My dad doesn't understand how I can let the milk run out when I have two kids who drink it daily.

It doesn't make sense to him that I'd rather give the kids money to buy extra milk at school than take them into the grocery store to make sure they meet their daily dairy requirements at home. As far as I'm concerned, they should drink water until they learn that a grocery store isn't a playground and that a grocery cart isn't a toy, a weapon or a place to hide things they know I don't want to buy.

And I actually enjoy grocery shopping. But that's assuming I can push the cart leisurely up and down every aisle as I contemplate whether I'm more in the mood to satisfy a craving or take advantage of a bargain. I like knowing that I have to hit the frozen food aisle last because I'll be in the store so long that things will start to thaw or melt if I put them in the cart first.

With two kids in tow, we often don't get to the frozen food before I abruptly end our shopping expeditions because instead of looking for things to buy, I'm circling the store trying to figure out where the kids have disappeared to. If they have the cart with them, I have the added worry they'll crash into something or someone before I manage to regain control of the cart.

And then there's the normal shenanigans that occupy siblings when they're bored out of their skull and know that if they push just enough, Mommy will leave the store before she snaps. It's almost funny that they're so happy when our shopping trips are cut short and so sad at dinnertime when they realize we left the store with the milk we went in for, but not the ingredients for the meal I'd been planning.

It's not all bad. Now that my son's 13, he can be a great help at the store, and my daughter generally aims for good. And sometimes having kids rush me out is great for my wallet.

It does mean that I often don't buy milk, though, and my dad doesn't remember what it's like to drag two kids through a grocery store when they'd rather be doing anything else. Maybe it's because I saved the cartwheels and accidental property damage for shopping trips with my mom.

Maybe it's just because there really shouldn't be anything complicated about buying a gallon of milk, but when you're dragging two kids with you, it's not as simple as it sounds.

When she's not working as a journalist, Treena Shapiro is busy with her real job, raising a son and daughter. Check out her blog at www.HonoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs.