olivia and i go shopping at the coop. oh. and sky too. since she's only 6 months i sometimes forget to add that she's along for the ride too. i like checking the board. we have a bulletin board. for sale. and wanted. i like to see what's for sale. i once bought a pair of frye boots from a woman on sterling place for $40. what a deal. size 7. they fit perfectly. clomp clomp. heavy, dark brown, worn looking boots. i wore them a lot last winter when i was pregnant with sky along with my black leggings and the charcoal wool top that cleo lent me. anyway. so i like to check the bulletin board. i mostly do so when olivia is sleeping. otherwise i hear, mommy. mommy. i want to to get out. i want to get out. over and over again until i say, ok. i'll get you out. and then i keep looking at the board and then she says, mommy. mommy. unbuckle me mommy. mommy, unbuckle me. and she keeps saying it over and over and over and over until i say, yes i will unbuckle you. but, of course, i don't take her out, and i don't unbuckle her, because otherwise she'll start climbing the long steep stairs and then i won't be able to look at the board at all. it's amazing how long we can both go on for. finally, i leave the damn board. and i struggle with my hip-pack zipper and i struggle with getting my coop id card from my hemp wallet that does not gently let out my card paraphernalia, but i use it because it says HEMP and of course we should be allowed to grow hemp. and i show it to the entrance worker and she punches the numbers in and says, active! which means i haven't broken any rules and can now go on my merry way. olivia used to get in the grocery cart but these days with sky in the sling we only do that with griffin. now i keep everything on the stroller so i don't buy more than the stroller can handle. (ha!) i use two or three cloth bags and the small box under the seat (if i've remembered to place it there before i've left home) for the heavy stuff. i give olivia an extra bag and we negotiate our way along the produce aisle. i always get kiwi fruit. it's a magic elixir for olivia. she tends to get constipated (inherited from my side of the family) and the kiwi fruit works every time. it never ceases to amaze me. she won't poop for days. then she eats one or two kiwi fruit and it's like molten lava. anyway, after picking some kiwi fruit i'll pick a green vegetable. broccoli or kale. mostly kale. i love kale. i couldn't eat it when sky was an infant because it was too gassy. but now i can and it's a great source of iron. (unfortunately these days it usually ends up turning yellow in my fridge because i don't feel like cooking and olivia and i end up eating pizza and potato chips.) one time i picked brussel sprouts. pew. sky too. poor kid. brussel sprouts are just too gassy for me. ok. enough of this anal stuff. olivia is usually demanding the stool (no pun) intended) by this time so i help her bring it over to pick apples and then juice boxes. after packing her fruit in the bag she will sing her way up the aisle. what's next mommy. what's next mommy. tofu. i'll get the tofu. i can pick that out by myself. open the door mommy. open the door mommy. open the door now. i don't want you to get eggs first. i want to get tofu. i leave her to get the tofu while i get bread or check the price on the maple syrup or check to see if we have finally restocked the cookbook my friend joy would like. and of course now i've picked out more than the poor stroller seemingly can handle, or i can handle. i have to get cat food. i can always use another can of cat food. and frozen orange juice. and what goodies are there on the end aisle shelf today? by now olivia has finished with the tofu and is calling mommy, mommy, where are you? and she will pass the hummus container bin and stop to start stacking all the varieties of hummus until they fall over and then she restacks them, all the time talking to herself about how she needs to make a tower, a big tower, a very big tower and who knows what else. and now i've got bread and cat food and baby wipes and tuna and pasta and sauce and juice boxes and kiwi fruit and tangerines or clementines and kale and tofu and eggs and butter and and and i don't have enough room so i return the eggs and the sauce, no i'll keep the sauce . . .oh. it's exhausting. don't forget the potato chips. and now if i've kept it unde