KIDS + WALMART = STRESS

Ok, so I have a few friends who dread the trip to Walmart w/ just one kid, especially if they are between 2-5 yrs old! Well, AJ is always a booger when we go to ANY store! He HATES shopping and will do his best to talk us out of going every single time we have to go...no matter what is in it for him! It NEVER works, but he still always tries to convince us that going to the store while he is at school is such a better idea! It's as if he is trying to make us hate taking him, so he acts out by fighting w/ his sister or he goes at his own pace and looks at anything and everything for as long as he wants...well he tries! He has been very successful at making me not want to drag him into any store! There are times, like today, where I HAVE to get to the store no matter how many kids I have w/ me.

Today I had Chelsea, AJ, Aleigh and Ansley. Ansley was already pretty fussy since she only had a 30 minute nap today! We were in Walmart for all of 5 minutes when AJ decided he was going to crawl into the back of the cart and sit on Aleigh who was comfortably stretched out. Well, of course that goes over like a lead balloon! That was just the beginning of what should have been a 20 minute trip into Walmart, but became at least an hour and a half! Ansley cried most of the time, AJ kept teasing the girls, and all of them were dissapearing left and right as well as taking their time looking at things and not hearing me when I said "Come on!"

As we stood in the checkout line the kids all go for this new type of candy called "sweet drops" or something like that. It's a sucker w/ the candy liquid that you drip onto the sucker...sounds horrible to me. However, I do remember begging my mom for candy when it was something new and unusual. Remember that candy liquid that came in a tube? It was like a liquid sucker in a horrible cherry flavor! I didn't even like the way it tasted, I just liked the idea. Totally stupid! Anyway they all grab their favorite flavor and turn to me w/ huge grins on their faces and ask if they can get this "sweet drops" junk. "Uh, no way! Nobody is getting anything after the difficult time all of you have given me through the store! None of you were listening to me." Well, AJ does his usual and tries to argue w/ me and justify why he did everything he did. Chelsea stands there w/ the angriest face she can come up with as though she would totally be pitching a fit if I were her mom. Then I look down at Aleigh who is crying. "Aleigh that's enough! Crying isn't going to make me change my mind. If you guys had listened w/ out giving me any trouble, I would love to buy you something. Maybe next time you will listen better." Then Aleigh turns on the drama by folding her arms and through tons of tears manages to say to me "Thanks a lot for ruining my birthday mom! I really appreciate it!" I stood there at first in shock, then I had to look away and laugh! Where does she get this from?! Not to mention her birthday isn't until Thursday! "Aleigh, today is not your birthday!" I told her. "But it's CLOSE!" she manages to say through her heavy tears!

Another bad trip to Walmart won't stop me from taking them back. They will eventually learn how to behave appropriatly and understand that I will recognize good behavior!