Mom vs. the Dot: Making it COUNT!

For weeks, I have had gallons of energy. Buckets even.  This is not normal for me, and I love it!  Summertime with its' warm weather and outdoor activities somehow turns off the lupus machine. But today, the switch toggled over to "on" and wouldn't you know it?  My tank was on "E" for hours. So naturally, it's grocery day.  Whee!! Basically, I feel like I have to flu.  Not sickness-wise, but fatigue-wise.  Kind of like the first or third trimester of pregnancy, when all you want to do is sit on the couch and wait until normalcy returns. So the troops and I headed out to the grocery store to see what we could do about restocking our pantry.  Even if I was having a bad day, we still needed groceries. Yup, it was one of those suck-it-up-and-go kinda days.  Thankfully, my oldest daughter, Aryn, loves to take on new responsibilities.  I handed her a quarter and she went and picked out the cart (or "buggy") and met us at the door....

  1a.  Leave the kids at home with your spouse. If you can't leave the kids at home, 1b.  Feed Them!  Give your kids a snack and allow potty breaks before you leave the house.  I know it's a pain to stop and make a snack before you leave home, but it's worth it.  Fuller tummies means less whiny shoppers. 2.  Make a List!  Have the children make a list before they leave home.  Scribbles and pictures are fine.  Good spelling practice for older children.  Gives them something specific to look for during the trip. 3.  Make a List!  Before you leave your house, make a detailed list of what you need.  You are less likely to browse and buy items you don't need when you have a list, and you are more likely to find what you need as you pass through each aisle, instead of backtracking through aisles.  I keep my list simple: Breakfast            ...