Why I Usually Grocery Shop Alone

On 1 August 2009 at 1:42 am SnaggleTooth said, 

Grocery store, jungle Gym, same thing! Kelly sure is active… What a funny series-
Funny I was gonna peek n not comment today- in a BIG hurry-
Then it said “Be first to comment”… how could anyone resist that? or giggling a gaggle at those shots?

On 1 August 2009 at 4:11 am Lynn said, 

What a pretty flower amongst the flowers in the flower case! A rolicking trip to the grocery store. Did y’all end up getting any food?

On 1 August 2009 at 7:17 am Carol | Stress Eating said, 

This is just TOO funny. Jannie, you always make me smile. But it’s painfully reminiscent of trips to the grocery store when my daughter was young. She would run her hand along the row of cans (knocking them all down, of course) while running gleefully down the aisle. Gee, you just can’t buy that much fun!

On 1 August 2009 at 9:29 am Mama Zen said, 

Why would you go alone? She looks like so much fun!

On 1 August 2009 at 11:26 am Aimee said, 

I picture your life as 100% FUN…all of the time…big big Fun. I love that picture of her on the shopping carts!

On 1 August 2009 at 12:28 pm Betsy Wuebker said, 

Funny! This little apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did she?

On 1 August 2009 at 2:33 pm J.D. Meier said, 

I hope people please don’t squeeze the Charmin.

She really makes shopping an adventure. It gave me flashbacks to what I put my Mom through.

On 1 August 2009 at 4:05 pm TheWeyrd1 said, 

Heeeeeeeeee. Was that at the local HEB? I shop there when I visit…well the one on Jollyville near 183.

On 1 August 2009 at 6:10 pm Kim said, 

These adorable photos gave me the biggest smile, Jannie! I hope you will submit these to a deserving magazine. It needs to be shared. AWESOME!!!

On 1 August 2009 at 7:08 pm feilding felcyn said, 

Miss you. Jimmy.

On 1 August 2009 at 7:46 pm Carla said, 

I love it! That kid should be in advertising.

On 1 August 2009 at 9:10 pm Jannie said, 

Hey, y’all!. Our trio tonight turned into a duo ’cause Kalyani has a mild concussion from whacking her noggin on the kitchen countertop. But her eyes are not dialated anymore and the show went on. She promises to go to the doctor if she wakes up dizzy tomorrow. I love Kalyani so much. And I loves you too.

And goes I now to hit the old Stumble Upon button. I love Stumble Upon, of course. I surf the blogging channel. No freaking idea if I’m doing it right but I’m learning a lot about 5-legged mooses and such.

Oh, and I’m slogging my way through that “Twitter For Dummies.” I’m going to finish that sucker, even tho it makes me feel a bit like upchucking and gets me all nervous and such.

Oh well. That too shall pass.

Over and out, for now.

The Jann-ster.

xoxoxoo

On 1 August 2009 at 11:50 pm Talon said, 

LOL! They need to add a new Olympic event – the grocery store gymnastics!

Loved the shots. I don’t think anyone could resist squeezing that Charmin!

On 2 August 2009 at 5:46 am Adrenalynn said, 

Oh, and I’m super excited to be in your blogroll! Um, I guess that says a little something about how much excitement I’ve got in my life, doesn’t it…?

On 2 August 2009 at 8:13 am Tess The Bold Life said, 

Jannie,
How fun is this! Kath’s story is hilarious! I think when the right people find your blog Kelly will have a modeling job! Every single photo brought a smile to my face.

Except next time you need a naughty one:)

On 2 August 2009 at 9:38 am Zeenat{Positive Provocations for mind body and soul} said, 

Jannie, just yesterday at the grocery store..my little 2.5 yr old..although in the trolley, managed to have a bit of almost everything from the store in the gocery cart by the time i reached the check out counter. And the cherry on the cake was when at the checkout counter while i was busy filling bags and paying…she actually managed to bring the whole chocolate shelf down…and all this while still sitting in the trolley…
I so fully understand your plight….and i keep thinking she will get more and more understanding with age…but i think after looking at you daughters pic…i might never be at ease ever ever again…ahhhhhhhhhhh….

On 2 August 2009 at 10:45 am The Gooroo @ iBlogPlanet.com said, 

LOL! I think this would remind my parents of me when I was younger. I was also a handful. Hey, at least she’s having fun though, right!? But I can definitely see why you go grocery shopping alone.

I always see parents in the grocery store, with their kid next to them either throwing a fit, or running around like tomorrow. Makes me wonder why they don’t leave their kid at home.

