The Store with More

When the girls wake up from their naps now, I often hear them over the monitor, engaging in serious conversations between cribs.  For example, earlier this week, I heard Becky tell her sister:

“I don’t like rollercoasters.  I go on an airplane.” 

Today, I heard Becky inform Susie:

“I want to go to the fair.  I want to see cows and horses and sheep.” 

To which I heard the ever-logical Susie reply:

“Ask Mommy.”  

And sure enough, when I went in a bit later to get them up, the first words out of Becky’s mouth were: “I want to go the fair!  I want to go on a helicopter!” 

I didn’t have the resources at hand to supply my children with a flying musical ride, but I figured I could at least satisfy their longing to see some barnyard animals.  Off we went to a local grocery store that, amazingly enough, also features a small zoo of sorts in the parking lot.  I’m using the term “zoo” rather loosely – it’s simply a collection of pens that contain some chickens, turkeys, sheep, goats and cows.  But those are all the animals my girls care about at this point, so they were quite happy with the selection.

The store also has a pumpkin “patch” outside, so we wandered through the aisles, although the girls were more interested in the Halloween decorations than the gourds.  Susie kept announcing that the ghosts and goblins were “see-y” (that is, “scary”…but she pronounces it just like she says the word “silly” and also very close to how she says “Susie”…so I guess it’s possible she was dismissing the decorations as silly…or my least favorite option, she thought the glowing witches looked like her…).  Becky, on the other hand, just wanted to give all the skeletons kisses.

After finishing our tour of the Halloween section, we headed inside.  The girls are at a phase right now where they don’t want to ride in the front of the cart where I usually place them (I squeeze each child’s legs into the hole where one leg is supposed to go, so I know it’s not exactly a comfortable seating arrangement for them).  So, because I was feeling brave and/or foolish, I told them that they could walk with me through the aisles as long as they held my hands.   But unfortunately, that didn’t work either, because they both wanted to hold their own basket, which required two hands.  So I simply herded them through the aisles, and they behaved remarkably well.  I realized shortly after entering the store that I had forgotten my wallet in the car, which was probably a fortunate mistake, as I don’t know if I could have counted on their good behavior lasting through a checkout aisle.  Why oh why do stores place packs of gum and candy within little arms’ reach? 

Don’t answer that.  I’m hoping we can delay the “gimme’s” for a few more years.