Shopping & Tires

I have never been to the grocery store with all 4 kids, ever. I do just about anything I can to go to the store by myself or with only one of them. Sometimes I take 2 and there have been one or two occasions where I have taken 3 of them. 

I usually go when Brad is home or I find a friend to watch my kids. And as crazy as this sounds I do a lot of my shopping early in the morning, before 7 AM. (I always feel bad for the people shopping who pick up one item for breakfast and I have my huge cart of food in the cashier line. I usually let them go ahead of me but sometimes its too late. Plus, I have learned the cashiers at that early hour are usually the guys stocking the store and they aren't very efficient.  It can take a long time.)

Anyways, last weekend I had to take the van to get the snow tires switched out.  (I also tried to do this early in the morning but they weren't open until 8).  Since Brad was at a meeting I took all 4 kids with me.  I had to give myself a big pep talk that I could handle it.   Since we had to wait a little I took the kids over to Fred Meyer to do a little shopping (we mostly had to get a birthday present for a friend).   The kids were superstars and had fun in the store.  For them everything they saw was new and exciting and of course they wanted it.   

We went back to Les Schwab and waited and waited and waited (it's a long story).  Again, the kids were great!   Aside from Darby walking and crawling all over the floor and outside the pavement we I managed to survive.  

The boys eating popcorn and watching ice hockey on TV. 

And although the kids were great in the store I will continue to try and avoid taking all 4 of them so I can keep some of my sanity.