On 2 August 2009 at 11:38 am Nadia - Happy Lotus said, 

Hi Jannie,

Thank you for the laughs. Your daughter is such a free spirit, it is so awesome and she is so blessed to have you as a mom. Thank you for sharing your love of life with all of us!

On 2 August 2009 at 1:42 pm Jannie said, 

OMG, look at these extremely EXCELLENT comments from super extrememly excellent peeps! Thank you all so much for not only peeking, but talking. I appreciate it so much.

Snag: How serindipitious (is that how you spell that,)that you almost didn’t check in, yet ended up commenting First, whoo-hoo. Kelly makes a jungle gym out of pretty-much anything, indeed! Monkey. Thankfully her tree-climbing has beencurbed since getting winded by a fall from one a few months ago.

Matthew: That does look a bit scary, doesn’t it? This was a recreation of the first time she did it, and I about Freaked Out then, but I’m fine with it now. You’re not going to go trying that, are you? The real trick is to RUN across the carts.

Lynn: Yes, we actually got salad, cans of Friskies, and a few peaches, I think, actually was too flustered to remember by the time we walked out the door, she was so jazzed from the photo session she actually WAS acting up near the end. What grocery store monster did I create???

Lance: “I see tickle toes,” that made me laugh. I like your poem, so silly. Now let me make one up on the fly.

Lance has a blog
and posts awesome things
like quotes and inspirations
and sunshiney things.

Ahhhh, did that make you barf?

Carol: Why when I see your gravatar do I feel like scarfing cheesecake? A WHOLE cheesecake? Yes, hopping with little kids can be a trip to the hell store. These pix are for fun of course, but I used to leave the grocery store in tears.

Paige: OMG, did you just say OMG??? I thought for sure they’d kick us out of the store the other day but they actually got quite a hoot out of the whole lot of shenninigans – probalbly shocked them so much they didn’t know what to say or do. Is your beloved a petite man, 47″ tall, weighing 38 lbs? If not, the flower cooler might pose a wee prob for him.

Mama Z: You wanna trade kids for a week? Actually, I bet we’d all have us some fun together, as long as Baby Puppy plays harmonica for our dacshund, okay, while Kelly bangs the post n pans, okay?

Liara: Hey, I thought I was the only grown-up who pees my pants. I’m not the only one? I feel much better now. Kelly takes after her dad in her silliness department, we all know what a calm, reserved shy gal I am.

Aimee: Yep 100% FUN. All fun ALL THE TIME for me and mine. Except for when I’m cranky, which thankfully, only happens a few times a day.

Natural: Yep my delicate daughter actually sat on them melons for about 10 seconds, but please don’t tell anyone, okay? There’s already a melon APB out, heard it on the radio this morning.

Betsy: That, as I mentioned above to Liara, my daughter takes 100% after her dad in the nutty department. Ah who’m I trying to kid, she’s so much like me, it’s scary. As much as it’s been a challenge soemtimes, she is eternally entertaining to everyone around her.

K: Exactly! Shopping with kids can totally wear you out, as you fully know. What I can do in maybe 5 minutes on my own will take 15 or 20 minutes with a kid, even when a candy bribe is involved.
Without the candy I’d say 30 minutes would be par for the course.

J.D. You are so funny, don’t squeeze the Charmin! And what?! From everything I know about you from blogging and such, you strike me as the kind of kid who would have been “model” in every way, as you are the paragon of ultimate perfection now.

Lisa: Only 3 cups of expresso a day, but always before noon. That’s a sheepskin carseat cover she’s on. The luxury, eh? I usually forget to bring it in the store, but it does calm her down.

Weyrd1: Yep, an H.E.B. (For those of you not familiar with our Texas store, it was created in, what 1925? by Howard E. Butt.) I know that one you speak of but this one is more South Central. Which reminds me of when Kelly was 4 and we went to the rodeo which was in part sponsored by H.E.B. and Kelly commented that H.E.B. must be the Spanish word for rodeo!

G: Yes, at least when I go shopping with Kelly I can get so flustered I forget to buy things, which does tend to keep the food bill down! But makes for havoc when I forget things like dishwasher soap and hand-sanitizer.

Kim: Ahhh, thanks so much! Which magazines do you think might be good for these pix? I love the idea, thanks! And so glad I made you smile, lovely lady.

Kathy: Yes, there always seems to be some kind of payment for calmness in general with little kids. Like when Kelly had been so quiet one afternoon in her playroom and I entered to find black Sharpie on just about everything, including her. Oh, yours got a buzz cut, I think those cuts are so adorable. And now that your two are much older, is shopping actually kind of sane?

