A Flat Tire and M & M's Part 1

Gotta tell you all, having 5 kids ranging in age from 1-9 is much more difficult than having 5 kids ranging in age from 0-8.  I don't know how that is possible, but it is.

Maybe it is the fact that I was on maternity leave Jan, Feb, March last year or maybe it was that a newborn is a lot easier to carry in an infant seat and to contain than a one year old.  Or maybe it is that 3rd grade homeschooling is harder than 2nd grade homeschooling and that a 2 year old fearful child is less work to maintain than an almost 3 year old independent princess.

Or maybe it is the new kindle and the *gulp* 4 fiction books that I have already read this month.

Who can really say what is causing me to be behind, tired and somewhat stressed?

But, on to the story.

Last Wednesday I took the kids to swimming lessons.  The plan was to stop at the store after lessons, at the boys request. They had Christmas money that was burning a hole in their pockets.  They insisted that they needed to go to Walmart, and since Walmart also sells milk and eggs (of which we needed) I agreed.

We pulled into a parking spot and I hauled sleeping baby and overtired 2 year old into the store with 3 excited boys bouncing all around me.

We did our shopping and the boys were disappointed not to find exactly what they were looking for.  They nearly spent their money on an alternate, but I convinced them that if they really wanted the other item, they should wait for it and continue searching.  Roman thanked me, which I thought was sweet.

I found some Christmas M&M's that were on the 75% off clearance shelf.  I snagged 5 bags for baking.

By the time we got to the checkout line, it was clear that I was getting closer and closer to mutiny by the girls.  We quickly checked out, while the boys looked at Pokemon cards in the next aisle.  I was assisting Berean in putting groceries on the belt, and missed watching the M &Ms go through. 

As I walked away I glanced at my reciept and noted that I had been charged $2 per bag!  Having enough sense to know that that was not 75% off, I was stuck with a dilemma.  The cashier was already checking out the lady behind me, but  customer service was right in front of me, on the way out the door. 

Now some of you may be thinking, "is she crazy?  Of course she should go to customer service!  That is quite a lot of money!"  I know there are some of you reading, however, that understand that taking 5 kids at their limits to the Walmart customer service counter may not be worth $8.  After all, I could always call the store and deal with it later.

I glanced at the kids, they seemed ok.

Frugal nature wins, and I head over to the counter.

to be continued...