The trouble with having to go into town for the shopping during the holidays is definitely the fact that I have to take all four of my ‘little helpers’ with me!! During term time, I would always do the shopping on the morning when I have the least number of children (so school and playgroup morning). I can get more past the youngest two, if they put something in the basket, I can get it back onto the shelf again without them noticing, and the whinging about wanting to have sometime seems to pass more quickly with the little ones, when I have said ‘No’ to whatever it is they want (Abbie seems to be able to remember days later, “Mummy, I really wanted that such-and-such that you wouldn’t let me have.”)
So off we set this morning. Four helpers walking, me pushing the big pram (I need the pram to put the shopping in and to put H and G in if I need to). We head to the supermarket, where each child has to have one of the baskets on wheels to pull (it is also pretty much guaranteed that Georgia will give up pulling hers halfway round and I’ll end up with it!). So the next issue is who gets which bit of shopping in their basket, it all has to be careful managed and negotiated to avoid us ending up with four large blocks of cheese, when we actually only need one. Apparently there are certain bits of shopping that are more desirable to have in your basket than others, getting the Grapes or the Scotch Pancakes is always preferable to getting the Swede or Lettuce!! Then there is trying to avoid any of them taking out an old lady’s legs with their basket, that one’s a bit tricky as none of them actually look where they’re going (those old ladies need to move a bit quicker!!). Then there’s those really useful displays that supermarkets like to stack at the end of the isles to catch your attention – they are always just perfectly positioned to be rammed into by a basket being pulled by a two year old who has no idea that she needs to pull the basket a little past the end before starting to turn!
At one point Millie was crying (because she didn’t get the cheese, and being given butter as the alternative wasn’t going down too well) Georgia was sat on the floor crying because she didn’t want to pull her basket anymore (told you!), and Hannah was crying because she wanted to hold my hand! (which I was happy to do, but I was just in the middle of trying to get the butter down for Millie and pull Georgia’s basket!). I could see the sympathy in the other shopper’s eyes as they past (or stepped over) our little party of numerous baskets and crying children! But what they need to understand is that I deal with this on a daily basis, and I am NOT going let it get to me! Most people gave me an encouraging smile, sometimes with a ‘been there, done that’ look on their faces if the kids were playing up, or an ‘aaahhhhh’ if the kids were all pulling their shopping baskets nicely. I also thought I might have seen a few looks of disapproval from some, as they tried to get past the baskets, noisy kids and kids rolling around on the floor blocking the isle, but hey, I’m not going to make any apologies for taking the kids to the local shops! (they are part of this community too!)
On the way back from the trauma of the shopping experience in town, I always vow that I will NEVER do it again and that from now on, I will only shop in the middle of the night, in Tesco, ON MY OWN! (Until the next time I find myself heading into town, surrounding by four little helpers....how quickly I forget!!)
So off we set this morning. Four helpers walking, me pushing the big pram (I need the pram to put the shopping in and to put H and G in if I need to). We head to the supermarket, where each child has to have one of the baskets on wheels to pull (it is also pretty much guaranteed that Georgia will give up pulling hers halfway round and I’ll end up with it!). So the next issue is who gets which bit of shopping in their basket, it all has to be careful managed and negotiated to avoid us ending up with four large blocks of cheese, when we actually only need one. Apparently there are certain bits of shopping that are more desirable to have in your basket than others, getting the Grapes or the Scotch Pancakes is always preferable to getting the Swede or Lettuce!! Then there is trying to avoid any of them taking out an old lady’s legs with their basket, that one’s a bit tricky as none of them actually look where they’re going (those old ladies need to move a bit quicker!!). Then there’s those really useful displays that supermarkets like to stack at the end of the isles to catch your attention – they are always just perfectly positioned to be rammed into by a basket being pulled by a two year old who has no idea that she needs to pull the basket a little past the end before starting to turn!
At one point Millie was crying (because she didn’t get the cheese, and being given butter as the alternative wasn’t going down too well) Georgia was sat on the floor crying because she didn’t want to pull her basket anymore (told you!), and Hannah was crying because she wanted to hold my hand! (which I was happy to do, but I was just in the middle of trying to get the butter down for Millie and pull Georgia’s basket!). I could see the sympathy in the other shopper’s eyes as they past (or stepped over) our little party of numerous baskets and crying children! But what they need to understand is that I deal with this on a daily basis, and I am NOT going let it get to me! Most people gave me an encouraging smile, sometimes with a ‘been there, done that’ look on their faces if the kids were playing up, or an ‘aaahhhhh’ if the kids were all pulling their shopping baskets nicely. I also thought I might have seen a few looks of disapproval from some, as they tried to get past the baskets, noisy kids and kids rolling around on the floor blocking the isle, but hey, I’m not going to make any apologies for taking the kids to the local shops! (they are part of this community too!)
On the way back from the trauma of the shopping experience in town, I always vow that I will NEVER do it again and that from now on, I will only shop in the middle of the night, in Tesco, ON MY OWN! (Until the next time I find myself heading into town, surrounding by four little helpers....how quickly I forget!!)
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