The Q&A crew, that's who.  Well, Mopsy always gets to ride in the buggy. 

We had to make a stop at the local Fred's today for some pre-co-op craft supplies.  (Let's just say Fred's isn't exactly the place to go for craft supplies.)  Knowing our destination, and also knowing I had no choice but to take all five children along, I made sure we covered all the "rules of the store" before leaving the house using my spiffy new curriculum.  I whipped it up in about twenty minutes last night.  I'm so proud of myself.  If the Harrises can do it, so can I, right?  (Okay, so they do it better.  Way better.)

I owe all my artistic inspiration to the inimitable style of Frank J. at IMAO.  Oh, and Bill Watterson.  Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs were Calvin's favorite breakfast cereal (cut & paste "chocolate frosted sugar bombs" into the search field and you'll see for yourself).

So there we were, and yes, it was still a little chaotic, but they remembered!  Bug saw a packaged set of Breyer horses (Seabiscuit and War Admiral) and started asking for it and then corrected herself:  "Oh yeah.  Do not beg."  Buster asked for an ice cream (they park that freezer so conveniently near the register) and I asked him what the rule was.  "Do not beg," he says, and quits asking.  They tried to walk beside the cart but the aisles are abominably small in that store, which is why I usually go there alone or with one or two children.  They got squeezed a couple of times, but Bug had the good sense to move behind the cart when we hit a narrow spot and let her brother hang on to the side of the cart.  This may seem like a small thing, but I often wonder if my children have any common sense at all, so any display thereof encourages me.

We still have a couple of practice runs coming up at the local grocery store.  The aisles are somewhat wider there, thank goodness.  Who knows?  Maybe I'll be able to take them shopping for Thanksgiving fixings.