Monday, August 23, 2010

First trip to the big grocery store (Sarah)

So Button and I have mainly been shopping at our little market down the street. It is a great market but is small with limited items, so I decided that today we would take the bus and go to the big grocery store.
So we leave our house for the 10 minute walk to the bus. Button decided to walk, and I was wheeling our shopping bag down the street. She did not want to hold hands on the road, so after an argument which ended with her going limp on the road, I picked her up as I had no time for extra shenanigans since we had a bus to catch. So I lug her in one arm drag my cart/bag in the other to the bus. We get tickets and have a pleasant ride. We get off at our stop and immediately Button goes limp again and refuses to hold my hand when I tell her that we have to because there are cars around. We are in a 4 way busy intersection, so I can't let her run free. I finally get her to agree to walk and halfway across the crosswalk she goes limp again, lays in the road, kicks off her shoes and throws Hans.
O.k. this is officially irritating.
I pick her and Hans up under one arm, cart in the other, and kick her shoes across the intersection as I am not an octopus and only have two hands. I look her in the eye and give her a stern talking to about laying in the intersection and holding hands near cars. She avoids eye contact with me and I think I even saw a small smile, but she finally says o.k.
So I put her down but am still not allowed to hold her hand, so I walk next to her and cut her off anytime she tries to stray away. We get to the store and I find that all the carts are locked together. Apparently you have to pay for your carts in Switzerland. What?! There is no sign or anything saying how much it costs, and I am pretty sure I just used all my francs for the bus. Sigh.  I pretend to be digging in my purse but slyly watch as a woman comes up to pay for a cart. She sees me spying on her and tells me that it costs one or two francs. All I have is a 5 franc coin, so she tells me I need to get change at the flower shop. The thought of corralling Button to another location does not sound appealing to me though, so am searching my purse to be sure I don't have a franc somewhere. Luckily I find two 1/2 francs and the nice woman exchanges them for her one and shows me how to work the carts.  I get Button into the cart and am relieved that she can't go anywhere for a minute. We go into the store and she immediately tells me I cannot hold onto the cart, saying  "No cart mama, no!"
Um, someone needs to maneuver and drive this thing, and I'm pretty sure that it needs to be held onto. So the whole time in the store she is slapping my hands away saying NO, and I am saying for the love of Pete, STOP! I need to hold onto the cart!
Anyway, we made our purchases and went to wait for the bus to go home. She was all over the ticket machine, put Hans in the trash a couple of times and then wanted to put him down a hole in the sewer. I nixed these activities and was just praying for the bus to come so she would sit in a seat and be somewhat still for a minute.
So we had a quiet ride home, which was great. We were getting off the bus though and on the last step the doors started closing on us. Button freaked out and screamed, I caught the door and pushed it back but not quick enough to avert a full crying breakdown outside of the bus. After about 5 minutes I was able to convince her that the doors were sorry, they didn't mean to close on her and got her to tell the doors that it was o.k.
So we began our 10 min walk home which took about 20 minutes due to more laying in the road, laying Hans in the road, yelling about not holding hands, etc.
I think I am going to need a little break before I attempt this event again.

7 comments:

  1. A day in the life of a mother with a toddler. I have been there Sarah! I hope your day was better from there :) xo

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  2. I need a drink just reading this. I don't like all of the shenanigans, but am thrilled to see that you were able to work that word into your story. - Wah

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  3. SarBear, you are a great storyteller. I've refreshed your blog about 10 times today, looking for more updates. This is pure entertainment!

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  4. Whew, I am exhausted just reading this plus I'm with Monica.
    I can absolutely see that little sly smile of hers too...Button!! This stubborness must certainly be a family trait from your side as it is well known that all of my children have been perfectly behaved ;P . Loving the blog..encore, encore!

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  5. It's amazing how such a small chore like going to the market can turn into such an ordeal when a toddler is added in to the mix!

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  6. The acronym "LOL" has never taken such a true meaning until I read this post...seriously...there are tears in my eyes :)

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  7. Oh man, Sadie was the limp noodle master at that age. I think the older kids pass that trick down to the younger ones.

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