Shopping...

I love it when Richard does the shopping for the family. I love that he can go after work and that I don't have to haul three preschoolers to Wal-Mart on a regular basis. If you've never tried that yourself, I double dog dare you to do it at least once and not lose your mind. Even my kids who are generally well behaved have this natural instinct to want to ride in the cart, no, get down, no, ride in the cart, no, get down....oh, what's that over there? Mom, can we get this? What about this? What about this? WAIT! Where's your brother? RRRIIIICCHHHIIEEE????? Get back over here.......right now! Invariably, at least one of them will become ravishingly hungry or nearly die of thirst because I refuse to open the fruit snacks in the cart or let them chug the juice we just pulled off of the shelf. So, yes, I do love it when Richard goes to Wal-Mart for me.....

.....however, when I turn over the shopping duties, I also have to turn over control of what actually makes it into our cupboard after shopping. I do send him with a very specific list, but what he brings back is just a little....well....Richard-ized. For example, the bananas. I normally go for a medium sized, slightly green bunch which are the perfect size for eating and will last a few days. Richard, however pays no attention to the color...only the size. I honestly think he competes with himself to see if he can possibly find the LARGEST bananas in town to bring home. This last time I swear the bananas were 12 inches long! I love a daily banana, but I'm so sorry...I cannot eat one that big. Who can??

Then, there's the branding. You know, there are just some things for which an off-brand will not suffice. For example, if I put "Oreos" on the list, please do not come home with Sam's brand Twist-n-Shouts. Now, there's nothing wrong with Sam's brand anything. But an Oreo is an Oreo and only an Oreo can really be an Oreo. So, when we we ask for Oreos, please bring Oreos. :)

Richard also has two or three items stuck in his brain that he ALWAYS buys regardless of whether or not they're on the list. One of them is milk. And, that usually works out because we use a lot of milk. We also use a lot of toilet paper, but every time he goes to the store, he brings home a 48-roll package. We don't use THAT much! I think we currently have 225 rolls of paper in our already crowded laundry room. Pretty soon, I'll have to start using it to decorate!

But, not to complain. Mostly he does a great job. And, the extra toilet paper and twist-n-shouts are much easier to deal with than chasing my loony toddlers around the 5 acre Super Wal-Mart!