts are Genius! We strode through the double doors and over to the bakery counter. After finally getting someone's attention with a few waves and "excuse me's" we had our cookies and the shopping adventure began. Other than running into a few corners and aisle displays with my "wide-load" car cart, there were very few incidents.

Cookies + Car = Carefree grocery shopping

Now I look forward to trips to the grocery store. Unless I stop for too long in an aisle to browse, the kids are great (this does get tricky though when I am coupon shopping in a store full of empty shelves - that's the pits!). Shopping trips are a great activity. We can even make it through, sometimes, without the cookie. And window shopping at the mall isn't that bad either. We'll stop and play on the coin-operated toys for a while when a break is required.

The obedience my kids have been learning on those frequent shopping trips was put to the test yesterday. After being unsuccessful in finding a babysitter, I contemplated canceling my doctor's appointment. Then, I got the courageous idea to bring them both with me. I had some hesitation, but felt pretty confident since I knew it would be a quick trip. A quick trip to the doctor's? Yeah, right. What was I thinking?

I brought the umbrella stroller for Zion and knew I could entertain Evan with it because he loves to push her. He did great. We had to wait for 20 minutes. They ate the few snacks I packed. They both did great. I was in and out in the lab and they sat so perfectly. It was great. I was so thrilled with their behavior.

I love taking them places. It is the highlight of our days when we get to get out. I love spending that time with them. And I love that I'm not home-bound after all.