The store

Going to the store is always an interesting experience for us. For the kids it seems it is a HUGE adventure even if we are just there to get bread and milk. The other thing I have noticed about my kids (and maybe this is just true in large families) is that they like to stake out their own little place in the world or become attached to something. For my girls it is their desks. For John it is either his trains, cars, or animals depending on his mood. Most of the time they are pretty good about sharing, but when they are staking out their place or things, if you cross into their area or mess with their stuff, you will pay. I'm sure some psychologist could tell me why this occurs, my guess is that they are just kids. Anyway, Nathan has recently picked out his place in this world and it only happens at the store. It is the front half of the grocery cart. When he is in it, he has determined that no one else will touch it, be near it or even look at it. It is his and his alone. As you can imagine, this makes the trip to the store even more interesting and I'm sure very entertaining for any on-lookers. Well, either entertaining or extremely annoying. Typically we have a rule that when you are at the store you only touch the cart or mommy. Everything else is off limits. So, since Nathan has claimed the front half of the cart and if they are by the back half I tend to run over them because I'm not paying attention, the rest of them have attached themselves to me. Now, fortunately, I usually only go to the store with three of them, not four so Ashley and John each get a pocket to hold onto. Let's just say that keeping my pants up in the store has made our trips even more interesting then usual. I didn't really realize it until yesterday when I noticed a strange look from a fellow shopper when I said (and I don't think I was whispering) "John, stop pulling down my pants!" If you had followed me around the store you would have been able to put the comment in context. However, obviously this lady had better things to do with her time then follow me around, so she had no context whatsoever to place it in. The look on her face was priceless. So the next time you are in a store and see a mom surround by children you can just remember that I count it a successful trip to the store if I leave fully dressed.