Shop 'til you throttle

Can I just say how much I hate shopping with children? Not grocery shopping, although that’s a hell on earth I’d rather avoid, but general shopping. This is the second weekend in a row we've subjected ourselves to this and if we have to do it again I'm going to have to up my dose of Prozac*.

Today we went to buy a book I wanted, and while it may seem that I'm thinking 'it's all about me' I am, in fact, the wage earner so yes, on this occasion it was all about me. However our offspring were with us and ended up with new books too. That in itself isn’t a problem, in fact it's a good thing, but the length of time it took them to choose a book was crazy-making.

Then we went to get them new winter PJs. Why do they need to choose their own? My mother used to buy it, bring it home and make us wear it. No argument. But no, modern children, apparently, are allowed to be involved. It took hours (well, 20 minutes but in Target on a Saturday afternoon it felt like hours). There was much discussion about the benefits of Dorothy the Dinosaur against Dora the Explorer or perhaps Winnie the Pooh...or no, My Little Pony!!! Don't even get me started on my views regarding advertising these characters on my sleeping children. A curse on you Disney, Dreamworks and the rest...

And if either of my sisters feel this is a good time to mention my own 'Dr Who, Dalek' PJs in the comments I'm warning you. Shut up.

Anyway, then Tom and I needed to pick up a couple of items for ourselves and although we knew what we wanted and went straight there and began to search for the precise item, we were nagged at!!! 'Hurry UP Mummy'....'Daaaaaddddy, you're taking too long' and similar annoying whinings. Once again, who are the wage earners in this family?

If it seems I'm making a big deal about being a wage earner, I'm just getting it all out of my system before the 28 June when I can no longer use that excuse.

* At this stage of my life I am not actually on Prozac, this comment was added for comic effect. I mean no disrespect anyone on Prozac or similar. In the past I, myself, have been very glad to partake of 'Mummy's little helpers' by the bucketload.