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February 15, 2012

Small Steps for Babies, but One Giant Leap for This Mama

For the past few months, I’ve been venturing into Target…the grocery store…Hobby Lobby…from time to time with the girls...sans stroller.

If I only need a couple of smaller things, I get a hand basket, and the girls now know to walk one in front of the other, each holding onto the basket. Granted, we look like a lopsided centipede, but the girls know the routine, and I can usually manage the trip without having to medicate myself.

On Friday, we needed just a couple of things for our Valentine’s party, and so the girls and I headed into Walmart, planning to use the hand basket method for the first time there.

We walked in to a crowd of Valentine’s Day shoppers (even at 10:00 on a Friday morning)…and found, to my great dismay, no hand baskets.

Ack!!! What to do???


I needed those Valentine’s Day cupcakes. I couldn’t let A and B each carry a box, for fear they’d drop them. There was no way I could hold their hands and get the goodies. And there’s NO WAY I’m letting their hands go in Walmart, of all places!

So I made a quick decision to try the girls pushing a shopping cart.

To my great surprise, they did great!

They walked alongside each other, their hands stretched high above to reach the handle of the cart. I walked behind them, my hands on top of theirs, steering.

I haven’t quite figured out the appropriate reference…perhaps we were still a centipede, not quite as lopsided…but still moving pretty awkwardly, for sure.

But at least we were a cute centipede, the girls in their coordinating hoodies, skinny jeans, and boots. We might have enjoyed a few (or 20) compliments from the over-50 crowd who was shopping that morning, too.

We procured our cupcakes, and managed to pick up quite a few more items we needed at home. The only challenge was when I needed to make any more detailed selection, like in the produce department. The girls didn’t fully grasp the concept of standing still with the cart…I got rammed a couple of times as I was bending over the bin of lemons.

Still, I call our shopping trip a success! The girls won’t be pushing the cart for any major grocery shopping for a while…but at least I know I can save my panic attack for another occasion if the store happens to be out of hand baskets.

9 comments:

Johanna at The Baker Twins said...

Hooray for you! Your little girls are so well behaved - I'm sure you'll be shopping cart pros in no time! Don't you wish everyone had double carts like Sam's/Costco?

Helene said...

Yay!!!! It's such a great feeling when you can go out with them in a public place and not completely lose your sanity.

I'll never forget the first time I took the kids to Target by myself without the stroller. It was the best feeling knowing I could handle it!!

cat said...

Big step forward. I just love those carts with the car and steering wheels.

Unknown said...

I'm the opposite! I worry if there ISN'T a cart to use! J&S are no trouble at all any more but Adam can be N-A-U-G-T-H-Y in the store - running off and around and not listening. I always give him the option to walk but he almost always ends up IN the cart b/c he gets in trouble for running off!

Glad you had another successful trip!

oh...we also made a WalMart run the other day - just J&S and I. They'd had "Western" day at daycare that afternoon and both were decked out in vests and cowboy hats. We sure got a LOT of comments that afternoon about their hats and get-ups! Everyone thought they were really cute. :-)

Unknown said...

I'm the opposite! I worry if there ISN'T a cart to use! J&S are no trouble at all any more but Adam can be N-A-U-G-T-H-Y in the store - running off and around and not listening. I always give him the option to walk but he almost always ends up IN the cart b/c he gets in trouble for running off!

Glad you had another successful trip!

oh...we also made a WalMart run the other day - just J&S and I. They'd had "Western" day at daycare that afternoon and both were decked out in vests and cowboy hats. We sure got a LOT of comments that afternoon about their hats and get-ups! Everyone thought they were really cute. :-)

championm2000 said...

Oh, the day...

You give me hope!

liz barber said...

Mandy that is awesome! So brave to try that. I don't even want to imagine what it would look like if I took my boys in a store like that...it would be crazy for sure. We're still using a stroller.

Ellis Family said...

Thanks for letting me know that you stopped by my blog! I've recently written about my shopping trials as well! I guess it's not going to get any easier! I ALWAYS get comments when I have my kids in Walmart because of the way I hook my stroller up to the cart!

Mama Mama Quite Contrary said...

Can both girls not fit into the basket part of the carriage? I never use my stroller in a store-- where would I put the stuff I am buying? I usually put both girls inside the carriage basket or one in the basket and one in the seat part. Or if I am getting a lot of items, I put one in the carriage seat and wear one on my back. My girls are petite so maybe I've lost perspective on how big 3 year olds actually are! It seems like everyone finds a different way that works for them and I'm glad this worked out for you!