Solo Shopping

It’s the school holidays, it’s pouring with rain and we have a family wedding on Saturday. All of this meant a trip to the shops for me with all three of my little cherubs in tow. My mum is on holiday and my husband was at work so I had no choice but to pack them all into the car and head out to get the things we still need to be fully dressed for attending the wedding.

I’ve been solo shopping with them before so I knew what to expect. It never goes well. It usually looks something like, though often worse than, this:

J hates shopping, W isn’t much of a fan and B just talks and talks relentlessly all the way round every shop. I took the ‘big’ buggy so that J could be tied in and wasn’t able to run off or lie down like a dead weight and refuse to move. The ‘big’ buggy is our Phil & Ted double buggy with a seat on the front and one behind/under it. J is getting a bit big for it now but when they are all with me I have no choice. If he leans far enough forward he can touch the ground with the tips of his toes and stop it moving or put his feet in the wheel to stop it from going round. It’s great fun 😩

We went to East Kilbride as it’s all indoors, even the parking. I eventually found a parent & child space on the 8th floor and we set off on our way. The first fight between the boys happened in the lift before we even got to any shops! Who would have thought pressing a button was such a big deal? Anyway, luckily EK have lift buttons on both walls inside so I managed to convince them that you need to press both to make it go, so they could both do it. Well done clever EK people.

I then ventured into Debenhams to look at shoes where J proceeded to whine, point at the door and say his version of ‘that way’ the whole way round the shop. Alongside this he pulled some things from shelves and tried to grab/push B several times. The look on some of the other shoppers’ faces was amusing; a mixture of horror, displeasure and ‘I’m glad that’s not me!’ After no success we left to annoy people in several other shops.

Finally, after visiting four more shops and only managing a pair of shoes and some tights for W, some sweets to keep J quiet, a wedding card and some earrings for me; we retreated to the safety of the car where we wouldn’t bother anyone else with our endless whining, crying, moaning and screaming (albeit mine was just inside my head in response to theirs)! I packed them all back into the car, put the shopping bag in and folded away the buggy before wrestling it back into the boot. I got in, breathed a sigh of relief/exasperation and prepared to start the engine. ‘I need the toilet mummy, I’m really bursting and it can’t wait!’ B really picks his moments! 😩 After some problem-solving improvisation, which didn’t involve unpacking everyone again and setting off to find a toilet, we were finally able to set off home. He’s so capable that at times I forget he’s only 4 and needs to be reminded of certain things that he doesn’t think of in advance.

Today’s lesson: always check with the only toilet trained child if they need to go to the toilet before you head back to the car! Oh and don’t let them drink too many fruit shoots (particularly not these ones!) 😷

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