trying on hats at target

 

 

 

 

Usually, when I take these two shopping,

I feel like I'm shopping with a pack of monkeys.

It can be nuts.

 

We've been working on teaching Nicholas that it's NOT okay to run away, hide in the racks, and laugh wildly while we are inside a store. 

He's been doing much better.

 

Ellie likes to be free, though, and when she's free, she likes to take everything off of every shelf.  So I keep her in the cart. But then she gets impatient and starts screeching. 

If I let her down, she and Nicholas get really excited and happy and

then the running, laughing wildly, hiding stuff starts up again.

 

Oh, and Ellie really wants to push the buttons on the credit card machine.  Really. So we end each trip with me trying to smile calmly as the cashier stares at my screeching, reaching, monkey girl.

 

Shopping trips take a lot of preparation. 

Organized list.  Stash of dum dums or marshmallows.  Clorox wipes (because I'm a germophobe and I don't want my baby girl getting sick from those nasty shopping cart handles).  Sippy cups. Pacifier in case we get desperate, which is usually. Mints. Chapstick and sunglasses (Nicholas often has an intense need for one or both of those things.)  Potty trip before we leave. Purchase a cold propel or water for each child when we arrive because the sippy cup water is "old," or so I'm told by my all-knowing three-year-old.

 

And if I'm lucky, I remember to take my wallet and phone.

 

You know what, though? 

I know for certain I'm going to miss these kinds of trips when this stage of life is past.

So we're going to take a break from our list every so often and just go try on hats.