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Friday, July 8, 2011

mama milestones

i took a big leap a couple weeks ago.  i took the kiddos shopping sans hubby or the boy.  this is a big deal for me.  a new mama milestone.

this may not seem to be a big deal, but with toddler twins, any shopping trip is an event.  it's easy to corral a singleton in a shopping cart;  however, most carts are built for one child, not two.  while you can put one child in the basket and one in the seat, this is not a safe thing to do.  so for the past 2 years, i did shopping trips by myself with the kiddos home with hubby or my parents.  the few shopping trips they went on, hubby and i used two carts with a kiddo in each seat.  


being a MOM can be isolating.  becos i planned my shopping trips ahead of time, so someone could watch the kiddos, i didn't go out much.  at all, really.  getting the kiddos in and out of their car seats, juggling a diaper bag, purse, shopping bags and cups - just thinking about it makes me tired.  do all for multiple stores - it's any wonder it's easier to plan solo trips.

this summer the boy is going to the library for its summer program, 3 days a week.  monday's sessions are 2 hours long.  the first week we went, i walked the kiddos around the park for 2 hours.  that night we had 2 hours of bible school.  let's just say i fell asleep early that night, becos i was exhausted.

the next week hubby and i were going to celtic fling, and i needed to pick up a few things for the trip.  i decided to take the kids to aldi's and target.  aldi's has large carts with 2 seats.  i wish all stores had carts like this:



i remembered that target had large carts with forward facing seats.  as luck had it, one of these carts was in the corral near the car, and i snatched it up.  i wasn't happy that the seatbelts weren't functional (one belt strap was cut off) but the kiddos sat really good for me.  the cart is a PITA to drive, but a godsend for the kiddos:



giant has those carts that look like a truck or car.  the kids sit down below and "pretend to drive". i hated these carts when the boy was little, and it got to the point that i told him "outgrew" them or said that "it was already being used" (even tho it was sitting by the door).  still hate steering these carts, but i'm grateful that i can use them with the kiddos.

i had a challenge for me when i took the kiddos to michaels to get jump rings and t-pins for making stitch markers.  they have tiny carts.  i figured the kiddos could sit in the basket for the couple minutes while i picked up supplies and paid:



and a trip to weis - the kiddos were really good here too:




i'll probably still take solo trips to the store, when mom's knee is back to full function.  but it's a good feeling knowing that i can take the kiddos on errands.

1 comment:

  1. You go mama! Taking the kids shopping is indeed a huge milestone! You are awesome and if I saw you in the aisle I would have told you so! Love the new look on your blog.

    ReplyDelete

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