I Hate...

Grocery Shopping!

I'm a terrible procrastinator about almost everything, and grocery shopping is no exception. I was gonna go yesterday, but ended up not, but I really had no choice about going today. Well, I was gonna go before the kids got home from school but waited too late and had to wait till they got home. I really don't like going alone with the kids, but I really left myself no choice. So after the kids did their homework, we headed off to the grocery store.

You know, I used to think it was hard going to the store with babies and toddlers. But at least I could keep them confined in the cart. With very active 6- and 8-year-olds, it's much more challenging. Half my time was spent keeping track of them. Yes, I put them to work helping me, but sometimes that was terribly distracting as I was trying to decide what I needed, or what brand I wanted. I got lots of chuckles from other shoppers though, as the kids asked me what was next and I asked them to be quiet and let me think. And in the frozen foods section, where they have the big freezers on either side of the aisle, they also have stuff in the center of the aisle. The kids would hide behind the stuff in the aisle until they heard me open a freezer, then one of them would appear behind me to grab what I had to put it in the cart. I nearly stepped on them several times. And I lost count of how many times I told them to move from in front of the cart. The Princess was the worst for that...she'd put something in the cart and then stand right in front of it until I fussed at her to move from in front of the cart so we could continue.

When we were finished shopping, of course they had to help unload the cart onto the conveyor belt at the register. Then the baggers put our stuff into two grocery carts, although I didn't have a problem getting it into one. So the kids pushed one of the carts out to the car. I had to get them back on track going in the right direction several times. Once we got out of the store into the parking lot, they thought it would be a good idea to take off running. I let them know real quick that it wasn't a good idea and if they ran the cart into anybody's car, including mine, I'd blister their hineys.

At home they wanted to help me unload the car, so I let them. That was a huge help...they brought the stuff in and I put it away. But I have to say that I HATE the plastic bags that Food Lion uses. I swear they buy the cheapest ones they possibly can get away with, and they don't double-bag anything. So by the time I get everything home and in the house, at least half the bags are broken. This evening I was emptying one bag into the pantry and it broke. Two jars of spaghetti sauce fell out on the floor, and one of them broke. Eeeeewwwwwwwwwww! Thank goodness that happened close to the end of the entire process, because I'd had just about enough.

So next time I procrastinate about grocery shopping, I'll try to remind myself about today's experience.