Virtute.org

Grocery shopping has changed since having Thomas.  At first I just went after bedtime, but it didn’t take too long before I started going during the day again.  The time after bedtime is precious to me, it’s the first time all day that I can freely do whatever I want/need to do without lots of little interruptions.

This is what we look like when we go in:However, three kids don’t leave much room for groceries, so by the end of the trip, I usually have to pull Nicole out of the cart and let her walk:

We get a lot of looks and comments.  I have to admit that I actually like getting comments (as long as my kids are being well behaved, which they usually are) because to me, their comments validate that what I’m doing is hard work and that it’s something special.  It’s like on Mother’s day when everyone takes time to notice that moms have a hard job and that we do an amazing job at it.

When we were in Tennessee, people would always ask “are they all yours?”  I do still get that question sometimes, but most often people around here say “It looks like you have your hands full.”  I wish I had a good response to that statement. Any suggestions?  I’m looking for something that says I do have my hands full, but I love it and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

I’ve noticed that I get more looks and comments when I go to nicer grocery stores  like Fred Meyer or Safeway than when I go to WinCo.  Last time I took all 5 kids to Fred Meyer, you would have thought I was wheeling around a traveling circus because it felt like everyone at the store was staring at us. 

Right after we moved here, I went to Safeway and the cashier asked if I needed help out to my car.  I told her that I didn’t need help.  She asked if I was sure and I said that I was fine, but as I left the store I heard her frantically calling for someone over the loudspeaker and next thing I know a young man was running after me in the parking lot.