- you enter a certain 'territory'.
- gotta get your lil 'troops' in check.
- constantly screaming while giving orders to your 'troops'.
- must make sure your lil 'troops' are safe.
- 'armed' with a list, it's a race with time to look for items on that list, with the help of your 'deputy'.
- at times must separate from 'deputy' to divide and conquer.
- must do all this before the 'tiny time-bomb' starts going off.
- at the same time making sure there's minimal damage to self, physically and especially mentally.
yup. war zone.
khaleef & kahfi @ the seafood section my troops comprise of khaleef, kahfi and kazim, and yes, my deputy is my trusted pillow-partner mr. khairul. haha. we usually do our shopping at geant (yes, it's giant kot, spelled geant) at ibn battuta mall because it's the closest to our place, and it's right next to the foodcourt.
try not to go grocery shopping when you're hungry - you'd be picking up more (food) than you need!
the grocery list
as the 'general' of the army, it's always my duty to prepare the grocery list. i think it's common that the mommy is in charge of the list, right? how bout in your home?
i always have a little notebook ready on top of the microwave, with a pen - so that whenever something finished up, or i noticed i needed something that isn't there - i straight away write it down. at the end of the week, the list should by then be filled with items to be bought!
having a grocery list is important!
- you won't forget anything
- this will avoid 2-3 more return trips to the store within 1-2 weeks
- helps you stick with what you really NEED, rather than WANT (like junk food)
- saves time without trying to think of what you might be needing
- try to group the items when you list them out - like frozen food, vegetables or cleansing product - to make it easier to go from isle to isle accordingly
however, mr. khairul always has a way of adding up to the list while we're there with his red bulls drinks, white choc toblerone or some vegetable he wants me to cook...
also, i'm lucky that khaleef and kahfi don't ask (or demand) for any chocs, cookies or ice-cream as we walk around the isles, and throw tantrums when they don't get what they want - and even when they do, they would just say 'owh, ok' when i said 'no'. i hope this doesn't change with age!
the boys @ the fruit section waiting for mak & bapak to pick, choose, bag, and weigh the vegethe shopping cart/trolley
we usually bring two strollers - one for kazim, and another one for kahfi. while grocery shopping, of course it's impossible to push two strollers AND a shopping cart so we would fold up kahfi's stroller which is smaller and keep it inside the cart.
the space in shopping cart is already taken by khaleef and kahfi, their shoes and the folded-up stroller, so we're pushing around a huge chunk of weight even before we start shopping!
however, this is a good way to make sure the boys stay safe inside the trolley while going around the hypermart, without me experiencing hyperventilation calling their names or worse - finding them missing!
fun facts when the kay family goes grocery shopping!
- from across the hypermart, i hear shouts of 'mak! mak! where are you, mak!!!' that's always how mr. khairul is able to locate me after we separate
- i sometimes feel like everyone within 5 miles radius of the hypermart knows my kids name by the end of our shopping trip because of my constant scream for them to stay put or keep quiet
- i could be at one end of the fruit section, and mr. khairul could be at the other end of the vege section, and he shouts, "ambik pisang!" ha? "pisang!" ape? "pi! sang! pisang!" oh! okay!
- i might find a box of winnie the pooh instant pasta, or strawberry milk and couldn't remember taking that from the shelf (khaleef!!!)
- when kazim starts crying, the race begins to push the shopping cart like mad, rush to the cashier, pay and leave!
war zone or not - at the end of the day, taking your kids to the hypermart is part of spending valuable time with your kids - with endless isles of so many different categories of items, the kids definitely learn -
- they learn about grouping the items
- they learn fruits and vegetable names
- they can count certain items like the number of apples you're bagging, or the number of sardine can you're taking
so far, after taking 3 boys for grocery shopping, i still came out sane - so, so far so good! please, please, please be this way for the next 15-16 years or so! hihi.
10 comments:
Hahhaha.Betul , betul, betul.Nasib baik bila nak byr takde orang cakap ngn kak arin " oh, ni la zara and hanum ye " . kahkahkah.Sebab kak arin pon dok pekik bising nama diorg. Especially bila sibuk semua nak amik brg and letak dlm troli.
