Shopping Fun?!?!

I had two choices:  1)  Starve to death.  2)  Take Bobby to the grocery store with me.  Which to do, which to do.  Obviously we are far from starving to death, but one of our major goals to work on over the summer with Bobby is shopping.  He has been doing fairly well with me lately at Giant Eagle, but we never get more than 10 items because generally all of the check out lanes have lines and we head over to the self checkout because at least one lane is always free.  In case you don't know, waiting is Bobby's least favorite friend.

Yesterday, we got in the car and drove to the University Town Center Giant Eagle to get a full load of groceries.  Our first obstacle was in front of the store where Bobby wanted the big, blue shopping cart with 2 steering wheels in the front.  "NO WAY Bobby.  That cart is way too hard to steer and push."  He started to try and climb up in.  "Come on Bobby you are not getting in that thing because I will never be able to get you out!!!!"

The hardest, most extremely difficult part of shopping with Bobby is that I have to hold his hand at ALL times.  He is dying to dart off from me and get to the double doors and into the stockroom areas.  It is a lot of fun to try and put produce into the plastic bags with one hand (and try opening them with one hand!!) all  while trying to keep Bobby from picking up things, licking things, pulling all of the bags off in one long strip.  This definitely makes me wash produce VERY well.  Have any other kids been through licking things???!!! FYI-I buy the things that Bobby licks, just can't myself leave it for someone else.

He is just starting to realize that if he wants something, all that he has to do is put it into the back of the cart and it comes home with us.  But there are one or two coveted things that he has to keep in his hand because he needs to make sure that said item is coming with us.  So, picture us---me pushing a cart with one hand, holding Bobby's hand with my other hand and Bobby is carrying a bag of Cheetos in the other hand.

We managed pretty well with only one store causality (sorry Giant Eagle about the box of opened spaghetti noodles shoved onto the bottom shelf.  Oops!!

NOOOO!!  We are going to have to wait in line.  There is no way I am self checking out a whole cart full of groceries one handed.  There is one line with someone who is semi close to being finished.  I can actually start unloading onto the belt.  Of course, of course, of course...she can't figure out how to work the little box where you slide your debit/credit card and the clerk has to come around and fix it.  "How much did that ring up for?  I thought the sign said it was $_.__ ." (Thoughts going through my head:  NOOOOOOOOOOO.  Please don't go do a price check!!!!!!!!!  Keep Bobby busy!!  "Help Mommy put these on here.  Bobby, 'what is this?'")  Finally the woman leaves and the boy bags our groceries and thankfully he is a quick checker.

Bobby has learned one of the great lessons in life---there is candy in the check out lanes.  Even though he doesn't like sweets, he has one candy of choice-ring pops.  The checker hands Bobby his ring pop and the world is in perfect harmony.

We get to the car with no issues.  Bobby get right into this seat, fastens his seat belt and I hand him his Ring Pop.  I put the groceries into the trunk and we are headed home.  Yeah, we did it.  A full load of groceries, just Bobby and me!!!!!  Thank you in advance to all of you who are about ready to comment that you would be more than happy to come and watch Bobby while I go grocery shopping.  This is something that he has to learn how to do and isn't going to learn unless we get out and practice.

Blue Ring Pop tongue!!

We came home and baked pepperoni rolls, which are one of Bobby's newly preferred foods.  However, he will only eat homemade ones, of course!!  Now that I have spent 2 hours today trying to download pictures to this blog posting, I am gonna go bang my head against a wall and be glad that at least 2 downloaded.