I'm pretty sure you have to pay for that...

I took Zoey and Nathan to Kroger with me yesterday after we dropped Jon Kent off at school and did a few chores around the house.

HUGE mistake.

First of all, if I EVER want to stay on a budget while grocery shopping, the kids never allow it. Then I get distracted and it just all goes down hill from there.

I know this.. and yet I continue to take them to the grocery store with me. Talk about being hard headed.

Well, yesterday's trip was a lot of the same "I NEED this.. I really need that.." etc. Except for one small, tiny really, difference.

Zoey (or sticky fingers as her daddy and I call her now.. but obviously when she isn't around) tried to pocket a Christmas tree shaped Reese's peanut buttercup.

Yeeeeeeah...

So it went a little something like this:

Earlier in the trip she asked if she could get a Reese's peanut buttercup for her teacher. Because "all the other kids give her teacher candy". I said no that we weren't here for "presents" and that I am sure her teacher doesn't really want all that candy. She pouted up and moped for a bit, but seemed to recover and all was well.

Fast forward to the check-out line.

I am putting all the groceries on the conveyor belt and trying to keep my eyes on Nathan so that he doesn't bolt off or knock something over. Out of the corner of my eye I see Zoey and she has her back turned to me and is looking off in the distance. I, for a split second, found that odd but just figured she was being nosy and people watching. (Should have went with my motherly gut and asked her to turn around....)

So I get everything rung up and the cashier asks me if I am going "to get her (pointing at Zoey) that candy". I look at the conveyor belt thinking Zoey threw some candy up there without me noticing (don't see anything) and then look over at Zoey still all hunched over with her back turned to me. I knew immediately what she had done. So of course I did what any mother would do.. I called her out by her full first, middle and last name. "Zoey Taylor O____ turn around!" She does and then pulls out a Christmas tree shaped Reese's peanut buttercup. "What in the world are you doing? Give me that!" To which I grabbed it and put it back on the shelf. I then very embarrassingly finish paying for my groceries (see Zoey.. we PAY for what we get!!!) and start out, only to be turned back around by the bag boy telling me I forgot to my debit card.

Nice.

I get to the car and spank Zoey (yes, spanked her.. if you don't like it.. get over it and quit reading my blog!) We get home. I sit her in a chair and reexplain to her what she did and how it was wrong. Then had her retell me what she did and why it was wrong. Then I reminded her that where her daddy works is full of people who at one point or another stole something and where were they now??? Jail. And asked if she wanted to end up like that?

Yeah, I played that card.

She was sent to her room to think about it some more until it was time to go to school.

I don't foresee it happening again.. but then again I didn't foresee it happening at all.

Ahh, yes.. motherhood.