A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Today, I did the unthinkable. Something I've NEVER done once in my life before (I'm ashamed to admit it, but there it is!)-- I went grocery shopping, by myself, with ALL FOUR of my children. Oh, I know that many people have done it before me, and I know I'm not the last, but I've never done it before. Usually, Devin does the grocery shopping on the weekends. He takes one kid and calls it a 'date'. It's worked for us. Today, though, things changed a bit.
There were several reasons for this outing. First off, the kids and I NEEDED to get outside. We'd had a rough morning. It was one of those not-so-happy-to-be-together days. Doh. I know, I know, they happen, and thankfully they don't happen often, but it wasn't nice. We were going to go swimming, but the kids weren't obeying or finishing the tasks I'd set for them...then we were going to go to the park, but they continued to have issues. Finally, I just told them to forget it, we're not going anywhere! But we were getting rather low on food. It's really hard to shop when you don't have a car. Devin's been running to a grocery store, going shopping, then loading up a taxi with our groceries. Honestly, it's hard to do that for lots of reasons, the main one being the taxi drivers don't like it much and tend to try to rip you off since you're loading their car up with extra stuff (it's not like they actually get out to help you...and groceries weigh less than all 6 of us in a taxi and that doesn't cost extra, so I don't know what the issue is...) Anyway, it's been difficult to juggle the Saturday shopping, the taxi/car issue, and the kids wanting to all go with dad. Last weeks' grocery trip was, well, not much. So, today, since we were out of eggs and running low on fruit (our staple), I decided THAT would be our getting out of the house. Not necessarily a reward, but NEEDED. So, off we went down the road. We walked to the little 'store' area (I suppose you could call it a sort of strip mall, but not that glamorous) about 10 blocks away from our house. They have a 'mini' grocery store--not really a convenience store, but not a full-blown grocery store, plus a toy store, some cafes, a salon (as opposed to saloon), an appliance/electronics store... (where we found the nursery...but that's a story for another day) And today, we found not only a fruit stand-type store, but a butcher shop!!! This was a golden outing!!! The butcher shop was PERFECT!! I told them what I wanted, they ground the beef and sliced the steaks and deboned-deskinned the chicken right then and there!! The butchers were super nice and funny! They had a huge fish aquarium with giant goldfish swimming in it that kept the kids captivated--and some bird cages right outside the store with brightly colored parakeets that the kids just loved! The fruit/veggie store was completely awesome! The guy was nice--and the kids just went crazy (in a good way)! They pulled down the plastic bags and filled them up with all their favorite fruits and veggies and had a marvelous time! They were SO thrilled to be such a big part of the grocery shopping! Then we headed down to the little grocery store to get some bread, cheese, and some treats. Josh and Andrew sat outside the store watching our bags of meats and fruits and veg, and Claire and Peter and I went in to grab our other necessities (like the eggs, which I had totally forgotten was the main reason we went out....) It was nice! Peter grabbed all our treats (blowpops, marshmallows, frosted flakes, Werther's Originals, and flavored milks), Claire helped me pick out the cheeses and the bread, and I grabbed the eggs. Off we went! The bags were really full and really heavy. Josh had to big bags to carry as did Claire. Peter refused to carry ANYTHING. Andrew carried the bread. I looked like a camel carrying 6 bulging bags (thank goodness for all of those awesome reusable shopping bags that we have!!!) but we made it home and all of us actually really enjoyed that outing together! We got some exercise outside, used our knowledge of good health and nutrition to find great food to eat, took care of the grocery shopping for the week, and all felt in much better spirits by the time we got home. I'm glad we went. The kids want to do that every single week. We shall see how long that lasts... :) But, as long as they want to go, I'll take them. It's certainly MUCH easier to go grocery shopping at little shops than in a grocery store! Maybe it's the easy in/out with the doors always open; maybe it was the sheer novelty of it all; maybe it was the promise of a treat...whatever it was, it was great and it worked. Here's to shopping with all of your kids--yet another new adventure for the Hendriksens!
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
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Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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