Adventures in Grocery Shopping

It's always been somewhat of a challenge to go grocery shopping with Drew and Owen in tow. When they were just babies, I had to put their car seats in the grocery cart, living little to no room for groceries. Now that they can sit up on their own, I put one kid in the seat of the cart and the other kid in the basket part with the groceries. I know this is dangerous, but there aren't really any other practical options. So I just try to watch them like a hawk so they don't fall.

I feel, however, that I am not watching them as closely as I should. This oversight was brought to my attention last week when I found a bottle of septic system cleaner in my cart. I sure didn't put it there. And when I went back to the cleaners aisle to put it back, there on the shelf from whence it came was my new tropical scent deodorant that I had picked up on a different aisle, twenty minutes earlier. Somebody apparently thought that tropical scent wouldn't cut it, and I needed something stronger.

During this week's shopping trip, Owen was sitting in the basket part of the cart, and for every two or three items I put in the cart, he apathetically threw one or two out of the cart. When we got to the check stand, the cashier asked if I would like a box of cream cheese that wasn't all smashed up. Well, I would have, but since my kid was the one who did the smashing, I figured we'd have to keep it, so I had to tell her no.

Oh, and it's not just Drew and Owen that make shopping "fun." We went for our annual Easter Candy Round Up on Monday. The candy is all half price the day after Easter, and it has long been David's tradition to stock up on things like Cadbury Eggs and other seasonal favorites. So there we are in the store and David finds a box of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Eggs. This box is probably about 11 x 17 inches, and about 2 inches deep. Practically over-flowing with candy eggs. He casually puts it in the cart. I less-than-casually ask him, "You're not buying that whole box, are you?" To which he sheepishly replies, "No..." and puts the box back on the shelf, resigning himself to just a few handfuls of eggs. I later overheard him telling one of his buddies about the shopping trip, saying, "I actually was planning on buying that whole box." Whew. Good thing I stopped him. I don't need all that temptation in the house.

Here are some pictures of the boys, with their half-pounder chocolate bunnies David got them (they haven't actually eaten more than a couple nibbles, and I'm sure David and I will end up eating the vast majority of those rabbits, but the pictures are fun anyway).

Left: Drew; Right: Owen