Grand Aventure, Family style

Today is Saturday. That means groceries. My family eats. No suprise there, right? But I am still amazed at the VOLUME of food that is eatten. For example- Hot dogs, macaroni, and green beans. That is 4 boxes of Mac, 3 packages of weiners and buns, 3 cans of beans... and about a gallon of milk. Thats for ONE meal. Just one. Multiply that by 3 meals (and snacks) a day, for a week. Can we say multi-cart shopping trips?? So, needless to say, when we shop- we shop BIG!! Usually, we try and get in to Walmart (love 'em/hate 'em... they have cheap milk!) early to avoid the lines, weirdos, and make the quickest possible exit. Most of the time it is a true family adventure. ALL 9 of us pile into the Beast (big ole white 11 passanger van that NO ONE would drive if they didn't have to) and head to town. But not today. Today, Steven had to work. Being that we were completely out of milk- We HAD to go in. All 7 duckies and me. Brave? Insane? Take your pick~ My little shoplifter also needed to make amends. I don't know if bringing back the little plastic toy phone was more tramatic for him, or for the elderly greeter that he apologized to. Poor lady, she was trying so hard to make it easy on him~ but Oh! how the boyo cried. Hopefully it will stick in his mind, that sticky fingers are BAD. Not a pleasant trip, but not the worst experience by far. We made it in, out, and are here to tell the tale. We did manage to make it out with 2 cart fulls- and under $200- to boot! Not too shabby~ And on the way home- I came up with a plan to help make an impression in my young fire bugs as well. They will have the pleasure of researching, writing, and presenting a report on fire safety. To the extended family. Tomorrow. Horror of horrors- public speaking. If that's not enought to scare ya strait!! Having a house full of kids is always a challenge. Some of those challenges are harder to deal with than others. I am always second guessing my choices and my decisions hoping that, in the long run, it will all turn out well. That my kids will manage to actually grow up, stay safe, and be good kids. Looking at things like that, it makes a grand aventure to Walmart look like a vacation!