We never actually get everywhere that we’re trying to go in a day, but today, it worked! Granted, our list of places was shorter than usual, but our actual shopping list was not. Still, we celebrate our success! We celebrate by putting our incredibly overtired children to bed early, because they hate the world and are slowly making us hate it too. It doesn’t help that Laela is cutting her very first molar. Some of it has actually broken through but those stinkin’ things have to break through the gums in like four different spots! Poor babies. Cutting teeth is hard. Everyone is laying in bed now. The kids in their room, and us in ours. I’m blogging (obviously) and Brady is playing games on his iPad. Eventually Brady and I will surface and make something for supper, but not yet. First, we rest our feet and look over our pictures from today. Our beautiful kids attracted a ton of attention. Can’t blame them.
After the way yesterday ended, we didn’t have high expectations to actually make it to the city at all. I have a hair appointment tomorrow morning, so we thought I’d likely run most of the errands on my own after that, but the kids were super chipper this morning and we couldn’t resist taking them out. We had mostly long grocery lists to take care of, and thats not always buckets of fun with two kids, but with two of us, one can often take a kid out or defuse a situation, or worst case scenario, just wait in the car with both littles while the other accomplished the task. We’ve done a lot of that in the past. Hardly at all today, though. Just in the really quick stores. We started at Carters to look for mini gloves for Laela. We got some little ones for Dekker last year for just a few bucks, and they fit Laela decently well, so we thought we’d get her some too. Believe it or not, all they had were the little ones with all five fingers separate!!! Can you imagine trying to get a one year old to cooperate long enough to get all the fingers in the right place, only to have her pull them off immediately?! Brutal. Not a chance. So we ran across to Walmart and found the right ones for sixty cents. No joke. We also picked up about half of our grocery list, some tubs for packing up clothes that don’t fit the kids anymore, and our first Christmasy decoration of the year!!! (I’m planning on keeping track of details and amounts so I can tell you guys at the end of the season what we all bought and how much our yearly savings plan helped 🙂 ) Dekker was a bit upset as we were leaving because we didn’t stop for fries, which we often do. But the promise of french fries was coming, so he held on and kept a pretty cool head about the whole thing.
We did a quick stop in at Old Navy so I could look at their maternity clothes. I’m really in need of a good maternity hoodie, and without sounding super cheap, I’d love to not spend $100 on one from Thyme. The American Old Navy website has them for around $25, but the Canadian website doesn’t have a maternity section!!! I can’t be the only person annoyed with that. It wouldn’t be a bit deal, but the cheaper brands like Walmart and Target don’t fit me. Its Thyme or Old Navy. Anyone going to the states anytime soon and wanna help me out?
Old Navy was a bust, so we headed for lunch. Just to a nearby Wendys, but Dekker was so excited. I ordered all of our food while Brady got the kids settled, and someone even carried one of our trays over to our table so I didn’t have to make two trips. Dekker happily ate his fries and burger, and drank his milk before getting his Scooby-Doo toy. Laela didn’t eat much, I think because her teeth were bugging her, but Brady had given her some milk in the car while I was pestering the Old Navy staff.
Kinda gnarly how much she liked to suck on the table though…
Our next spot to hit was Superstore. Laela was a bit sleepy, but she perked up…
Now, Superstore is always a long visit, and it can go one of two ways for Dekker. See, he remembers things now. He knows that, at the bakery section, he gets a cookie. And with the order of the store, that comes at the end. So, he either anticipates it, and gets really excited, and enjoys it at the end, or he mixes up the sections and cries from about the deli on. Today was a good day 🙂 He talked about his cookie pretty much the entire time, but he was more so just reminding us. We assured him that we remembered. We got pretty much EVERYTHING on our Superstore/Walmart list, plus a few really good deals, like hangers and stemless wine glasses. We took our time all through the store, and once we got to the bakery, Dekker told us he was ready for his cookie now. We headed over to the counter and luckily, we weren’t the only people who had kids waiting patiently for cookies. Someone came out and gave us all cookies and Dekker used his manners, which I’m always happy about. And the exciting part was…Laela got a cookie too!!! And let me tell you, that was one happy cart load of kids!! They both had their own treat, it was a super yummy treat, and best of all, it was distracting! They sat in the cart like perfect angels and ate their cookies while we waited in line and unloaded everything.
If thats not a happy cookie face, I don’t know what is.
Because we’re suckers for punishment, we decided we hadn’t bought enough groceries yet and went to Costco still. It was actually a great shop though! We are so stocked up! We bought each of the kids some new sleepers for winter (including baby JIm!) and even took advantage of the HUGE deal on formula and bought a few cans. Laela is switching to milk right now, but formula keeps forever, and this way we have a bunch on hand for when the baby comes. Good to be prepared when things are on sale, right? We bought a new coconut oil and then stocked up on our regular stuff. When we were going through the line, the cashier was really chatty with the kids and Dekker responded beautifully. It was so sweet to see them interact. She teased him about buying so many apples and he just giggled at her and admitted that he really likes apples.
We grabbed coffees and headed home. We made a quick stop by Grandma’s house to bring her a bag of apples (ambrosia apples are hard to find, but they’re delicious!) and she provided him and Laela each with a new toy car, which was an obvious win. The cherry on top of a great day!
Upon arriving home, Brady and I began the task of getting our stuff put away and organized. I don’t think we’ve had quite this huge of a grocery shop to put away all at once in a long time. I DO have to say that it felt like less hassle today though. We used the tubs we bought for storage at Walmart for packing up groceries, as well as the Superstore green bins we have in our van at all times. And Costco uses boxes. So we didn’t have all the tearing bags to mess with, and fewer trips to and from the van. It was MUCH easier clean up! But the clean up did reveal just how out of control our house is. We both began to feel overwhelmed and went into crazy mode. Its ok now though. We’ve done enough work for the day. Brady is so tired, and I’m super sore. I began to feel my pelvis hurt and shift like it tends to do in my pregnancies, and my back is quite tired as well. So we did enough, and now its time to quit.
We accomplished SO MUCH! And it felt pretty amazing. Now, we will soak, eat, and sleep. And tomorrow, I will get my hair done! We’ve been so busy recently, I haven’t had a chance to get your input this time around, and I’m scrambling a bit! Geez, why aren’t you all here in my home right now? Probably because that would be super overwhelming. Good call. Stay home, guys.
LOL, my kids love the cookie at Superstore too. Except we get it FIRST and then I carry it in the cart until checkout. If they behave, they get the cookie. If not, mommy eats it. Yes, I bribe my kids in the grocery store and it works… 😉
They are constantly staring at their cookies… a good reminder for the duration of the shopping trip to behave and listen.
Thats a great idea!!! Haha! I’ve got no problem with the occasional bribe. Plus, you’ve got a few extra kids to keep happy than me. Desperate measures, my friend!