THIS is how we do it...

I often like to tell stories from our Walmart adventures. I get comments about having my hands full, etc. etc. everywhere we go, but the things people say and do when we are at Walmart usually top the list.

Stories from Walmart today (although only one has to do with comments from by-standers):

Story #1:
I dropped off our car to get new tires when we got there, and the guy signing us in witnessed all of the boys piling out of the car. When the 3rd one jumped out, he saw that there was still one waiting to get out of his seat (Josiah), and he said, "WHOA!!! That's a lot of kids!" My comment was, "Yeah, it's like a clown car with everybody piling out, right?" HIS comment was, "Well, I wouldn't have put it quite so nicely!"
Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean??!

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Story #2:
Justus had to go to the bathroom, so the rest of us were waiting right outside the door. Titus pointed to the sign outside the family restroom and said, "This one is for Grandpas, moms, AND kids. See?"

Me: "Grandpas?? Why do you think it looks like it's for Grandpa's??"
Titus: "See the picture with the big 'C' on it with the Grandpa sitting on it?"
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Story #3:
We were walking by all of the gallons of tea, and I heard Titus say, "Eww, look at that milk!" I was starting to tell him it was tea, and he yells much louder so everyone around us could hear, "MOM! Look at that yucky brown milk!!" Yeah, that's tea, buddy.

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Anyway, back to the point of this post. When I talk about our trips to Walmart, sharing funny (or rude) things people say to us, one thing people ask me is HOW do you grocery shop with all of the boys with you?? Well, here's the thing. If I don't have to, I don't. But since we DO have a house-full of hungry, growing boys, we frequent Walmart on a weekly basis. I can't always wait until after bedtime and such, so sometimes I am stuck with taking my crew with me.

SOOOO, without further ado, THIS is how the Frye's do Walmart:

...except, usually it's Titus sitting next to Eli and Justus hanging off the back...AND Eli usually has a sucker or some type of food or candy in his mouth to keep him quiet and to keep the crying at bay. Because if you know much about our struggles with Eli, it's that he throws a fit everywhere we go. Food helps, and hopefully we won't have a fat 4 year old on our hands because of that.
{Insert mommy guilt here}

We have gone through many transitions. When Josiah was in his infant car seat, I'd set that on top of the cart, and Titus and Eli would ride in the 2 blue seats while Justus walked or rode on the side. Then we transitioned to Josiah riding in the blue seat next to Eli while Titus and Justus walked. That doesn't usually last very long, because Justus and/or Titus want to sit down from time to time...plus, having that seat open next to Eli means I can use it for discipline purposes (just in case someone needs to "sit and think about that" for a few minutes ;) ) Usually, if all of the seats are taken, the straggler is holding onto the cart or hanging off the end or side of it. Yes, we look like a circus act.

Now, I know all of the reasons I shouldn't shop at Walmart...I could probably make a list for you myself! (Support local farmers! etc. etc.) I like shopping at Walmart for different reasons...low prices, the fact that I can get anything and everything at the same store while also getting my oil changed and tires rotated, etc. But I have to say this: the number one reason I like shopping at Walmart is because of their amazingly family-friendly grocery carts.

"Well, what about Kroger/Tom Thumb/Albertson's with their cool grocery carts with the cars on the front or TVs inside of them?" you might say??
Ohhh you mean the grocery carts that only cause fights among my children? Well, those carts only seat 2 in those little cars, and if there's a car involved that can actually be driven while we grocery shop? Yeah, my kids are going to fight over who gets to "drive." And yes, I could make them take turns (and have done that), but going to a store where I have to stop halfway through just to play musical chairs with 4 boys doesn't quite sound like a good idea to me.

"Well, there's always the Target shopping carts with the 2 seater bucket in the front just like Walmart!" Excuse me, just like Walmart? No, those are NOT just like Walmart's carts. The seats in the Target carts not only have the children FACING each other (whose genius idea was that?), but they also have one tiny area for little hands and feet to go...now how easy is it for kids to "keep your hands and feet to yourself!" when you're practically sitting on top of each other? Not to mention the fact that Target has (for the sake of safety, I suppose) basically rendered the toddler child-seat in the actual cart useless, meaning that extra seat I would be using is out.

Let me tell you, I would much rather grocery shop by myself, AND I would love to be one of those extreme couponers who shop at 4 different stores in one week to get most of their items for free...but when I DO have to take my clan along, Walmart is just the way to go right now for us. I hope you enjoyed reading my explanation of the who, what, when, where, and why's :) And forgive me if you're offended that I love Walmart. Maybe you can babysit my kids for me while I cut coupons and grocery shop elsewhere :)