Shopping with the Zoo

It's Friday. Which means it's shopping day. Quite easily my favorite day of the week. And the most dreaded. Sound contradictory? Yes...but let me explain. I LOVE Fridays because it's the one day of the week that I get out of the house....AND get to participate in one of my favorite hobbies: Shopping! Sure, we're on a strict budget. And yeah, I'm only getting groceries. But still! I'm out of my 4 walls! Freedom in a club wagon! And I get to spend money! YAY!

BUT. Like I said, it's a dreaded day, too. I have to get 7 kids fed, cleaned up, dressed & in the van. Without losing one of them OR my mind. Let me put it this way.....have you ever tried to herd, rope & dress a feral cat? Times that by 7, and you get a pretty good idea of what some mornings are like. Not to mention finding those darn shoes. They like to walk off, you know. How we can lose 14 shoes EVERY SINGLE DAY, I have no idea. It's not like this house is a McMansion or naything. Sheesh.
Ok....Now...granted. The boys are old enough to get dressed by themselves & make themselves fairly presentable (no, young man..you may NOT wear the duct tape covered shoes and PLEASE wash your face!). And my oldest 2 girls do an OK job too. Well, if you don't mind lime green pants, polka dot skirts, floral & striped shirt & bed head hair. With sandals & socks, of course. All at once.
BUT the babies can't really dress themselves yet. So it's assembly line time...get one diaper changed, move to the next. Pants, shirts, shoes. Whoops, baby #1 is nakie, gotta start over. By the time I've dressed & re-dressed those 2, it's been an hour. And the oldest ones have forgotten that we're going out, so they've taken their shoes off & lost them. Again.
*sigh*

And we're finally off. Think I might treat myself to a jar of Nutella. One of the perks of being in charge of the grocery budget. (Just don't tell my hubby that, he's trying to eat healthier and wants me along for the ride....but you don't stand between a pregnant lady & her chocolate. THAT wouldn't be healthy for either one of us.)