Well, I take Ella and Benjamin out a lot. If not, we'd be hermits. They are both really good, but here's the thing... I am easily distracted and do not focus well at all when I am shopping. There is just too much going on and honestly, fluorescent lights make me a little batty. So I try to stick to what I know and keep things simple... or I forget my wallet (which Ella reminds me of frequently) or I forget smiley face french fries (she reminds me of that one, too) or I just forget everything.
My latest lesson was taught to me by Ella. Lately, she has been riding in the large portion of the cart at Target (who am I kidding... where else do I shop??). Sometimes she likes to walk, but for the most part, she enjoys sitting in there, by Benjamin, "getting squished" by the things that we purchase. Usually diapers and baby food. So annoying. I digress.
The poor kid loves to talk and ask questions, which is nice except that I am usually searching for items I have a coupon for, trying to keep Benjamin inside the cart, trying to keep Ella from using cereal as a pillow, trying to keep Benjamin from removing the cart cover to chew on the cart and keep Ella from rummaging through my bag and dropping things on the floor. So having much of a conversation with her is not high on the list of possibilities. After her getting in trouble the other day for various offenses, she told me, "Mommy, I need something to do!" She was right. She is really very smart.
Just that day, I checked one of my most favorite blogs, Hip2Save, and the moderator, Collin, shared about a coupon activity she does with her kids. They each get to choose coupons on a shopping trip, which helps keep them involved and (they are a bit older) helps teach them more about spending and saving money. This seemed perfect for Ella.
Today was our latest trip to Target, so after painstakingly setting up my list and organizing my coupons, I let Ella pick three... one for free Hello Kitty Band-Aids (a necessity), one for cookie mix (probably necessary) and one for free soap for Benjamin (she loves to help bathe him and loves to buy him things, so it was perfect). We chose one of her purses, clipped her coupons to her list and we were off.
I should have known there would be a problem when she busted away from the van in the parking lot, leaving her purse on the ground ... she had no idea she'd dropped it. Take a hint, Jen.
So we start our trip... get a few items... Ella decides she wants to carry her Band-Aids... then she wants to sit in the cart so she can see all of her Band-Aids (we got 3 boxes free -- Wahoo!). Finally, after piling in 4 boxes of cereal, 2 packages of diapers and about 20 containers of baby food (still irritating... ) and other items, I have to get Ella out of the cart and she asks where her bag is.
"You're kidding me, right?"
"No, Mommy. Where's my orange bag?"
"I don't know, Ella. What happened to it?" (I am pretty sure she has a photographic memory -- or maybe just a better memory than I do -- and she almost always knows where things are)
"Ummm... I have no idea."
Sweet.
We went through the store, asked a few people, asked at the customer service desk... nothing. Went back through the store, put all of Ella's items back (sorry.... not paying for items I could easily get free) and checked out. It was then that it hit the poor kid. Tears started streaming down her face as she tried to understand where her bag went. She has never lost anything before. Back to customer service... I'll call tonight to see if anyone turned it in.
So. Ella *may* have learned that she needs to hang onto her purse. Doubt it, but maybe. I have learned that I need to pay more attention to her and her items. I want to say that I don't have the attention span for that, but I'd better just find a way to do it. I really think that this would be a good teaching tool/activity for Ella. It helps her feel a part of what is going on, it makes her feel important and gives us another thing to connect on. So I'll figure it out. We don't get to connect on much lately, it feels like and that makes me sad. I think we were both really looking forward to this.
And I really hope someone turned her bag in. What a good way to end the lesson... by having her realize that when we find something, it may be important to someone else. And that other people care about what is important to her. Maybe it will give us a chance to "be girls" and try this one more time.
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