grocery shopping

I hate it. Last night before bed I could feel myself starting to panic, as I envisioned the following mornings trip to the grocery market. I tried to time it perfectly so the baby would be sleeping, the boys would have energy, and everyone would have a happy experience. But, the universe was against me today. Can you relate?

Immediately as we walk in, 2 yr old wants to get out of the cart and help push the cart. Sounds okay to me, but then 4 yr old wants to help push the cart. Then fighting breaks out because pushing the cart together is not okay with them, so I say no one can push the cart. More whining, and complaining. Then 4 yr old wants to help put groceries in the cart, then 2 yr old wants to help put groceries in the cart--only they want to put the same groceries in the cart-more fighting, and more whining. Then 2 yr old wants to hold onto the side of the cart. Then the cart nearly tips over, and 2 yr old is crying, unhurt, thank goodness. Then I put 2 yr old back into the cart. Then baby wakes up and isn't happy in his Mei-tei, so I curse myself for not bringing a front-facing wrap. Then I wonder why I don't own a car seat for shopping trips such as this one. Although I know he wouldn't be happy in there, either. Now I am holding baby under one arm meanwhile trying to find everything on our list. Then 2 yr old wants back out of the cart. Then older boys decide to run and scream up and down the aisles, which comes with a disgruntled head-shake from the old lady in the wheel chair. Then 2 yr old suddenly has to go pee, so we rush to the bathroom, which is all the way in the back of the store. It's filthy, the toilet seat is covered in urine. So,with baby under one arm and 2 yr old under the other, I lift 2 yr old over the toilet to pee so he won't touch anything. Pee goes everywhere, thus contributing to the mess. We get out of there as fast as possible and continue with our list, only now 4 yr old is upset because he says I didn't feed him enough breakfast and he's starving. "Like really starving," he says. So I tell him he has to wait, but 10 minutes pass and he's still upset because he's starving. So I open a pack of unpaid granola bars, which I hate doing, and makes me feel so white trashy.
Now we can keep going, stomachs fuller, back to finishing our list. Except my arm hurts because baby is 15 lbs and I am still holding him under my arm, except now he starts to get hungry so he's fussing, too, which gives me anxiety. And I'd like to stop and feed him, but hanging out in the store for 20 mins, with two wild boys on the loose doesn't sound like a good idea. We finally get all our items and make it to the line. The boys are now spinning the plastic bag holder around in circles while I frantically throw groceries onto the conveyer belt. We're almost out of there when I hear the cashier say, "Didn't you know this is no longer a WIC item?" which means we have to wait while the bagger goes back into the aisles to find my correct tortillas. Meanwhile there is a long line forming, with disgruntled shoppers glancing impatiently at their watches.We finally drive home as fast as possible, so I can get into the house and feed our fussy, hungry baby. I can't carry all the groceries into the house because our apartment is a 2 minute walk from the parking lot, and up one flight of stairs. So, I carry a few bags and promise to come back when I can. I finally get in the house, feed the baby, change his diaper, put a movie on for the boys and start lunch. Then an hour 1/2 later I realize I still have to retrieve the other half of the groceries in the car--my milk, frozen juice, and hot dogs have just been sitting out there, hopefully not rotting. So, I run out there as quickly as possible, leaving all 3 kids in the house--hoping that 2 yr old doesn't accidentally hurt the baby, for the 4 minutes I'm outside. I get back inside, put away groceries, take an advil for my new migraine, sit down, and take a breather. Then I remember I forgot to buy the pumpkin puree for the pumpkin cookies I promised we'd make today. ugh!

Summary: I realize there are many preventable measures I could've taken, and good-parenting tools I should have practiced today--but sometimes It seems like no matter what I do, grocery shopping is a challenge.
I guess I just feel like saying,
Life was a lot easier when I could grab a sandwich at Subway and call it good.