I prefer to grocery shop by myself. I can meander up and down the aisles, taking my time, comparing prices, and reading labels. This is not the case when I am with my two little girls. I am forced to shop as fast as possible, pushing the cart as if I were a racecar driver, grabbing whichever items I need most and racing for the checkout line.
I cannot even hear myself think because I am constantly repeating, “No, you can’t have that! Put it back!” and “Please use your quiet voice!” I inevitably return home without one or two of the essential items on my list, simply because my head begins to spin after five minutes of trying to shop with the little ones in tow.
My shopping was taken to another level, however, when I discovered the joy of the “beep-beep cart,” as we like to call it. For those of you unfamiliar with this fabulous invention, it is a brightly colored plastic car with two seatbelts and two steering wheels, attached to the front of a grocery cart. Pure genius! Now whenever we visit the grocery store, my two girls sit next to each other and “drive” the cart for me.
They remain (relatively) quiet and, even better, they remain seated. This is the only way I can keep my five-year old from running amok in the store and grabbing anything and everything that catches her eye. Even better, her little sister alternates between being mesmerized by the unfamiliar sights and sounds of the store, and giggling with joy while she turns the steering wheel.
Not only am I able to actually buy everything on my list, but I can even do a little label reading! The best part of all, though, is watching my girls have fun together in the “beep-beep cart” – now they actually want to go shopping with me, and I don’t mind bringing them along!