A Three Hour Tour...

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip.....

Nathan thinks I LOVE grocery shopping. Why does he think this you ask? Probably because Miss J is always so excited to go with me, and also because it can take... 3 HOURS. I must be having fun, Right???

Well, let me tell you all about it....

We usually start at the bathroom that way she should be good until we get done. Unfortunately, Miss J is obsessed with the hand dryer and makes sure she spends lots of time making sure every drop is off her body.

Then we get a cart. The good news is that at our grocery store they have wipes available to clean the cart for germs. The bad news is that Jaleigh loves to clean the cart.

And she cleans, and cleans, and cleans......

So now we have empty bladders, a clean cart, and we are ready to shop. The good news is, Jaleigh loves to shop. The bad news is that Jaleigh loves to shop. She looks at everything, she touches everything, she smells everything, she wants to try everything on.

I get what I can around her browsing, but eventually I resort to bribery. "Jaleigh! Do you want to get a doughnut?" The trick is that if she gets a doughnut, she has to eat it in the cart and I can actually get something done! (Yes. I let her EAT it in the store while I shop. Remember how clean the WHOLE cart is now?)

She is usually finished by isle 5, and I have made good headway by now. Luckily, I LOVE isle 5. Isle 5 has a "spill station" which has paper towels and one of those "Caution Wet" portable signs on a post in case of accidents.

Also in isle 5, they have one of those "bring your own jug and refill it with our water" stations. Now, it only costs .29 cents to fill up a whole gallon of water, what is a few drops, right? I grab a paper towel, get it a tad bit wet, and wholla! Jaleigh can now clean herself up for the next 1-2 isles!Then, maybe it is the feel of water on her hands, or the draw of the hand dryer I don't know, but then it is time for another potty break. This potty is conveniently located at the back of the store, a secret one actually. Through the doors where only employees know...

And we resume the hand dryer routine....

It is fortunate that we can use the bathroom in the back of the store, but unfortunately we come out RIGHT next to the fish. So we stop to see them and discuss how many of them have died, and how they died, and I lift her up to the tanks at the top so she is sure to see the BIG fish. After a while we resume our shopping trip back to isle 6 or 7.

Unfortunately at the end of isle 6 or 7 is the kids clothes department. "Oh, this is beautiful! Mom, do you see this? Can we put this on my list?" (of things she wants) "Oh this is soo cute! Mom, do you think this fits me?" "It says 3-6 months. I don't think this will fit you anymore" "Aww MAN!"

Finally I ask her to help me find something in the isle of GROCERIES that she is interested in and we are off. This is where she gets creative and for instance, finds a freezer door to practice writing her "words".For the next few isles she is in the cart, out of the cart, in the cart, out of the cart, until finally....

It's potty time again. This time, the hand dryer gets a good workout because Jaleigh is especially efficient.

Here is a prime example from our shopping trip today, of how Jaleigh shops. IF you have the time.

Eventually we do finish, and we make it home with only a *few* extra pieces for her "list". Even though these outings are not my favorite, and become VERY draining, I am happy in the end of the day to have a friend that wants to be with me. The time will shortly come that I will miss having someone to "shop" with every week.

I just went around the corner to see my sweet girl, all tuckered out, trying to read one of the "extra pieces" we picked up today. I love this crazy girl!

Goodnight...