Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Strategy

When I go somewhere by myself with all three kids, I have decided that it is really important to have a strategy. Strategy is pretty easy in the grocery store when you have a cart (particularly a race car cart) so that all of the kids can be contained and you have the lure of a free cookie from the bakery. We work on trying to stay with mommy, but it sure is nice to have the back-up threat of kids being in the cart (and if there are objections then the threat is to have to be strapped in the cart...with the ultimate threat of leaving the store all together). We went to the library today, and the kids did pretty well at first, but then we were trying to find a construction book for Andy and it took awhile so the kids were sort of losing it (mommy included) by the end. We also had to stop by the campus today and I used the wagon (primarily since the first thing we had to do was return some boxes that were a bit much to carry) and the kids had a great time in the wagon. It is harder if we have to run several errands in a row and there is not time to work off some energy in between. I keep telling myself that as we keep working on it and they get older it will be better and that we are, after all, just barely three.

1 comment:

Jill in MA said...

Kudos to you for getting out of the house at all with 3 kids those ages!! I find that errands with the kids is trying, if only because getting them in and out of the car is tiresome. I really don't know how you do it!! I avoid the grocery store with the kids (I shop at night when they're in bed and Steve is home.) If necessary, I try to go with only one. Even then, it can be trying. They rarely want to be there anymore by the time you reach the checkout. Owen once yelled at the bagger for doing her job. Ugh! How embarrassing!