Over the past two months I've run into a grocery shopping dillema. How to grocery shop with three young children?
Everyone likes to point out the obvious answer. Don't try! Go when Dan can be home with the kids. Yes, but Dan works two jobs. The only time he's home is in the evening. By then, I want to see him, and I'm too tired to go grocery shopping! So that answer doesn't work for us. I think that getting a babysitter for three is too expensive. Just tack $20-30 onto my grocery bill. No thanks.
Last school year the boys were still in carriers, so while it was still tricky, I could manage putting one carrier on the seat of the cart and the other one across the back of the cart. Amy walked. Over the summer the boys outgrew their carriers and learned to walk, but I was able to schedule grocery trips when I could bring Aaron and/or Jessi with me. We'd get two carts (then we could really stock up!) or bring the stroller. Now with school back in session along with homework and other activities it's just too much to schedule a grocery trip during the week when Aaron and Jessi are available (early evening, not a fun time to go out with the kids.)
I do not mind going shopping with Aiden, Bryan, and Amy by myself. They are good kids and love getting out. We go out right after morning nap and pack bottles and lots of snacks. The only problem is that I need to be able to buckle the boys down. The need to be comfortable (so that they'll be happy) and safely, tightly constrained.
I've done my shopping at Wal Mart forever. I'm comfortable there. I can fly through the store and easily find everything. (But the checkout line is always a huge frustration!) For whatever reason all of the Wal Marts within 30 miles of me no longer have carts that have the extra seats. (Except for one, but all the buckles are broken because the carts are so old.)
So I started shopping at smaller stores like Smith's. They have lots of carts with the car/truck on the front and two seats by the handle. The kids love it. It's so fun. And so expensive! Target seems too expensive too.
Then I heard about WinCo. I thought I'd try it. It's a little far away. I called first to check out their cart situation. They have three seaters! The buckles aren't broken! When I first walked in I was a little overwhelmed. It's a huge grocery store! Wide aisles. CHEAP prices. Both times I've been there they opened up a new checkout line just for me (the crazy lady with three squirming kids and an overloaded cart!), which I really appreciated. Drawback, they only have groceries so I'll still have to make occasional trips to other stores. But I guess this is my solution for now. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you handle shopping with your little ones?
2 comments:
When I had to grocery shop with all three of mine (son was 2, twins were infants), I kept the twins in the double stroller and put my son in the grocery cart. I would push the stroller and pull the cart behind me. It was crazy, so I went early in the morning (8:00am or so) when the grocery store was relatively empty, aisles were clear, and there was lots of staff to help.
The next year, I would leave my son with a friend or neighbor and just take the babies. Again, I'd drag the cart behind me, and I'd leave it at the top of an aisle, walk the stroller down to pick up what I need, and head back to the cart. Every once in a while I'd go shopping by myself in the evening, but then I resented using that time for chores. I needed it to SLEEP!
We love Winco too! Its actually super close to our house, and way cheaper than anywhere else. Unfortunately we don't have a good solution to grocery shopping. I end up going late at night after the kids are asleep. Bummer, but at least its fast and not crowded. Good luck!
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