Walmart is good for the soul

So, Harrison has a potluck at school tomorrow with his class. I decided I would make a HUGE batch of spaghetti and sauce tonight, for our dinner and then make a big container to take to the potluck. I needed pretty much all of the ingredients for my sauce, and we also needed a bag of Pedigree for my overly sensitive dog (long story) So, Walmart was the obvious choice because I could get everything in one place at a reasonable price (dog food at the grocery? forget it!)

I have been blessed with the sanity and clarity to know that Walmart is cheap on some items but you pay for it in others. I have been shopping at Smith's for a long time now, for the fuel rewards and also because they kick some back to our school. It is smaller, just groceries, and "normal" if you know what I mean.

I pull into Walmart his afternoon, approximately 3:45pm. I drove around the parking lot, hoping to get a decent spot. I think driving around the parking lot is one of the most frustrating parts of Walmart because you have to dodge the loose children, the seniors who just put the car in reverse but lack the range of motion to look over the shoulder to see if it is clear, and then there are the 'wrong way' parkers who grab the spots up. I don't like to park too far away at Walmart because A) a few years ago my purse was stolen in their parking lot and B) with four kids and all of the reasons I hate their lot listed above, it is just dangerous to try to walk them too far in the lot, you just never know!

Once we arrived near the front door and secured a cart, the twins climbed into the back and Millie also sat in the back with them. She is too much of a big girl now to ride in the " baby seat" up front and has to stand in the back. I choose to avoid the screaming and allow her the simple indulgence. Yes, the twins are old enough to walk in the store, but it IS Walmart a week before Christmas, so it is easier to just have them ride so no one gets lost or run over by the previously mentioned senior shopper.

Wouldn't you know it, my cart has a bum wheel and is pulling, horribly, to the left. Fun. We head to the sketti section and get what I need, head to the produce to get salad makings for dinner tonight (wow, cukes for .77 each, at Smith's they were .99 each!) Harrison hiccuped and decided to be dramatic and tell me he thought he was going to throw up and needed to go to the bathroom. Personally the public bathroom here would make me want to throw up, not a place I would WANT to go. I stalled and he was fine, but we still had to walk in that direction to get the dog food for Elbert, so he ran over and went to the bathroom. No, I did not discart all three other kids, he went by himself. After getting nasty looks for stopping in Walmart, while waiting for him, we finally started my work out as we headed back to the dog food. Harrison wanted to go see the Christmas decorations in the green house area, but, due to the cart misbehaving, we headed to the check out.

Score! One cart in front of me! She has a fair amount, but only one cart! The kids are getting antsy, but there is only one cart in front of me. Oh great, she is asking for subtotals part way through, then counting her cash, green light and the scanning continues, but then something rang up wrong.... fixed and it continues. She is scowling at us, the happy Mom behind her, because my toddler his throwing her shoes out, twin A has to pee, twin B is getting squished by toddler and Child #1 wants goldfish for everyone. I can remedy twin A and the pee, and Child #1 and his needs by sending him as an escort to the ladies bathroom, to guard the stall of Twin A (safety in numbers) and it was right across from the end of our check out late. I am the second cart because, there is only one cart in front of me. Yes, if it had been Twin B who had to pee, I could have told him to hold it and he would have waited a full 24 hours to relieve himself. Child #1 and Twin A are not like that, they wait until the last minute and if you deny them, Twin A will just go and not tell you (in her pants) and Child #1 will eventually start to dance and almost cry and on rare occasion has peed his pants in the car. So, they are not the ones to mess around with!

I am unloading the cart, finally, and realize Crazy Toddler has stepped on the .77 cukes and we will now be eating all three for dinner because they are squished. Oh well. She reaches up and grabs the cart in front of us, and makes the other lady bitter because OMG, a 20 month old precious screaming baby touched her cart! Well, Lady, you are at Walmart.

We FINALLY finish and head out, I go to pull the dog food out from under the cart and realize when the checker pulled it out aggressively because I was lazy and didn't put it on the belt for her, she ripped it. Thankfully it was salvageable because I think if the car waiting for my spot had seen me leave the car to go back in, would have pulled a Towanda and smashed my car!

Did I mention that I had scored a prime first slot spot? So it was worth waiting for while I unloaded the groceries, Crazy Toddler and corralled Child #1 and Twins A and B.

So, how does this all amount to "Walmart is good for the soul" you might ask? It makes me realize that I am "normal" because Walmart frustrates me. It is a reminder that I have options and choices and even though Walmart is closest to my house and I can get it all in one stop, I choose to go to Costco for diapers and wipes, and dog food when not in a crisis, Smiths for groceries, the toy store for toys, the clothing stores for clothes etc.

Humor is also good for our souls. Last week Tom emailed me the "Walmart Bingo" card which made me laugh and then I put it out of my mind until I was walking to the entrance today and found my first chip spot! "Child with out shoes" but then, after simply turning my head, I saw another "someone missing a limb" then "someone using an oxygen tank" the list goes on. If anyone wants the file, I'll forward it to you, it is good for a laugh!

Dog food crisis? I decided to buy the bigger bag of the Costco brand and sent Elbert's digestive system into a tail spin, literally! He has been living on white rice for three days now and was finally ready to transition back to Pedigree. For years we fed our dogs Natures Recipe and Nutro only to find Elbert on a dirt road and learn the hard way that all this dog can tolerate is Pedigree!