Fielding, you rascal you! Why don’t you link to your radio station website?? xoxox (P.S. That’s my husband leaving what I think has been his first ever comment on this blog!!!) Thanks, darling. And could you please take Kelly shopping today while I stay home drinking White Russians? Thanks!

Chris: You changed your gravatar today! Cool hat. Yes, Kelly’s got such little bird legs. I sure hope she grows into those knees! She’s my spunkster for sure.

Carla: I’ve actually considered putting her in ads but if she really starts begging for that kind of thing I will. Can’t become the stage mother type. She does want to be an actress, said to me the other day it would be such a “simple job.”

Thomma: I’d love to get her over in your garden. Darnit! Why do you live so far away? Maybe some year?? Next year? What would we call it? Why I usually…. Hmn?

Friends, Kalyani’s much better today, still a little dizzy bytimes, poor girl. Might have hurt her ocular muscles, she said she’ll go to a doctor tomorrow if the intermittent dizziness persists.

And I think I’ll go for a little commenting break now. See you all later!

On 2 August 2009 at 7:03 pm DavinaH said, 

Hi Jannie. LOL. You two must have had a hoot setting up these shots. I’m sure the other shoppers loved it! So funny.

On 2 August 2009 at 10:04 pm Trey - Swollen Thumb Entertainment said, 

Oh my goodness…Between the acrobatics of handstands, the agility of standing on a bunch of shopping carts, the stealthiness of riding underneath the cart, and the closeup of her feet, I began to think that I was viewing publicity stills of Quentin Tarantino’s next movie.

If I was a business owner, and I saw you come in with your little girl, I’d be afraid… very afraid. But I’m not, so I’ll laugh. HA HA HA.

On 3 August 2009 at 3:31 am Barbara Swafford said, 

Hey Jannie,

The pictures spoke a thousand words and answered the question you posed in the title.

Cute pictures.

On 3 August 2009 at 8:19 am Tammy said, 

Jannie
Did she eat too much chocolate, or is that normal? That child is defiantly full of energy. She should do something lucrative with that, like try hooking up on America’s got talent.

Boy, looking at all that and thinking about being over 30 suxs……if I tried that, the next day I would be in a body cast. You should put up a warning sign- “for those middle aged folks out there who think ‘you still got it’ DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

On 3 August 2009 at 9:11 am wade said, 

Shopping carts have not been improved in over half a century, almost everything else has.

On 3 August 2009 at 10:16 am Jannie said, 

Good morning! Good morning!
Tell me how are you.
I’m fi-ine. I’m fi-ine.
And I hope that you are too.

Hi John, well these photos were a tad for entertainment, of course. But I certainly remember the handful days with our little Sweet Pea, those shopping days I thought I’d cry or scream or both before we finally made it out of the store, sometimes even with something actually purchased! And tell me, you have 2 little boys. Have you gone shopping with them, just the 3 of you? And was it wild? Of course, it depends on the child. Some of them just sit more adult-like, and some well… some are more “inquisitive” into the world around them, as you may well know because they do come with totally different personalities, don’t they!

Nadia: Yes, my free-spirited child. It has been far from easy most of the time (unless she’s sleeping,) to keep up with her. And she’s been like that literally since she could crawl at 5 months – has been off and exploring everywhere she could get to since then. Oh boy. We don’t even have her in a mainstream kind of school to acomodate her personality and learning style. And you know it’s funny, she’s only 7 and feels this deep sense of loss that she is not yet a world traveller – but I am sure she will be, yep, oh the places she will go.

Hi Susan! See my comment to Nadia and that explains my little fireball. It is funny the differences in kids, amazing actually. Some stay right beside mama all the time, some very shy. Some more “exploratory,” is that even a word? As long as my kid is not hurting herself or anyone else, my policy is to let her be who she is. The best gift you can give a kid is to love them just the way they are.

Patricia Lightworker” Adventurous children are our greatest teachers, I do believe. They make us really look inside and see what is important to us — We can care about what others think and stifle our kids or caring about our child’s self-esteem and let them know that their personalities are okay and that they are great exactly as they are. Kelly is a light-worker herself and a true gift to this world.

Momisodes: Kelly took gymnastics and dance from the ages of 2 to 5 then hit a phase where she was treating those classes as social hours and being disruptive, so we switched her to Kung Fu where she’s been going twice a week for 2 years and is already working on her 4th solid stripe, the green. Kung Fu is just amazing!! But she still remembers a lot of gymnastics moves and does practice them EVERYWHERE, well most everywhere, tho not regularly in the grocery store.

Hey Trey: I haven’t seen a Quentin Tarantino in a while, I do love his movies tho. Man, he’s master. Pulp Fiction. Jackie. Oh, Jackie, it had a last name, right? Jackie who? Hubby finds them too violent so I’ve had to rent the DVDs and watch them late at night. But I’ve fallen behind. Too much blogging!

