Grocery shopping with the kids? Be prepared to get more than you bargained for!

I'm not sure how or why this happened but when I got home from work last night, I ended up grocery shopping with four of our five kids.  Somehow my husband got to stay home and man the grill with Liam, our six year old while I descended upon the local Stop & Shop with a four year old and three overtired, very hungry two year olds. 

My anxiety level was rising as I pulled into the lot.  How would I wrangle them?  What if I lost one?  Why oh why did they end up in the minivan instead of the backyard?!  Then Ciara sighted one of those nifty carts with a "car" upfront and suddenly I knew it would all be ok.  Who needs DisneyLand when you have these kinds of carts at the supermarket?!  You should have heard the squeals of joy.  It was awesome.  Yep, I said it.  Grocery shopping with four kids four and under on a Tuesday evening after a long day at work was awesome.

The only issue was the list.  I am a big believer in lists, grocery and otherwise.  Here's what was on my list last night: 

• Milk (4 gallons/2%, 2 gallons/skim)
• Eggs (2 dozen)
• Bread (2 loaves)
• Crackers
• Cereal
• Fruit

That's it.  Here's what else ended up in my cart, after only the subtlest of urging from my surprisingly pleasant pit crew:

• Fruit snacks (Cars/Toy Story.  Rationale:  on sale 2 for $4)
• Dole Fruit Cups (2 of them.  Rationale: new 'all natural' variety and on sale)
• Applesauce (2 of them.  Again, on sale 2 for $4)
• CheezIts (3 boxes!  THREE boxes!  Rationale:  on sale 3 for $6)
• English muffins (Buy one, get one free!)
• Chobani yogurt (nutritious, delicious, on sale for 10 for $10!)
• M&Ms (admittedly not on sale but, great motivation for the potty trainers in the cart!)

I have to say, I got a lot more than I bargained for on this trip to the supermarket.  In addition to the snacks that I'd usually pass by, I realized that I can tackle pretty much anything with lots of tots in tow.  And, it was a good reminder that taking a few kids along for the ride can make the most mundane of tasks a whole lot more fun.