Step #5 Have Fun- I'm Back

After taking a couple nights at my in-laws beach cabin, I'm back!
The kids and I decided to skip from step #1- Get Organized and go straight to Step #5 Have Fun. I think it is important to interject #5 in as much as possible. The weather went from 70 something on Tuesday to 59 today. It's not like we were expecting to be laying in the sun, so it's not like it ruined our time, but mid to upper 60's would have been nice. Oh well, it's the Northwest you get what you get :)

The kids and I had a blast. They played on the beach; looking for crabs, peaking under rocks, gathering beach glass, skipping stones. Even though the skies were grey, they walked barefoot on the mud flats. Laughing, splashing and chasing after one another. I banned any technology shy of my iPhone. We needed tunes of course. And I'll admit I did check my email a few times, but only because I was trying to find out our baseball schedule. I sat and chatted with friends, enjoyed cooking in a kitchen that wasn't my own. Why is it always more fun at someone else's house? We stopped at the store on the way up and that leads me to tonight's post.

I feel like I am amongst friends and that this is a safe environment in which to share with you my addiction.

I am a......Grocery Store addict. There I said it. Wow that feels good!
The euphoric feeling that I get perusing the aisles, is a high I can't explain. I feel joy walking through each and every section. What should we have for lunch? Ooh that looks like dinner tomorrow! Do I need a $5.00 organic heirloom tomato, NO but I WANT it! The smell of fresh baked bread in the bakery. The spray of the produce sprinklers as I grab a fresh, beautiful, bunch of carrots. The sound of a squeaky cart wheel rolling down the aisle over from you. Finding just the cut of meat you need for a great price. Crossing each item off my list! I love it all.

I know people who would do absolutely ANYTHING to avoid the market. They think online shopping is the way to go. Or they just don't enjoy the shopping experience. I have been known to get groceries delivered but it's just not the same. I also do get a box of produce delivered once a week. That way I always have fresh produce on hand, I like getting some unexpected things and then I only go every 10 days or so to the store. Which is only good because it ends up being a little more cost effective. Though not quite as sufficient in curbing my market craving. I do love opening my produce box though. My Klesick Family Farm delivery guy, is always smiley and friendly. It's kind of like he delivers a present once a week. I can't wrap my head around hating the store though. Sometimes I'll admit my shopping experiences may not be the most enjoyable, but it still doesn't ruin it for me as a whole.

I have been known to not only take my 4 kids, but a friend or two of theirs with me into the store. Just because I would rather bring everyone along then send my husband :) Joe is one of those people that HATE the grocery store. If I can't tell him exactly which store, which aisle, which shelf something is on, then it turns ugly quick:) It is cost effective to send him though. If I send him for one can of tomato sauce, that is all he comes home with. It's just weird :) I would rather NOT take my 4 kids and their friends to the store, of course. I would like to go either alone, or with Delaney. When it's just us (we love going together to the market) we will go up and down each aisle, most times more then once. We pick up items, check them out, turning them back and forth, reading labels and deciding if it's for us. We go all over the produce section, sometimes things look so fresh and so delicious that we just HAVE to get it. She likes to weigh it and bag it herself. We look at the live crab and lobster in the seafood tank. We talk to the workers and in our regular stores they know us well. Some of my proudest moments are when she picks up a fresh loaf of bread, smells it, feels it and says, OOooh Mom! We should definitely get this :) Or she'll walk up to the olive bar, grab a container and say "Do you want the olive medley or your sweet peppers? Can I scoop them?" She totally gets it! It's especially great if that store has the little carts. The CAR CARTS, I've told you...are the devil, but the little carts, when I only have one kid, PLAIN OLD FUN!

I think that part of what is fun about the market to me and my kiddos is that we just LOVE food! Everything about it! A lot of the reason, my kids eat things other kids won't is because they are most times in on the shopping. They are in on the cooking a lot too. So they see the food from the fields that we live near, to the farm stand, if that's where we are shopping that day. Or from the grocery store, they see it on the shelf, we talk about the cost of things, "which is less expensive?" "How many of those could we get for the same price as that" Look at that date, let's get the other one it will last longer. They put it in the cart, help get it to the house. They are part of carrying it in. Putting it away and they are all with me in the kitchen as I am cooking. They help, cut, wash and stir. We talk about what they want to eat. If you ask Delaney, plain spaghetti noodles with olive oil and Parmesan cheese is still her favorite, but she loves shopping and she loves being in the kitchen. Julia Child is her favorite Chef. You should hear her impression as she says BON APPETIT!

Sometimes my kids will seem to be on a hunger strike. "But hmmm, I'll think...we haven't been going to the store together lately." So we go. All the sudden they are eating a better, I think it's because they
are in on it. Keegan will drag his feet. A little less enthusiastic (wonder who he gets that from:) And really there are days sometimes more then not (check out my post back a month or so ago...) There are times when I would rather gouge my eyes out then go with everyone; I have tried and you would be surprised, but dry spaghetti is not as sharp as it looks :) But I think it is important to have them be in on it. WHEN IT WORKS!

Just like any addict, my addiction has it's ups and downs. Sometimes I leave with buyers remorse, did I really need that bunch of tulips? Or I walk in with the kiddos and immediately want to abandon my cart and walk out. Been there, done that. There are times when I just need a couple things and really wish I didn't have to go. But all in all, the good with the bad, it is an enjoyable experience most times. Even if it isn't on a certain day. I always go with hope that it will be the next time. I do not need to go bigger every time I go. In fact the more I save, the more excited I get. But I will not ever be on Extreme Couponing. That is time I just don't have, or care to spend. I have no need for 35 candy bars or 70 bottles of vegetable oil. My pantry is full and it's just the way I like it.

Being on vacation, even just up at the beach for a couple days. Some people want to see the sights, I want to check out the store. We stopped at the store at 10 o'clock at night the other night on our way up to the cabin. Just me and the kids, they were great. The store was quiet, workers were stacking shelves, and happy to see customers. We talked about how it was different then our regular store. Debated about what to have for breakfast and decided that we NEEDED baked potatoes for dinner the next night. "Don't forget the sour cream Mom!" "Should we get some juice? Oooh, they have my favorite lemonade!" Keegan pushed the cart. Cam and Delaney hanging onto the side of the cart for a ride. Maddie straggling behind. Trying to sneak this and that into the basket. It was late, we were exhausted, but I still left feeling like...That was fun! Weird...maybe a little? :)

I complain, sometimes a lot- I know. Some of you may very well think I have multiple personalities :) But in an average day, I am happy, and crazy and ticked and hysterically laughing in that exact order or sometimes at the same time. My life is crazy wonderful. Sometimes in that exact order as well :) So thanks for listening. And if there are any other Grocery Addicts out there...You're welcome to join the club! The first step is admitting you have a problem. I am there, but there is no way I'm going to the next step to try to change. It just feels too good :)

Night! And Happy Shopping!
Ashley