I shouldn't even blog about this...

I should just let it be one of those things that washes away with the end of the day, but I just need to vent and since I have a minute (though I many more things that should be done) I'm going to blog about my ridiculously difficult trip to the grocery store.

Because it is a holiday and because we were out of milk and most everything else, except frozen vegetables, I had to take all of my children with me to the grocery store. Maybe I jinxed the trip because I've been dreading it since Saturday night when I went birthday shopping for Laine and then watched Harry Potter with Ridge instead of going to the store. (Yes, I do have a husband who could have gone on Saturday night but he doesn't understand the urgency of running out of milk and everything else and he was gone for a while on Saturday and he got the kids bathed and into bed and he was fairly exhausted by then.) I did make sure that everyone went to the bathroom and had a snack before we left which I thought would insure against crying, but it didn't.

We entered the store and nearly knocked over a guy standing on a ladder in the doorway with our car-cart. Laine's mitten fell off and went underneath the wheel of the cart so she screamed about her mitten, which we retrieved and then she got into the cart. Our plan was to stop first at the back of the produce section so the boys could pick out their Lunchables. I told Cannon that he needed to walk there and he threw himself down on the floor and screamed, "I can't walk." Yes, we were still standing just inside the store. We made it to the Lunchables and Laine is having a fit because she wants someone to sit by her but it has to be Ridge, who I had already told was not allowed to sit in the car-cart. I actually lectured everyone before we got out of the car and told them to behave and what that meant -- the boys were supposed to walk on either side of the cart and no screaming or running or crying -- but no one remembered.

So Laine cried for several minutes, she didn't want to be by Cannon but she didn't want to sit by herself. Finally I gave up and told her she could just cry her way through the grocery store. Cannon was sitting by her at this time. At this point I stopped looking at people, I didn't want any comments or to see sympathetic or disapproving glances, I just stared ahead of me, I'm sure my look was one of you-better-get-out-of-my-way. Ridge really wanted to push the cart but I wouldn't let him since last time I let him push the cart he ran over my heels a dozen times, and because I didn't want to ram any displays or people in our shopping process, but he was still determined to get his hands on it and shake it every time he could, causing Laine to bump her head twice.

We were halfway through the store and the boys picked up marshmallow bags and turned them into guitars which would have been a funny moment had it been our first "incident." By the time we were done they were chasing about and I was ignoring them and everyone else. We had to wait in line, there was only one lane open besides the express, and I did finally say they needed to stay by me but it was just for show, I knew they wouldn't listen. Ridge did stay actually, but by that time Laine had got in the action and she and Cannon hid down one aisle. Since I was ignoring them and Ridge didn't follow they came back soon enough. During this wait time I noticed one checker glance around our line to see how many people were ahead of me, one leaving and one putting her groceries up, and then go back to her business. One of the managers came over after another minute and opened a lane for me and I'm sorry to say that I gave him a nasty look, not meaning to, it just happened in my frustration. And I don't even try to smile at people when I'm this frustrated at my kids because it looks so fake. I'm not a good liar.

The guy bagging our groceries did just put them all in a different cart and follow me to the car without asking if I wanted help, I obviously needed it. See, I should have just let this go, I don't feel better by blogging about all of it, I feel exhausted and spent, and it is only 1pm. I have a lot more to blog about so I'll try to get that posted so more positive vibes come your way. So when I'm a mother to teenagers, will I look back and long for this day? I'm not wishing away their youth, I should just go to the store by myself.