Who in their right mind takes children shopping?

Precisely. What was the Mother thinking? But the Mother had to get out of the house, as she had a mission.

There was lots of walking involved and crossing of streets ... (Shameful. Look at Child 4's shoeless feet. Other Mothers buy their children shoes.)

But, the Mother and Others spied a funky 60s unit block next to St Vinnies, which in reality, looked like no one appreciated its 'bones' ... (Tawdry. Look at Mother's shirt hanging out. Other Mothers tuck in their shirts.)

St Vinnies was extremely disappointing ... this was the best of it ... $25, but it was fairly ordinary ... why do people give away trash and not valuable items? Which no one, but the Mother, realises are valuable?

But, because the tempers were beginning to fray, the Mother took the Others to a coffee shop. She forgets its name, but they are always very accommodating to childish Others ... When the Mother and Others arrived the fellow said:"Where would you like to sit?"
and the Mother said, "It's probably in your best interests that we sit away from everyone else"
to which he replied, "Don't worry, everyone's like you here"
and he plonked the Mother and Others at the front ... which was nice. 

The Mother looked at everyone else, and none of them reminded her of them.

Hello, greedy guts!

The Mother and Others did more walking and looking in shops ... She'd seen these lunch boxes before and had considered them for the Others ... they're quite large and made from recycled plastic, so ethically they're on-point, but the sticker concept would end in tears and in clogged dishwashers ...

And the Others don't need stickers for tears! An Other didn't get a colouring book, so an Other decided to throw a tantrum in the middle of Paddington and the Mother had to do lots of cajoling, and arm-tugging, and finger-shaking, and threat-making, and photo-taking ...

And then the Mother needed a hug because the whole experience was quite awful ... and she knew side-walk-dining Paddington people were judging her poorly on her lack of textbook
'Mothering Skills in Times of Tantrums' ...

(Oh brother, don't smother the Other, Mother.)

But it was all worth it in the end because the Mother got these ...

Very selfish of the Mother, really. Though they are shiny! And cloggy!