Costco

The nice thing about Costco shopping carts is the fact that they are larger and can fit two kids in the seat portion of the cart. Unfortunately, they don't have some sort of third row seating for Rachel. It's also unfortunate that they're not equipped with DVD rear entertainment systems.

When we shop at Costco with the kids (or anywhere for that matter) it's like preparing for battle. There's a lot of thought, planning, and "on the fly" choices we make to have a successful outing. For example, this photo shows the kids seated nicely in the cart, barely moving and on their best behavior (this is because we're outside and haven't entered the store yet). The minute we flash the Costco card to enter, it's like a cue to the kids to start going nuts. The "wow" factor of the gigantic plasma TV's only keeps their attention for a minute before one of the boys wants to make a break for it and explore and Rachel wants to take a detour for some frozen yogurt. Fortunately, if we can make it to the cheese and bread aisle, there's usually some sort of handout that will keep the kids munching away for a few minutes. However, the decision to take the sample du jour can not be taken lightly as anything you give them to eat can instantly be turned into a projectile. Therefore, volume, staining ability, and level of cleanup difficulty all most be considered. Crackers, bread, or cheese? Great stuff. Clam chowder, spaghetti, or scary looking survival ration goulash? No way.

Another tactic that works well is to turn the shopping cart around and for me to play NASCAR, zooming in and out of the aisles, doing spinouts, and crashing into stuff. However, I've learned that this should only be done when the cart is fairly empty. A loaded down shopping cart with a case of bottled water, 4 gallons of milk, eggs, 3 half gallons of soy-milk, chicken, veggies, and snacks (a typical weekly supply run) handles more like an 18-wheeler than a sports car.

By the time we get in line, the kids are pretty antsy and Yvonne usually has some chocolate covered snack to buy those precious last few minutes to get us to the register. This is also the time we're inevitably asked, "Are those twins?" I'm really tempted to respond "No, this is Costco, everything comes in multiples...we got these guys on aisle 5...right next to the six-pack of screaming banshees."