Shopping Trip II

We had no food in the house, of course. If you read my last post, you'll know why. I knew I would face the necessity of a trip to the grocery store today. I tried to pretend it was not coming. I just loved having a $50 grocery bill last week--why mess up that record with planning for the next week when the hungry hordes would be back? I lived with my fantasy grocery bill for a week, and today, I had to pay the Denial Troll that lives down the street at Hy-Vee.

Before my metaphors get any worse, I'll spare everyone and just tell you what happened. It was actually a fairly positive experience. Here's what I did:

1. Missions: I had a pad of paper, on which I printed one or two items that I needed (with GREAT specificity). I sent the two older ones off on a "mission"--they were to get the lowest price unless I gave them a specific brand to buy. This kept them busy most of the trip--plus, saved me some time shopping.

2. Separation: After a brief, unsuccessful stint sharing the seat in the car-cart, I told the younger two boys that they had to take turns with the seat. This worked out well as Seth was excited about his "missions" with Zac.

3. Fun with Scales: The boys weighed every fruit we bought. Good practice in reading scales for them, and as long as I didn't find Seth swinging from it, things were great (yes, it has happened before...)

4. Only One Store per Trip: The key. Period.

They got to ride on the horsey this time.