You just have no idea how excited she was to go. All summer long, she would ask me how many more days until she got to go. It was a loooong summer for her.
The girls had to read the entire book for this first meeting in one day because silly ol’ mom grabbed the wrong one at the library last week. Yep, that would be me. I could have sworn they were working on Rebecca this semester. Turns out it was Samantha. Good thing those girls are on top of it, eh?
So, after visiting two different libraries the night before, we finally had the right book in our hands. K read, and read, and read, and read… all six chapters to her sisters yesterday morning before leaving for the meeting.
The plan was that Anthony would stay home with the boys, who desperately need daily naps, while I went window shopping close by the LG meeting so as to not waste gas. I really didn’t want to have to come all the way home just to turn around and go get them again. I’m practical that way. I’d rather shop for three whole hours and not buy a thing than waste the liquid gold sitting in my gas tank. Call me crazy!
Unfortunately for me, Anthony was unable to be home for that long. DRAT! That meant that I was going to be dragging two cranky boys along for the ride. Now the question was, do I make it easy on myself by dropping the girls off and driving all the way back home {but wasting the liquid gold}? Or do I tough it out and hope for the best while window shopping for three whole hours with two little boys who, even on a good day, can be extremely unmanageable? It was a tough choice but I decided to take my little ones shopping.
THAT is a first as well. I would normally not do this. It’s a rare occasion indeed that I attempt to go anywhere by myself with C in tow. Maybe if it’s just him, all by himself and we’re both having a good day. But NEVER with B also. Just doesn’t happen…
But there we were, miles from home with a whole shopping district to take advantage of.
Our first stop was to Hobby Lobby. LOVE that store. If I had any money at all…. OH wait! I had a whopping $7 in my purse and I needed some hair clips to finish an order for someone in my ward {see what she ordered, here}. And then, with the 40% off coupon, I also grabbed some Mod Podge… big plans, folks… big plans! ;)
And that was the end of my $7. However, there was about a dollar in change in the car… more on how that was spent later in the post.
After walking around the craft section of Hobby Lobby and drooling over all the projects I could do if only I had hundreds of dollars to spend, we headed toward the front of the store to pay for the items I was purchasing. And guess what we saw there…
The first signs of Christmas 2011!!!
What? Christmas? I had to think for a second. We haven’t had Halloween yet, had we? I didn’t miss it, right? Holy cow! It’s only September!! But alas, there it was.
Love the traditional look!
Not so sure how I feel about this look {below}. Maybe it’s a little cold feeling to me. Pretty, just cold… BRRR! It’s like blue lights on houses. I hate that! {Sorry if you’re a blue light person… reminds me of Professor Cold Heart from Care Bears. Remember them?}
And I think I really like this whimsical look. All the pinks…. TOTALLY me! My girls would agree, I’m sure. It would just ‘go’ in our house.
C and B were riding in the cart the whole time and I only had to get after C once. Surprise!
We left Hobby Lobby and headed to Target. C loves to look at the toy section. Since I had no more money for anything specific, I just grabbed the change in the car and thought, if C is good in Target, maybe I’ll buy him a treat.
The toy section was a hit! Both B and C loved pushing all the buttons on the displays to see what would happen to the toys in the box. And I kept reminding C that he needed to stay in the cart or we would make an immediate exit. Only a couple of times did I have to get that grumpy mom voice going and say, “Uh, uh, uh! What did Mommy say?” You know that voice? It makes itself known quite often in C’s presence.
When the toys were no longer keeping B occupied, we grabbed a small toy from the shelf that I knew he would adore… a cell phone.
And C had to have one, too.
From that point on, I had no problems. I was able to browse the entire store without a single squak from either of them. Tell me I’m not the only one that lets my kids play with toys from the toy section while shopping. It works!
After shopping for a almost a full three hours, we were pooped. But C had been so good that I let him choose a candy before leaving Target. Peanut M&M’s! My weakness! I made him share… and I gave some to B.
By the time we picked the girls up, C was ornery… as you can tell from the picture below. He was beyond tired. But look how happy H is! She LOVED her first experience at LG. Can you tell?
And I’m still in shock over C’s good day! It was a first for sure. If he keeps that up, he may be able to experience more Mommy/Son dates!
5 comments:
Wow! The Christmas atmosphere is there already! Looks really beautiful! Before we know it Christmas will be here. Interesting post. I am glad everything worked out fine for you all. Take care.
Success! Peanut M&Ms is a weakness for me!
*are* a weakness
You have such a beautiful family! And I just love the time of year when all the Christmas decor comes out :)
I always give Lulu a toy (or a cookie) at the store and I never hear a peep...unless she asks for juice. Other than that it is usually smooth sailing. Now, though, every time we go to the grocery store she makes a b-line for the bakery before anything else. Darn smart kid!
wm
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