Our grocery experience...

As my belly is getting bigger and bigger, I have found it harder to do any sort of shopping with two kids in tow.  Its not that the kids misbehave (believe me, they can), but rather is the fear that the double umbrella stroller will not be conducive to the shopping experience, or worst yet (and this is especially true at the grocery store), Audriana's favorite double duty shopping cart has run away with other short people.  For those of you out there without two youngsters who are still young enough to WANT to ride in a shopping cart, the double duty shopping cart is the shopping cart that not only fits two kids, but has two steering wheels for each kid to pretend to be driving around the store.

Bjorn introduced this contraption to Audriana during our family grocery outing 3 months ago.  It is the bane of my existence.  She now refuses to be in any type of shopping cart that does not have a steering wheel for her to steer the cart (because, I guess its not mommy who is pushing 50 pounds of kids plus all their food for the week).  Audriana also insists that Haakon ride along (which he is more than happy to oblige)...but only in the right side...and only properly buckled.  Of course....safety first.

When we get to the grocery store, there is one stop that is absolutely necessary: the bakery counter.  At our grocery store, the bakery counter has a tray full of chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies and sprinkled cookies just for kids 12 and under to enjoy...free (which is probably why their prices are a tad high!).  Audriana is pretty patient about moseying over to the counter.  Haakon, however, totally different story.  It used to be that the kids could sit side by side in the cart and enjoy their cookie while I finish grocery shopping.  No longer.  Audriana will take her time to finish the cookie.  Little man will shovel, push, and grab as much of the cookie into his mouth as fast and as much as he possibly can.  He loves to chipmunk food.  Not surprisingly, Haakon is usually done with this special treat about 5 steps after walking away from the bakery.  At which point, he will claw and harass his big sister into giving him her cookie.  This is a lose-lose-lose situation for all parties involved: Audriana is screaming bloody murder at the possibility of having to share food; Haakon is hollering, hitting, fake crying, and sometimes, biting, to try to get at the cookie; and I am embarrassed that strangers in the store think that I only feed my kids food at food sample stations at the grocery store.

The other day, I only had Haakon while Audriana was at school.  We reached critical mass at the deli counter...the bakery was just steps away and smell of freshly baked cookies was too much for the cookie monster to handle.  So now, to avoid a scene, I ration Haakon's cookie.  The last quarter is given at the check out lane when a meltdown is usually imminent.  It is amazing how much magic a quarter piece of a small cookie can make!