Barbara: I’m really starting to think about SEO in my titles. Is it showing?! I think this may well be the last in the series, except maybe for ideas I’m sure she’ll provide me with on our airplane trips in the coming weeks. And you’d NEVER see a post like this from me at a playground as it’s s constant struggle to make sure she’s climbing on things as she’s supposed to and not way up on top where’s she not supposed to be – freaks me out just how agile she is and where she can get to. Scary!

Glenn: Kelly will get to go no doubt exactly where she wants to in life. They say – find out what your kid loves to do, wants to do and encourage it. She’s vacillating between an actress and a veterinarian these days. I think so many kids don’t know what they want to do because they’ve been stifled in their lives, as young children especially. I know I didn’t get to bloom until just recently. Yeah, some people are too much about growing up that their life joy is about nil. Thanks for not growing up, yourself!!

Dot: Your two cents are more than welcome anytime here, thank you, I very much appreciate your opinion. I almost freaked out myself the first time I turned around and saw my little gymnast up on top of those shopping carts, holy cow, then realized the carts don’t move when they’re stored like that, whew. As long as Kelly is safe, I’d rather let her express who she is than worry about what people think, and the best gift I can give her is unconditional support and guidance to love herself just as she is. For me, misbehavior would be if she were infringing on the rights of others or destroying property. You’ll notice there was no one around during the hand-stand. And melons are pretty tough. Boundarys? She’s got plenty, maybe just not in this isolated photo op session.

Wade: Well, I do love those smaller shopping carts you see everywhere today. Do you use those? When I’m by myself I whiz in and out of the store with one of those mini carts, or should I say glide in and out. And it’s heaven! I think I might actually start faking some injury and take advantage of the ride-on electric ones. Yah!

Diane: Really? They look photoshopped? Which ones? I just use the available light when possible, instead of flash. You know being able to buy and learn photoshop is one of my great dreams, right up there with getting good on Twitter, Stumble Upon, and having 20 blog posts all written and standing in the wings. yep!

Coffeetime, yay! Whoo-hoo.

On 3 August 2009 at 3:40 pm JMom said, 

OMG, I just love your girl! She has so much spirit and spunk It’s just great to watch.

On 3 August 2009 at 6:48 pm doggybloggy said, 

pretty darn funny – when my boy was a baby I used to put him in the meat bins and photograph him….

On 3 August 2009 at 10:30 pm Surender Sharma said, 

So cool………baby
Good stuff here,funny baby,
Let her play,enjoy whatever she likes…

On 3 August 2009 at 11:02 pm karyn said, 

oops.. forgot the one where she’s for sale with the flowers.

glad she didn’t get stuck.

On 4 August 2009 at 2:25 am Ann Marie Dennis said, 

A picture says a thousand words, very cool, thanks for sharing

Annie

On 4 August 2009 at 8:30 am Jannie said, 

Morning has broken, like the first morning… I’ve always loved that song. Do you?

I realized after our show the other night, that I need to get back to doing my regular voice exercises, 2 hours of non-stop singing, we we’re having so much fun we didn’t even stop for a break, makes me realize I need to keep up my vocal prowess.

Anyway, that was a tangent.

Avani: Hi, what a lovely new Gravatar. And what a pleasure to see you back here, it’s been a while! I am glad to have given you a smile, that was our intention. And here’s another for you, a smile, that is.

Well JMom, after your wonderful shout-out on my post about “Why We Usually Eat At Home,” Kelly and I made this post in part for you, we really did! She has so much spirit yes, well all kids do of course, but Kelly is quite an extravert and makes people laugh wherever she goes.

Hi Julie: Nice to see you and welcome! And I’ve fallen in love with your Gravatar, of course, it is so pretty and really touches me. And of course I love the blue sky in it and how it just sets off my site so well. I am glad the post “made your day.” Your comment made mine, thanks!

Dobbybloggy: You made me burst out laughing. Really? You put him in with the slabs of meat all shrink-wrapped and such? That is sooo funny!! Reminds me of once when my husband made an entire airplane of people bust a gut when he feigned putting our 3-month-old, yes the same kid you see here, in the overhead storage bin. God, people laughed at that. My Jimmy is just a nut.

Hi Yolanda: Thanks for so much for dropping by and commenting! I’m humbled by your visit. Hey, come shopping with us, you’ll never be the same again! It’s funny, I’ve heard it said “You’re normal, then you have kids.” Oy.

