Best Grocery Shopping EVER!

Okay, I have to brag about yesterday's trip to the grocery store.  As I mentioned yesterday, my kids are usually pretty good to shop with.  Oh, they like to stop and goggle in amazement at products that are mundane to me and I have to prod them to keep walking.  They always ask for 10,000,000 things we're just not going to buy.  But they usually don't have fits or fights.  They love to help find things and listen when I need them to.  Aside from slowing me down, they're no trouble.  Yesterday, however, was a fabulous day even for them.

Miss M wouldn't make a crazy face for me today, so Miss E filled in.

First, I have to put another plug in for Food on the Table.  The shopping list I printed there was organized perfectly by section of my store.  I went smoothly from one end to the other gathering all the things on my list.  I only had to back track once and that was for a last minute item I'd added to the list myself.  (And, because I bought so many sale items I saved 17%!!!)  So, that was glorious.  The kids, however, were beyond glorious.  They were so cheerful and helpful I could scarcely believe they were mine, especially since we were shopping right before lunch which is a dangerous time for Miss M.  (She's very sensitive to hunger.)  Miss E is big enough that she could read the list and track down items and Miss M stayed right next to the cart where I asked her to - I consider it a minor miracle that I only had to ask her once to stay put.  Mr A is getting new molars and they must have bothered him as we were checking out because he started to whine LOUDLY.  Miss M made crazy faces for him, which made him laugh.  By the time we were finished the checker was laughing along with him and complimented me on my wonderful kids.  Oh, and we managed to buy 74 items 35 minutes.  That has to be some sort of record for someone shopping with three kids.  Yes, it was an excellent trip to the store.

Today, I want to do something with the kids to let them know I appreciate them.  We have three nice playgrounds within walking distance but I am pretty good at finding excuses not to enjoy them - after all, our own back yard is perfect for playing AND I can work on my own projects while they play if we're at home.  I think I'll surprise them this morning by suggesting we go out to a park.  It's been a while since we've been to a playground so they'll love it.