Grocery Shopping with Four Littles

Sometimes I wonder what others see when they look at me....cause most likely if you see me you don't see ONLY me....its me with four little attachments.  And if I am seen childless, people who know me almost don't recognize me anymore.

Many people, especially in the grocery store, tell me a little of what they see.  My favorites have been,

"You get an award for grocery shopping with four kids!"

"Four GIRLS?  Man, what did you do wrong in your lifetime!"

"Are you having any MORE?"

"You are so brave.  I could never do that."

It's really not as bad as it seems.  Sometimes it IS as bad as it seems.  For a while, Paige had a major disagreement with grocery shopping.  But between our local grocery store's cookie samples and Costco's samples, we're doing alright.  But I do suppose I look a little like the circus came to town.

Here's how I grocery shop (when I'm fully prepared):

• Write a list of what in my fridge needs to be used up so I don't waste food
• Write a list of meals to make that would use up those items
• Write a list of food I need to buy at the grocery store to make those meals
• Separate the lists into things I buy at the regular grocery store and things I buy at Costco
• Look at my WIC checks to figure out which of those I need to use (cause I'm poor)
• Add the WIC foods list to my other two grocery lists
• Get out the door (sometimes the trickiest part of the whole event)
• Drive to the store, park and get a cart
• Fill my cart with children (Paige and Molly always ride in the cart, Leila and Eden often want to ride as well)
• As groceries pile up, I kick children out of the cart one by one when they no longer fit
• Usually there's a child who needs a bathroom break at some point
• Pay and leave
• Sometimes I go to the next grocery store right away, sometimes I don't depending on how much time I have, if I have what I need for dinner that night, if my kids are going crazy, and what perishables are in the van

The downfall, I'm unable to stop and price check it all.  I just do a quick scan of the section for the best deal.  If I stand too long in one place, problems inevitably arise.  So, my budget may suffer.  I'm also really bad at looking at newspapers for sales.

So....Just for record keeping sakes or for when the day comes and I think, "What was it like when I had four little ones at home?", this is how I grocery shop with four little kids.