Grocery Shopping with Degen
Feb 25th, 2008 by Bethany
Colin is home sick today and we needed groceries, so Degen and I headed to the grocery store with a list and a budget while Maggie napped and Colin worked on the computer. Degen and I headed to the post office to send off a check, then went to the nearest Kroger. There’s not much competition in the grocery market here–Kroger, Walmart, and Harvest Foods are pretty much the only choices. It shows in the produce, too, and during the summer I want to shop for produce almost exclusively at the local farmer’s market–it’s the only place to find good quality fresh food (and it usually goes for good prices!).
I had made a menu, checked my fridge and cupboards, and made out an accurate grocery list for the week before we left the house (a feat in itself) and I was pretty convinced that we wouldn’t be able to get all the things I’d planned for with our relatively small budget. I figured we’d get the basics, plus the cheapest versions of whatever else we could afford. Degen wanted to ride in the cart shaped like a car with the steering wheels instead of walking, so I pushed him in the bright yellow unweildly thing while he steered and made engine noises.
As it turns out, we were able to get everything on the list (cheapest versions of everything, but everything) for $6 under budget! Yay! A small accomplishment that made me feel good. Degen enjoyed helping me put things in the cart and “choose” the apples and bread. He smiled and waved at a bunch of people and hid behind the counter while I checked out. One lady even asked me where my baby was while he was hiding (I was unloading groceries from a car cart, I must have a kid!) and both she and Degen thought it was hilarious that he tricked her. Degen helped me load everything into the trunk, then got in his car seat and helped me buckle his seat belt. He does the top part of the harness, and I do the bottom part and that’s what he calls doing it himself.
We dropped in at our apartment complex office and picked up a DVD (they have a selection available for free to residents)–Toy Story. I hadn’t seen it since it came out, and it’s still pretty impressive. We came home to Maggie still napping, and praises from Colin for filling our refrigerator. Nice morning, no?