Target with Tots

I don't know about you, but I need to go to Target at least once a week. It used to be a lot more often, but when you don't have much money, something has to go. Anyway, it's hard to distinguish between 'wants' and 'needs' at Target. Do I really need three sweatshirts that are size 3T for Liam when he's in 2T now? Well, they're marked down 75%, which makes them $1.48 each. Given that I don't have many 3T clothes (I only started saving Aidan's clothes when Josh and I got married and we was in size 5), I thought it was justified. Sometimes I just need to get that shopping fix. Even if it's just at Valu Thrift Shop (in Sun Ray; it is awesome!!) and I spend 5 bucks on something that I think is awesome, and would have been $30 new. Anyway, I'm digressing from the blog title, Target with Tots. My last couple trips to Target have been an absolute nightmare, so I'm trying to evaluate how to make it go smoother. Part of the problem is that when Josh wasn't working, we'd go to Target together. This means that one of us would have Liam and one of us would have Ben. Easy as pie. Ben would either stay in his car seat or be held while we shop around. Liam, on the other hand, got the luxury of being out of the cart, and on the loose. It's not too hard to chase on little one if someone else has the other. Ok, I might not actually say this if we hadn't had a baby as well. Now, Liam thinks he can have the run of Target Woodbury. He likes to play with the video game controllers, and the leapster games in the toy section. He hides in the clothing racks, and lays down on the shelves when the stock is gone from it. I need to end this craziness, or a) he's going to get hurt, b) we're going to get kicked out or c) I'm going to lose it, and start yelling. We've all heard these moms who yell at their kids in public. It ain't pretty. Today, our Target trip did go a little better. I brought some snacks and he did sit. Granted it was a pretty short stop. Maybe giving snacks is the answer, but it may not last on a longer shopping trip, and we wouldn't want to spoil our lunch. Any suggestions?