"Are All Those Kids Yours?"

I had plans all weekend of getting to Michael's, but somehow I just never made it there.  My hope was to go there without any kids, but instead I went this morning with all 3.  Why do I continue to do this to myself?  I ask myself this question all the time because everytime I walk out of that store with my kids, I swear to myself I will never do that again.  Here's how this morning went....

When I pull into the parking lot, I remind everyone of the rules - (1) no taking things off shelves without asking me and (2) no asking for anything.  Only 2 rules, so it should be pretty easy (at least I think so).

When we get inside, my 19 month old wants to sit in the seat of the shopping cart and my almost 3 year old daughter wants to sit in the back of the shopping cart.  I'm thinking to myself "yay!" - only my 4 year old is "loose" in the store.  I try to hurry and get to all the aisles I need to before I know someone starts to fuss.  But, my older daughter decides she needs to use the potty.  Of course!  Do you know that everytime I take her to either Michael's or JoAnn's she needs to use the potty?  (Even she has gone right before we leave the house and she's had nothing else to drink since then).  For some reason she loves to complain about the smell in the Michael's bathroom (very strong cleaner) and she loves to comment about the hole in the wall at JoAnn's.  Can I just say - frustrating! 

And then my 4 year old spots some toy that he really, really, really wants.  Tears come and he then follows me down each aisle crying about how much he now "needs" that toy.  Yes, I was that annoying mom in the store who lwas oosing total control of her kids....

So once one starts, they all seem to chime in....then the baby started to get upset because her older sister wasn't letting her hold anything that mommy was buying.  And now she is refusing to sit in the cart so I must carry her if I don't want her standing.  I rush to get in line and as my older daughter is helping to put everything on the counter, her elbow hits a box of huge bouncy balls (seriously, who puts a box of bouncy balls on a too small counter at the check out ares?) so they all go bouncing down to the ground.  As my son tries to collect them, I go ahead and pay (and forget to use my 40% off coupon).  In the midst of all that, the woman behind me (who is probably close to 80 years old) asks "are all those kids yours?".  With a smile on my face, I look her in the eyes, and respond "yes, of course they are".  Her response "oh".  What was she trying to get at?  I only have 3 kids.  So many other people have many more kids than I do.  And it really isn't all that uncommon to families to have 3 kids.  And what business is it of hers?

So anyway, I get handed my receipt (and see a new 40% off coupon which triggers my memory of the coupon I forgot to use) and am about to walk away when my son comments that he's still holding the package of buttons and scotch tape that I wanted to buy - he had never put them on the counter. Ugh!  So I go to pay for those and ask if I can return the expensive item from before to use my coupon I had forgotten to give her.  Well, that would entail calling a manager up front to handle the return.  Doesn't she realize that I just want to get out of there as quickly as possible?

So I pick up a bag of candy corns and use my 40% coupon on the $2.50 scotch tape.  And how I would have loved to enjoy those candy corns on the drive home, but.....(I'll save that story for tomorrow)....

Share |