My Everyday: How We Do the Grocery Store

My phone decided to freak out on me and I can't access any of my photos at the moment, so instead here's a fun one that my girlfriend snapped of me at the park - Violet had a meltdown (she was tired, had a cold, and it was miserably hot and sunny), we were a fair distance from the car, and she was refusing to walk, so I borrowed my friend's Ergo carrier, strapped Violet onto my back, and made a dash for the car. NOT how we do the grocery store (I'm not insane I swear!) Here's how we actually do the grocery store...

After I had Lucy I quickly realized that running simple errands was now going to take some serious strategizing. Luckily Kev does a lot of our grocery shopping now (thanks honey!), but on occasion I have to get groceries. On those days here's what we do:

Lucy goes in the Ergo carrier. Our grocery store does provide carts onto which you can safely strap your car seat, but then Violet is forced to walk and I have to lug the car seat up to the store and hunt for those particular carts which are not always in the same spot, gah! So we've given up on that and just keep it simple with the Ergo. Violet either walks or goes in the cart. She always wants the car cart (does your grocery store have those? That thing that seems like a cute idea before you become a parent, but then you realize that the thing is seriously like driving a tractor trailer?) Now that I have two kids I've learned that I just have to say no for my own sanity. I also take advantage of the deli kiosk - it saves so. much. time. I go there first, punch in my deli order, and come back after I've done the rest of my shopping to pick up my lunchmeat and cheese. It seriously shaves at least ten minutes off of my shopping trip!

Since they've both gotten older and I've gotten more experienced with juggling two kids the grocery store has gotten a lot easier, but when Lucy was a newborn and Violet had just turned three, there were some seriously trying times. On one particular occasion I was completely exhausted when I left the store - Violet had had a couple of tantrums (she was newly three and had a tough time adjusting to sharing me right after I had Lucy), I was still sore from giving birth, had sprinted to the restroom twice carrying both of them (toddler pee emergency!), Violet had spilled her snack all over the floor in one of the aisles, and I was incredibly sleep deprived. I just wanted to cry as I was finally putting my grouchy preschooler, fussing infant, and giant cart full of groceries into the car, when a sweet older woman came up and gave me a smile and a knowing look. She said, "I know how tired you must be sweetie - let me take that cart back to the store for you." It was such a small gesture, but it made such a difference. Amazing how one small, kind gesture from a stranger can completely change your day for the better!

And here's how some of my favorite blogging mamas do the grocery store:

Dani of Sometimes Sweet:

How I do the grocery store has drastically changed in the past two months with the birth of my second son. Now, it's all about planning ahead (put the baby in the wrap, get my oldest out of the car, put him in the cart, plan ahead in case of a toddler meltdown or other bump in the road...). At first it was challenging but now juggling two kids and six grocery bags has become my new (crazy) normal. I am in awe of the mamas who do it with three or more little ones!

And Drea of OhDearDrea:

The grocery is easy for us. Every other week we pick up a share of vegetables at a stranger's house (not as creepy as it sounds), and the other weeks we grab a sweater for the air conditioned and chilly Whole Foods and plop down in a cart. Sometimes we snack, usually we don't. And Marlowe ALWAYS helps to unload the cart - it's a must. 

Thanks ladies! I can so relate to the sweater - it's a must for us too, our grocery store is seriously like a refrigerator! What's up with that? If you want to read more of Dani's writing, here is one of my favorite recent posts from her blog about adjusting to two kids, and a genius idea from Drea for when you have to be away from your little ones. If you've written a post about doing the grocery store/Target/something similar with your little ones you can link up here (or just leave a comment as usual!):



And here's the schedule for the rest of the series if you want to play along:

• Wed Nov 13th - Typical Lunch
• Wed Nov 20th - Naptime
• Dec 4th - Favorite Holiday Traditions
• Wed Dec 11th - Favorite toys
• Wed Jan 15th - Getting the chores done
• Wed Jan 29th -Typical Dinner 
• Wed Feb 12th - Arts & Crafts
• Wed Feb 26th - Bedtime

P.S. My Everyday Stories We're Reading and my Mom Uniform.