Oh, btw, i did my groceries dua kali seminggu atau sekali seminggu. But kata la dua kali seminggu, the first one tuh sure dah beli their chocs, sweets or ice creams and sure ada baki lagi kat dlm fridge.
So to avoid diorang bising nak beli, kak arin akan make sure tak lalu lane jual benda2 tuh. selalu nya mmg success la sbb mata diorang tak nampak.
Tapi yang kacau nya kat lane nak bayar sure ada gula2 la, mentos la yang diorang nih nampak.haish!
For our own place, it's sebulan sekali. Itu pun barang like softener, ubat gigi, cleanser muka etc. Saya tak masak so tak beli brg basah except soft drinks or segala jenis msk nenek jajan sebagai stock hubby waktu mlm. Diapers and susu Danial beli awal bulan. In bulk terus esp kat tpt yg boleh dapat murah. But since dia dok ngan atuk n tokma, we will buy his things weekly esp vitagen and ribena kotak or nuggets. Macam beli ration budak dok asrama! Tu pun tak byk, kalau lupa suruh aje Arin tlg beli.
When me and hubby pi beli brg, normally without list. Pakai ingat-ingat lupa apa yg dah habis, tu yg end up byk jajan dari keperluan penting....:)
kak arin, mmg kitorang pun akan park budak2 kat tepi2 lane tu, jadi xmasuk pun lane utk diorang 'cuci mata' ngan choc ke cookies ke.. ;)
yg suka kaco gula2 kat tepi cashier tu si kahfi la! senyap2 je dia akan amik :P
kak wawa, psl beli mcm utk budak asrama yg lawak tu. btw, kak wawa pun duk ngan cik abang je kan & xmasak tu psl bole rilek je without list hihihihhi..
entry yg comel.. :)
baiknye dua beradik tu tak demand and tak throw tantrum if tak dpt..
it's been a while, hubby does the groceries shopping alone based on my list, sbb both of us tak larat nk encounter exp kena kejar iman sbb dia boleh tiba2 suka2 je nk play hide and seek.. lari from one isle to another..
but recently we go again the 3 of us, it's not that bad like it used to be. maybe sbb dia dh besar skit and paham ckp, and maybe sbb we use approach of asking her to pick up the things from the shelves. and for her own things, like her berus gigi or ubat gigi, we ask her to choose what color she wants etc.
Betul OK... shopping list tu perlu. Tapi kitaorang selalu je terbeli bende2 yang takde dalam list tu. He he he he. BTW, comel gila budak2 tu dalam cart... it's still a wonder that you can cope with all three at once. Memang supermom nih! :-)
yus, tu la alhamdulillah budak2 ni xpandai mintak2. maybe bcoz i pun ade bg diorang icecream & chocs once in awhile, esp kalo diorang makan nasi byk plus vege hihi. kalo xpenah kasi lansung maybe teringin kan.. ;)
i penah suh kay pegi sendiri but he prefers the whole family gi skali. bole jln2, makan skali & also dia takut kang terbeli brand lain yg xmenepati piawian i hahahahaha..
good la at least now u bole lepaskan iman & let her be part of your shopping. i still xleh trust si khaleef tu. kang kemane kang dia pegi hihi.....curiousity!
aisha, for young couples (ewah, padehal sebaya hahaha) like u meaning no kids, not much spending (on milk/diapers/extra cereal or snacks) xde list tu x catasthrope sgt kot hahaha....
but for us, kalo lupa bwk list, dlm keta tu siap2 kena pikir dah ape nk beli to save time before the boys be too restless! ;)
ya allah, i thought i je yang macam General Tao jerit2 kat 'bala tentera'! But atleast yours are boys!
mine, huh! since si Tembam tu bole jalan, mmg haru. Me like, Falisha! Tini, no! Ha ah, apple, green, 5! and to make it worst, I'm alone! huh, I am lucky lik once a month je la dapat 'deputy' tolong shopping.
but still, i have to agree, mmg a fun, good ways of spending valuable time with my kids.
oh ye la fairus, u slalu ronggeng sorang2 je with the girls kan. hihi grocery shopping pun ye?
waahhh it takes great courage la to let kids jln2 sendiri kat hypermart! u got it! hihi..
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