Groceries, anyone?

I do not often have the luxury of shopping for my groceries without my children in tow. They are always along for the ride, and it is never their favorite outing. My faithful readers have read about many grocery adventures, one of which lives in infamy.

But even when there is no crisis, no vomit, no diaper blowout, and no disciplinary trip to the bathroom with a screaming toddler under my arm, it is still far from flawless. Some trips are smoother than others, but none of them are easy. Ever.

I discovered that I have been compiling pictures throughout various trips, capturing the moments here and there. Allow me to share with you, and please try not to covet the unpredictability of my grocery shopping routine.

Tyler, my contortionist, was proud to have found the handle to be a footrest.

(In this particular moment, his fingers are not stuck between the bars, but this happens often. Just ask anyone who has shopped with me: fingers are often a casualty.)

On this day, Tucker blew "raspberries" the entire time. From entry to exit, down every single aisle, he was essentially spitting. Darling.

Here we are. Ready to go. (This is a lighter trip.)

I'm pretty sure I was worn out and ready to leave as we took this picture. Maybe not, but probably.

Now, this is a video I captured today. Allow me to preface by saying that I picked up my camera because I couldn't believe the sweet interaction happening in the cart. After many aisles of arguing, pushing, shoving, and barking, they started hugging and kissing each other. It was a kiss fest, right there in the cart. They took turns, back and forth, planting one on each other. So sweet. How can I not document this??

So, I grabbed my camera phone. But this is what I got.

I had to stop recording to rescue Tyler from assault and possible neck injury.

Is it no wonder that I left my wallet at the self checkout?? Who can maintain everything (even that which risks the theft of her identity) with this kind of behavior taking place?

(Thank you to the very kind and honest person who turned in my wallet, complete with everything I had lef in it, and no additional action on my credit cards. It only took me seven hours to realize I had lost my wallet in the first place.)

I now fully understand why grocery stores are open 24 hours a day. It's so the highly caffienated moms of toddlers and preschoolers can shop in peace.