So Tired

This morning I took all four kids with me to the grocery store. This is the part of summer I like the least. They were actually well behaved, but I find it draining shepherding them through the store with a minimum of chaos. Normally I’ll pair up the older boys together and the twins with each other. Supermarkets, however, are much too exciting and the normal pairings are too combustible.

We were able to snag one of these which was a boon for me as it can potentially hold ¾ of my children. Max and Nate grabbed the front and were happy as clams together. Rebecca was a bit put out as she wanted to ride up front with Nate too. She didn’t want to ride in the traditional seat by the handlebar or walk. In the end she stuffed herself in an odd spot beneath the cart. This pleased Jake as it meant he could push the cart for a change. Max and Rebecca do not like to have their older brothers pushing the cart when they are riding in the handlebar seat. Either Mommy drives or there is a never ending barrage of complaints.

Then the circus begins. I have to keep the cart moving or various people spill out. They like to walk along with me, which really means running about in a fairly random manner. They don’t pull (much) from the shelves and they understand that when I say no I mean no. It really is out of consideration of the other shoppers. We have a tendency to fill the entire aisle as we pass through.

Today the squabbling was kept to a minimum and Jake got to push the cart for half the trip. Eventually Rebecca emerged from her spot and wanted me to push while she rode in the more traditional seat. Then Max had his clown car moment when he burst out and ran to front and tried to climb up the cart. I peeled him off the front and had Rebecca move in with Nate. Max was then deposited in the seat Rebecca just vacated. This worked well until checkout.

At checkout they all spilled out of the cart and were ready to roll. For once I was able to trap most of them between the cart and myself (Nate was still happily riding in the cart). With only one price check, we were out of there in a little less than 45 minutes.

When we got home I was wiped out. Nothing bad happened, it was just a draining experience for me.