Surender Sarma: Wow, another new commenter dropping in. Welcome! Yeah, I figure, let her be herself within limits of safety, of course, and she’ll always know just who she is. Thanks for popping by.

Hey Karyn Sweetie, so good to see you here, I’ve been missing you around. Crazy lazy hazy days of summer, right? I am so glad you enjoyed the photo montage. We had fun putting it together. It’s funny that spot in the flower cooler seemed made just for her!

Jen: So my kid isn’t the only one who does stuff like that?? The banana peel thing. It really is funny how their minds work. Have some popsicle left? Just set it any old place, it’ll never melt, right? Sorry ’bout your plumbing probs — and you mean of your house or your person? Yikes.

Hey An Marie: How great of you to stop and comment. Are you a Stumble Upon visitor? I seem to be getting a lot of Stumbles lately. I will look forward to checking out your blog. Coe back anytime!

Sheila-bo-Beila: Well, it certainly is an adventure with HER everyday. I wonder what we will do today, have absolutely no plans. Yay! I love summer!!! A footloose and fancy-free adventure could be just around the corner, but it has to take place within in A/C, the shade or water. Freaking hot here!

Coffeetime again, whoo-hoo!!

On 4 August 2009 at 8:41 am Kim Woodbridge said, 

lol

I almost always shop alone because I spend a lot less. Somehow when the kid is with me I get coerced into buying a lot of crap.

On 4 August 2009 at 1:05 pm Shiri said, 

This is wonderful! At least you have some excitement while shopping. Never knowing what will happen next or how long the whole shopping trip is going to last

On 4 August 2009 at 4:07 pm Mark said, 

I can see why shopping alone would be more productive and efficient however look at the fun you would miss out on! Great photo journey, thanks for sharing.

On 4 August 2009 at 6:26 pm Yaya said, 

Oh my gosh! This is hilarious!!!!!!

PS Thank you for visiting my guest post at Amy’s!

On 4 August 2009 at 8:17 pm Tammy said, 

Jannie Jannie
Stop! Stop! it is ok. I’m not wounded. I was just messing with ya. Kudos to you for keeping all this blogging stuff straight as you do. I am not sure I could do that.

I am here laughing………….”this comment is for Tammy.” You are a mess girl.

You was in a body cast once? For cartwheels in a Supermarket? You are just messing with me right? I would not put nothing past you.

On 5 August 2009 at 9:05 am Jannie said, 

Deere Glenn: my kelly akshooly not be funny in stores anymore becasuse my kelly says my jannie needs to be mor matur and not so sillie wit taking all those picshurs.

Kim: I’ve certainly been there on that one too. One thing I make sure to do is shop on a full stomach, both hers and mine being full, that helps. But she still always want a little treat, so one a trip is okay.

Hey Christina: Thanks for popping by. Appreciate your visit. How old is your little brother?

Shiri: Yep, that’s it! I crave shopping excitement, as opposed to the nice leisurely tra-la-la-ing down the aisles of yesteryore. A benefit of shopping with the kid is I usually spend less $$$ because I try ot get in and out as fast as possible. Thanks for popping by.

Amy: Yaya’s dancing was so cool! Thanks for popping by. Glad you got a kick out of this post.

Mark: Thanks for visiting. I really wouldn’t trade being a parent of that little gal for anything.

Yaya! I was thrilled to catch your dance video! You are some agile.

Ching Ya: Yep we own the store. Great to see you!

On 5 August 2009 at 5:52 pm Cath Lawson said, 

LOL – These are too funny Jannie – especially the first one. I don’t like grocery shopping at all. When I can – I usually try to make my kids do it for me.

On 8 August 2009 at 2:57 am Rhett said, 

She’s so pretty. She’s gonna be a gymnast one day, eh?

On 9 August 2009 at 5:42 pm Holly Jahangiri said, 

I didn’t think anything could top the eating out photos, but these did it. Your blog never fails to make me smile, and sometimes to just laugh out loud. Thanks, Jannie!

On 9 August 2009 at 8:02 pm Jannie said, 

Hi valerie! Oooo, sonds like pickle soup all over everything?

Cath: I look forward to the day I can send her off for all the provisions. In another 8 years and 1 month she’ll be driving. Yikes.

George: Glad I could throw a little humor curve ball at you!

Kim: thanks for the trackback!

Holly: And laughing out loud takes years and years off one’s life! I’m doen to 14 years old now, from posting all this stuff.

Morgan: Kelly get is naturally as I drove Mom crazy with all those cartwheels in many many store aisles.

On 31 August 2009 at 12:01 pm Links for August said, 

[...] Why I Usually Grocery Shop Alone – Jannie Funster’s photo essay is pretty convincing. [...]