Are 4 kids too many?

Is it just me or is shopping with kids in tow enough to induce a mood so foul that even a non-drug user might, in a weak moment, contemplate mind-altering drug use?

Chickpeas soaking

But wait, you say, wasn’t I once enthralled by the clinical beauty of malls? Yes, that would be me. Who needed yet another leather bag? Me. What about dainty tip-toe shoes sure to turn heads when I stumble and fall ungainly on my bottom? Um, that would be me, again.


I’d only started seeing the error of my soul-less ways once I had kids and then shopping trips quickly turned into horror halls. The same can be said about grocery shopping. The aisles are never wide enough but the shopping carts have been re-sized larger to cater to customers’ increased purchases. Plus, I don’t understand why they make carts with attached kiddy cars when clearly the aisles cannot accommodate the wide-turning circle of such carts. Who has time to do a 5-point turn in the aisles when you are trying to shop Speedy Gonzales style and preventing kids from pulling items off shelves? I’m always half-minded to blind-fold my kids when we walk past those kid-friendly carts so that they wouldn’t be badgering me to use one and then bursting into a “but why not” tantrum when I hiss a menacing “forget it”!

Fried leeks, garlic and fennel seeds

I digress but I’m sure most parents have well-behaved kids or fewer kids or maybe extra helping hands to make grocery trips a less painful experience. But for those suckers like me who wanted 4 kids, the phrase “shopping with kids” is enough to evoke suicidal thoughts.


That said, this is not a blog where I try to sell you one (or all) of my kids to ease my shopping trip pains even if the hubs and I often jest that we would like to hawk them on Ebay -- yes, we are ashamed to say that we don’t crack good jokes anymore. We wanted 4 kids because we like even numbers. The number 4 in Chinese culture may not be considered auspicious, quite the contrary, it is often associated with death. But 3 kids, in my mind, would have been disastrous as I can personally attest to many lonely playtime experiences because I was the 3rd and the “baby”, hence rarely included in sibling games. Having 4 kids seemed harmonious -- 2 pairs of siblings and the silver bullet to the 3-kids imbalance. To us, it was perfection, much like the universal 2 kids and a dog named Rover happy family.

Unlikely combination? Paired up -- Chickpeas in tomato puree with fried leeks and garlic mix in the slow cooker

So, I remind myself that as much as shopping with kids is a hellish experience, the sibling pairing, on the other hand, has worked out rather well. The elder two Irish twins, Sean and Monique, are the best of friends and sometimes, competitors because they have A-type personalities. They get each others’ jokes, they think alike and yet even when they don’t, their differing perspectives complement each other. While the younger two -- Aidan and Sophia -- are both equally playful and lively making them a perfect match for each other. And as rough as my little girl gets, Aidan is always tough enough to put up with her manhandling (read: WWE Smackdown).

Add freshly squeezed lemon juice

The older versus younger age pairing isn’t the only way my kids engage as siblings. The pairing mutation takes place on more levels like there is the all-girls’ playtime when Monique wants to practice mothering and Sophia is the willing victim. Or the all-boy’s action team when Sean pretends he is Luke Skye Walker in “Star Wars” and Aidan becomes a fighting opponent. Then there are times when it isn’t about age nor gender pairing but companionship driven by the same interests like when Aidan’s and Monique’s love for swinging for hours on end draws them outside to enjoy each others' company, or when Sean’s love for books extends towards reading to an eager listener that is Sophia. If I could only list the many instances of yin-yang embraces, this could make a seriously boring read. Really, all this evidence of sibling friendship-- as precious as they are to the parents involved -- might make others want to barf.

Chickpea soup with cracked black pepper

Just yesterday, my hubs mused whilst watching all 4 of our spawns splashing happily in our paddle pool, how well they played together. It is moments like these where murderous ideas conceived when shopping with kids in tow evaporate and all that I’m left with is a warm fuzzy feeling that I’m glad we chose to have these 4 little horrors.


But, I still detest those so-called child-friendly shopping carts.

A satisfying soup for little tummies