Attracting Nutters one isle at a time

Firstly let me start this long boring story with a bit of info about my friend Annie. Annie attracts people. If we ever went shopping or out to tea people would always ask Annie for the time or stop her for directions. Even if Stuart or I were closer to them, peeps would go past us to talk to Annie. It was the same when we worked together ... customers loved Annie. Lulu reminds me a bit of Annie in the way that she engages with people when we are out and about. It is usually Mum's with babies that talk to her.


So yesterday I took the kids grocery shopping. Lately I loathe this task. Lately I loathe all tasks but last time I looked peeps needed to be fed so off we went to the plaza to blow cash on canned goods. Fun times.

Normally we go to the Woollies next to the kids school but the thought of doing that yesterday made me want to poke myself in the eye so we went to the Coles at the plaza. In hindsight I would have been very happy with a poke in the eye.

It was situation normal with Bear pushing the trolley and me regretting never having a proper meal plan and Lulu just fluttering along next to me. Somewhere along the tinned tuna isle I got separated from the kids for about a minute as they had stopped to fight over popper flavours or some such thing. Next thing they are both next to me looking very sheepish and sort of doing that nervous giggle thing. Bear tells me that a lady in the next isle keeps looking at Lulu. I really don't think that much of it. My kids are not rude or loud so I didn't think they had done anything wrong (especially as I had been with them less than a minute previously). We keep shopping and then a lady comes past us with her trolley and is indeed staring at Lulu. Like stopping in front of me staring at Lulu. I asked her if she was ok or alright or something like that and she says "Is she laughing at me?" Lulu is now hiding behind me and I am sort of starting to freak out a little bit. I said "no I don't think so" and the lady says "she is laughing at me isn't she?" she then goes to touch me (or Lulu who is trying to make herself as small as possible and burrow into my back). I walk past the woman (holding onto Lu) but realise that Bear is rooted to the spot with the trolley and now the Nutter is between me and him. I go back (with Lu who is crying behind me) and say to the woman "look sorry... she isn't doing anything". I grab the trolley and haul Bear as fast as I can up the isle. Thankfully the woman disappears. Bear is probably scared but starts to tell me off for talking to the woman and Lu is in tears. I myself want to ditch the 3/4 full shopping trolley and get the hell out of dodge.

It doesn't seem like a big deal but we all felt quite flustered by the experience.

After a bit of a talk to the kids about stuff like that happening and it being no ones fault (except the Nutter!) we continued on shopping.

We get to the last two isles and Lucy finds $30 on the floor. She picks it up and turns around to me to tell me about it and out of nowhere comes another lady with 2 little kids in her trolley(this is my blog and I am going to say it like it is she was WHITE TRASH of the finest order) and grabs it out of Lulu's hand saying "that's not yours, I saw who dropped it". This makes Lucy cry again because she assumes everyone will think she stole it (Lucy has previous found money twice at our local shops and handed it in and then when it wasn't claimed 3 months later she got to keep the money). Why are people such a holes? Why doesn't anybody trust kids? Why do adults feel good when they make kids feel like crap?

We quickly finish up, pay our millions to Coles and go home.

Today I am seriously looking into online shopping with home delivery.