Before you get too excited; no I don’t have any ideas. I am asking, no BEGGING you for yours.
A.P., Maybelle and I decided to check out the new Cascade Meijer. We were on this side of town because I had a Weight Watchers meeting near there. We lasted about 5 minutes in the meeting. This is the second time Maybelle has gotten me thrown out. It is the only thing that keeps me from sticking my head in a bag of chips at times… the sooner I lose the weight, the sooner I can stop trying to make my children shush!! while others are celebrating their losses. Ironically, my bribe offer of cookies for good behavior during a Weight Watchers meeting was ineffective.
Off to Meijer we went. The bribe reward for making good choices in the store was taking them to see “Shrek The Third” at the Dove Family Film Festival. As you can see, I am blogging rather than Shrek-ing, so that didn’t go too well either.
So about the new Cascade Meijer. It is beautiful. Shiny and new. If it is possible for a store to emit an air of confidence; this store does. I was a little confused by the back corner of the grocery section. The shelves all of a sudden change direction (if you attempted to shop during construction – it’s kind of the same; only clean) and it’s difficult to figure out what is the best way to get through there without doubling back.
The rest of the store looks great though. The most exciting part is the deli. Ohhhh the cheese.
There is cheese from all around town, the state, the country, the world. I am still under some budgetary restrictions so I had to look at the fancy cheese and not buy, but the next extra dollar (or $20) I have, I am headed to the cheese counter.
One really nice thing was the healthy snack stand. I think they ripped this off from Publix (oh Publix… how I miss thee) but it’s a good idea. There are fresh apples, bananas, and other fruits in cute little baskets. You (or more likely your child) put a quarter in a little box, and you can choose a piece of fruit to snack on while shopping.
I was armed with a fistful of coupons. Actually, I accidentally brought the clip with me, but it was a good accident. You know those things that are like huge clips, but have a magnet on the back, so you can hang it on the refrigerator? 
I have about 6. I love them. One had my coupons in it, and when I took it out of my coat pocket and set it in the cart – duh – it stuck! So my coupons were all clipped together, and easy to keep handy with the magnetized clip.
I recently signed up for “The Grocery Game”. You pay a set price per month, and get a listing of advertised and un-advertised specials. It generates a report and tells you when to ‘stockpile’; as well as matches the sales up with coupons and lists the dates the coupons were published.
This isn’t working out me, but it seems to for everyone else. I most likely won’t go beyond the trial period but if you want to read more about it, check out The Diaper Diaries post on it.
I did try the video carts. Once.
Right in front of the meat counter, the cart lurched forward; then stopped. It wouldn’t re-start. I had to get the hamburger grinder guy to stop his business and run to get a service counter person for me.
As it turns out; those carts stop after an hour. An HOUR?? By the time you get two kids into the cart, seat assignments negotiated, buckles fastened, and doors locked you’ve wasted 15 minutes right there. There is no timer on it, so even though you are done shopping and on your way to the checkout line, if the cart stops; the ride is over.
My kids get only two hours of TV a day and I hate to waste it at the grocery store. Besides; when they are not being naughty, they are pretty fun so I like talking to them.
So now I turn to you. What are your best tips for easier grocery shopping? Leave the kids at home? Unfortunately; my husband can’t distinguish between me ‘going to get a coffee’ and ‘going grocery shopping’. If he has to watch the kids – it’s all the same regardless of where I have gone. I don’t like to cash in my chips for shopping so I need to make this go better.
Any other ideas? Please leave a comment below. Thank you!
My tip: Go on Thurs. when you have childcare. Yeah, not a great ti, but seriously, children are not meant to go grocery shopping.
Ok, my other tip is give them a list with pictures and have them help. Or let them put things in the cart for you and take them out on the belt when you are checking out. My kids both seem to get very excited about either of these.
I was going to suggest the picture thing too. We haven’t done it though.
I usually go when “Nathan” (that’s what he wants to change his name to, so I’m using it) is in school. They seem to behave better as 2 than 3.
I stopped taking Clare on major bi-weekly shopping trips about 2 years ago. It was just too much for me. I mainly go now when she’s in school, I can usually get 1 good trip to the store then back home to unload before I have to return to school.
The other thing we do on occasion….is family grocery shopping on the weekend. It’s a bit of a pain because my hubby tends to add to the cart when unnecessary, but it’s worth it sometimes to have the extra hands to keep Clare in line.
I’m embarrassed to say that this is my big tip, but here it is: for some reason, as long as my kids have crackers to eat while we’re at the store, they are pretty good (they’re 3 and almost 2). I give them those little bags of ritz crackers, and they are reserved for the grocery trips: oooh, special treats! I am in a fairly isolated place, so we will probably get video carts by the time my kids are in junior high. We do have the car carts w/o video, and those worked really well for a while, but now my two just barely fit in the car, and once they’re wearing their winter clothes it will definitely be over. I don’t know what we’ll do them. I am not ready for my 3 y.o. to walk with me.
I’ve been meaning to do the picture grocery list. I think that my big girl is ready for that to be a big incentive to be good.
Sorry: I’ve been no help here, I’m afraid. I was just so excited to find out I wasn’t the only one! Today I took them both, and they were sick and hadn’t slept well. And I tried to do parcel pick up for the first time ever, and my kid started screaming because she thought her sandwich was lost forever. Good times!
My really really best tip was that I used to go to WW, then do the grocery shop while my mom watched the girls.
It is good to know I’m not alone in this struggle too!
The first time I told my husband I was no longer able to take my 2 year old grocery shopping, I left them home and within an hour I got a call to see if I was done yet. Geez… Men must just perceive this as shopping (new clothes or food to sustain the family – shopping is shopping).
Sadly, junk food is what keeps my son in the cart. We start with a donut and usually get a bag of chips too before we are done. I like when the (male) cashiers who ask, “did you know this bag is open?” Duh
1. I make them stay in the cart as many years as is humanly possible.
2. I tell them that if they whine for it, they ain’t gettin’ it (and I mean it, too).
3. I make sure they have napped/peed/eaten, as appropriate, before leaving for the store.
4. I spend as little time as possible. (I type up a sort of map of the grocery store that I always go to. It lists all the things we might buy in the order that I would come across them in the store. I post this on the fridge door and circle things as I find I need them. Then I take that list to the store. I can be in and out in a flash–no back and forths across the store. I just go straight down the list as I walk through the store. I guess this doesn’t help if you are not in your usual store, though.)
5. If it gets bad enough, then I leave. Is your short-term convenience more or less important than teaching your children to behave and that you mean what you say?
6. Remember that this too shall pass. It will be a very short time before you are asking them to please go to the store with you so they can help!
What if you went at night after the kids are in bed? Maybe your hubby wouldn’t count it as a babysitting “favor” if they are asleep?
I don’t understand the husband “babysitting mentality”. When a mom is watching her kids, is she babysitting? My solution would be to tell your husband if he wants to eat, he either has to watch the kids while you shop or do the shopping himself. Shopping with small children is too stressful.