Shopping During Nap Time

I knew going shopping during nap time was not a good idea before I even left the house.  I got the preschoolers on the bus and told Milo to get his shoes, hat and jacket on.  He threw a fit, not because he was going somewhere but because we didn't eat lunch before we left.  It was not in his routine to just skip lunch and go somewhere.  Like, who does that?  I tried to explain to him that we would go grab some fast food but that was not what he wanted.  He wanted a sammich and mielk and he wanted to eat at the taybo.

I walked outside, leaving him spinning circles on his back on the kitchen floor and got Ruby into the Suburban.  I looked behind me and saw him frantically trying to open the screen door.  He decided he was coming with me, lunch or no lunch.  

We hit up Arby's and Milo was cooperative and decided to eat his chicken and fries, despite the fact that it wasn't a sammich.  

His hat had twisted at some point during the ride and the ear flap was covering his mouth.  He screeched from the back seat, obviously frustrated with the whole situation.  I told him to take his hat off.  He said no.  I told him to wait until we could stop and I would help him and he said, "Ok, Mom."  But we didn't stop in less than 10 seconds so the screeching picked back up again.

I told him again to just take his hat off, but that was out of the question.  The hat was staying put and he would eat his fries one way or another. I saw him picking up the flap at on point, holding it up and putting a fry in his mouth with the other hand.  Seems like taking the hat off would be easier but who am I to judge?

When we got to our first destination, Bed Bath and Beyond (how come I haven't discovered this store earlier?), I fixed his hat.  "There." he said, breathlessly.  He then proceeded to get out of his car seat.  This part was a little tricky because he had to hold onto his fries himself.  He wouldn't let me offer my services of help in holding his fries while he removed his limbs from his car seat.  Predictably, while he twisted his arm to free it from the straps, his fries dumped out.  The wailing and tears started again and I found myself crawling around on the floor picking them up, one by one.  "There."  he said again, breathlessly, as I put the final one back in the box.

He did pretty well in BB&B, as I browsed, looking for something to buy with my 20% off coupon.  He would eat one fry every ten minutes or so.  I was looking for a new waffle iron, but I wasn't impressed with their options.  We don't eat waffles enough to invest in a $120 waffle iron.  I settled on a food chopper.

When we got back outside, the wind had picked up and it had started snowing.  I tried rushing us back to our vehicle but you just can't rush Milo.  Milo doesn't rush.  He won't let me hold his hand, ever, otherwise he would collapse to the ground in tears, so we walked at his pace, in the middle of the parking lot aisle, my heading whipping back and forth checking for cars while he sauntered along, eating a fry every now and then, looking around checking out the other vehicles.  I knew I should have stopped by my mom's to collect my double stroller before I left town.

When we finally reached the Suburban, I opened his door.  He won't let me lift him into the vehicle.  He has to do it himself, whether or not he is holding french fries.  And inevitably, his fries spilled out again.  Completely oblivious to the howling winds and freezing temperatures, he slowly picked up the fries one by one and put them back in his box.

We finally made it to Sam's Club and we had another long, adventurous and freezing cold journey from the car to the store. But the best part about this journey was that Milo left his fries in the car.  Voluntarily.  He just put them down and got out of the car.  Amazing.  But when we got into the store and into the bathroom, he threw a royal fit in the cart because we had passed about five sinks and he didn't get to wash his hands.  He almost threw himself overboard, lunging towards the sinks.  I mean, who passes by a sink without washing their hands?

By the time we got out of the parking lot, he was out for the count, chewing on the corner of his jacket. This guy was so exhausting that I didn't get any pictures of sweet Ruby, who slept in her car seat, opening her eyes every now and then to smile at me.

All I can say is that Milo is going to make a great business owner or leader some day, doing everything right and doing it right the first time and letting everyone know when he is unsatisfied.  And he will teach others to just slow down, stop and smell the roses every now and then. There is no need to rush.