Store Shopping

Taking them kids Bobby or Haana to a store is not for the faint of heart. I'll tell you why. 

I go to a nearby store for bulk purchases of beans and legumes, some healthy snacks and some very unhealthy snacks too. It's closeby so it's a quick in and out. In theory. I asked little miss Haana on our way back from school pickup several times, but every time she insisted she is too tired and has too many things to do yet when she gets back. So one afternoon, after I picked up Bobby from school, and little miss Haana's pickup was not until much later, I drove us towards the store. 

First, the Boy immediately knew we are not going home. NOO! He was vigorously disappointed. Play time beckons and awaits him as I force him into this entrapment. I attempted to pacify him by saying it will be a super quick stop.  He was not convinced. The drive to the store was unpleasant. As i parked, i finally relented. I can get him a candy at the store. A candy, as in singular. But no toys will be purchased. He said fine, and we finally walked in, hand in hand.

We had just gotten inside the doors when he asked me if we could get some muffins. I decided i must not reward such frivolous asks with a response, so kept walking. 

A store full of healthy snacks, legumes and beans and spices, is like a candy store for me! Bobby was helping me get what I needed, weigh it and note the bin number etc. Then Bobby saw a bin full of gummies. We negotiated how many was ok, and I helped him grab some in a bag for us to take home. It seemed like we had turned the tide. 

I had to get one last thing which was in an aisle on the far side of the store. Bobby said he wants to explore another aisle by himself. I said OK and went to grab the last item. When I returned I didn't immediately find the boy. After frantically weaving in and out of different aisles, I saw Bobby boy walking around with a giant log-truck in his arms, holding it like a baby that needed love! I reminded him of our agreement that we will not get any toys, and that we already have a log truck but that just made him upset. Noo mumma, we have to! He was fixing to throw a fit too. I told him we have to keep the toy back to where it was. And i paced up and down to figure out which shelf it came from. Meanwhile Bobby boy is super upset already. And I still couldn't find the right shelf. Finally I put the log truck where I could fit it on a shelf, and started walking towards the self check out. By now Bobby boy was wrapped around one of my feet and with every step i took, i was mopping the floor with him. I told the next person in the self checkout line to go on ahead because I can't hardly move. I finally got to the check out, paid and we somehow got out of the store. Back in the car, the drama continued. I didn't have to pick up little miss Haana right away. I buckled the boy in his seat, sat in the driver's, looked back at him and gave him a piece of my mind. The living room cabinets are full of toys. On the kitchen counter is the giant lego ship, only halfway built yet. If he's wanting to throw a fit, go right ahead. We will not move out of the parking lot before he's calmed down.

Remembering the half built lego ship that he'd been working on, pacified the boy. And soon he was calm, even conciliatory and itching to get home. To the legos. 

Saved by the toy and that doesn't happen everyday. But I had now enough beans to last me couple months!!

Shopping

This is why i don't shop much.

My usual perfume was about finished, so I had to run by the store to grab a new one. I asked little Miss Haana to come with me. She agreed but with demands. I had to get her some glue and craft sticks. This is not the first I had heard of these things, so I agreed.

I made the first stop at a small convenience store, thinking they'll have small craft supplies. I found us some glue. Little Miss Haana ambled in nearby aisles asking me to take more colors (No, you already have too many), or a velvet coloring book (No, we already had one just like that, earlier), or sunglasses (No, you already have these ones) or a kitkat (simply, no). I paid for the glue and we hurried out.

Next pit stop was the store where i get my organic perfume. Little Miss Haana and i made our way to the aisle with a section for the perfumes. I started testing some thinking i may be ready for a change. Little Miss Haana began opening tester bottles, spritzing some perfume mist or rolling some roll-on sticks, on left arm, then right, then both hands, then both wrists. Maybe even the arm pit! By now i could barely smell anything at all!! Now, little Miss Haana was holding 3-4 different perfume bottles in her hand,  "These are for me", she declared. "Gugu, we can't take so many. I'm going to take 1 between the two of us". After more negotiation, she now had 2 separate sized bottles. "Ok, we'll take one of each kind". I looked at her exasperated. When had we ever decided she gets to wear perfumes? We hadn't😋. "I'll take 1, that's it". Now, she wanted to take this one perfume that didn't smell great at all, but had unicorns on the bottle. I somehow got her to choose a different one that i liked, and we hurried out of the store. By this time it was hard to tell if it was the right choice or not, cause I could hardly smell anything at all in the medly of all the perfumes we had sprayed. When we sat back in the car, little Miss Haana told me this was her perfume and only she would use it. I laughed at her!

We headed next to Michael's to get the craft sticks. These are the sticks that are inside popsicles. On the way, i kept suggesting we should just get lots of popsicle and eat them all and save their sticks for crafts. She was not so sure about my capacity of popsicle eating. At Michaels, we both ambled through the store- me browsing through all the Easter decor and activities while Miss Haana was throwing about a hula hoop that had just found a new perspective buyer. We headed out eventually with the craft sticks and hula hoop.

Back home, little Miss Haana immediately acted very mysterious and quiet. My perfume had been taken over and hidden at a safe place. Safe from Mumma's prying eyes or hands. It was gone! Now I'm not laughing at her anymore😊

So, this is why i don't shop much anymore😊

Mini Mart

Little Miss Haana in the poster for her school's Mini Mart event coming up on March 4, 2016.

Carrot is my friend

Yesterday Miss Haana and I went to grocery shopping. As is the case with most grocery shoppings involving the little girl, it was long and fun. 

Even before we entered the store, she found a small baby cart which was just her size. The baby cart was taken on a ride everywhere in the store. Every aisle I went to, the baby cart came. Every aisle I picked up something from, the baby cart got it's share of action too. I gladly picked up several compliments from fellow shoppers who were giving my little girl "Oww so cute!" looks! 

Somewhere during our shopping expedition, we turned to the bread aisle. We got out bread fix loaded into the baby cart. And my next destination was to be the vegetables. So I asked the little girl- 

"Gugu, now let's go and get your friends."

I wondered if she will get my joke. 

For weeks or months or years I've been trying to get her to make friends with her vegetables. Her initial declaration was a blanket statement- "I don't like vegetables". But patient parental coersion brings her to be somewhat amicable- to some of them on some days. Carrots are on the good list but still need persuasion.

She paused for a moment and instead of guessing I meant we should go and get vegetables next; she asked "Mumma would we go and get carrots now?"

Now if carrots could hear, they would be so happy they're in the good books right now!

Now I wouldn't go too deep into my twisted world where I'm essentially implying vegetables are your friends and then you eat them!!! :-( I just want them to be together.