Check It Out

We've all heard or witnessed the crazy temper tantrums that kids have at grocery stores and all the other over stimulating shopping places that exist these days.  It always seems to happen right when they reach the check-out lines. It's as if they are saying "I have had enough!"

I have a whole new appreciation for parents out shopping with kids. See, when you have kids with you, standing in line to check out can be a huge ordeal. Don't people know they better hurry up or our children will have a melt down? Why on earth do people still write checks when they get up to the cashier? Don't they see I have a baby in my arms and if they keep taking their sweet time my child will erupt in tears?

Before I had children, I always felt sorry for the kids and the parents in these situations as I figured they were both exhausted and overdone. Sometimes I would try to help distract the children to help the parents feel less embarrassed and to help the kids forget what they were upset about in the first place.

I knew that once you had kids, gone were the days of free time and the ability to run errands at any time and any where.  I knew that once I had kids my independent-do-what-ever-I-want-to-days would be over.

Yes, I do take my daughter out to run errands daily and the hard part is scheduling them to make sure she is not about to go down for a nap and is not starving (stopping in the middle of an excursion to eat is not fun). So the goal is to run out the door the minute she wakes up from her nap and is fully fed, because I know I only have a small window here before she gets tired again and hungry.  And sometimes we can't always be on their schedule.

I guess this is why they invented the concept of Mom's Day Out! Today was the first day I had a scheduled Mom's Day Out to run all of my errands. And my own mother came to the rescue. Of course she has watched/babysat my daughter before but today was the official scheduled visit and it was AMAZING!

I was able to do some Christmas shopping and go to Garden Ridge, the mall, the grocery store and a gift shop all in less than 2 hours!! That would never happen with a baby in tow.  I know I definitely could have taken her with me, but I always feel so bad for my poor little girl getting her in and out of the car and running in and out of the shops while she cries, moans and pleads- I imagine she is secretly crying, "take me home now, I want to play and take a nap!"

I realize that I have just typed a whole book and have not even gone into how to handle temper tampers out in public- one of the biggest challenges yet- I will have to save that post for another day.

What about you? If you are a parent, have you had episodes at the check out lines? Do you have a solution to finding free time either with mom's day outs or family? Even if you work and your child is in daycare or school all day, we all still need a break that is non-work and non-mommy related. I remember the first times I went out alone without my baby, and when I say out, I don't mean going out to a bar, I mean going out to Target and being so happy to be looking at the toilet paper and frozen food sans baby!