Retail Therapy

Nathan was in a funk today. It happens to everyone from time to time and today was one of this days. The musical opens in a couple of weeks. He’s been spending long hours in rehearsal and working on stage crew tasks and when the other kids dork around and don’t take things seriously, it has a tendency to irritate him. A lack of sleep and stress are never good for him either, hence the funk. He was in need of stage make up, so we headed to the Walmart to get him some foundation and guy liner. I helped him choose the make up he needed and then a cute blouse caught my eye. Nathan didn’t want to hang out in the lingerie section while I tried it on (that’s where the fitting rooms are in this particular Walmart) so he opted to browse the men’s section instead. When I made it back, he had discovered a shirt he really liked and we selected a coordinating t-shirt to go with it to complete the look. He is being raised by an emotional eater which means that I have a tendency to treat my offspring’s funks with food, so I walked him down to frozen foods and had him pick out some ice cream. By the time we got home, his funk had dissipated and his mood was greatly improved.

To sum up our excursion, we bought make up, clothes and ice cream and then he felt better.

Maybe teenage boys aren’t as different from teenage girls as everyone tells me.  😉

Oh, the Grocer Is a Person In Your Neighborhood

Although she was super shy when she was younger, Malia tossed that aside around the time she turned two. Now she is a little social butterfly. She talks a lot and has a tendency to chat with whoever is around when we go shopping. One of our local grocery stores is great for having friendly employees. They always greet us, talk to Malia, give her stickers, etc. There is one guy in particular who is super nice. He is a bit on the older side and just happens to be completely bald. On one of last month’s shopping trips she was so chatty with him that he was completely charmed and gave her four stickers. That, of course, cemented him in her good graces. Now every time we hit the grocery store she looks for “the guy with no hair.” And when she finds him she grins and says, “I found you!” He loves it, of course, and plays along with her games. Today she was pushing her tiny cart (this particular store also has kid sized shopping carts…super fun if you can keep your kids from playing bumper cars with the back of your legs) filled with produce and was lucky enough to find him not just once, but twice. She made me switch checkout lines when she realized we weren’t in this particular gentleman’s line. He played along with her hide and seek games and gave her four more stickers.

What can I say? Good service at a family friendly grocer makes me more likely to shop there again.

A Sigh of Relief

I went grocery shopping this morning.  The Walmart has been one big mass of hysteria ever since Thanksgiving.  But this morning it was calm, peaceful even.  The parking lot was nearly empty, there was no cart bashing in the aisles, I didn't even have to wait in line to check out.  I love the holidays just as much as the next person, but it is awfully nice to be able to buy cereal and garbage sacks without having to battle hoards of folks who started their Christmas shopping a week before Christmas.  It's not like the Walmart is ever one of my happy places, but it was a bit nicer this morning.

If This Is One, What Is Two Going To Be Like?!

Matthew is my shopping companion. We have a tendency to do all the shopping in the morning while both the big boys are at school. As a result, he knows exactly which grocery stores have those cool shopping carts that look like cars or rockets. When I pull into the parking lot of Harmons, Ream's, or Macey's he will start asking for a "car" before I even get the car parked. This morning Ream's was on our list of places to stop and as usual, the "car" chorus began before we ever got out of the car. So you can imagine my dismay when we stepped into the store and discovered that there were no fancy shopping carts available. I told Matthew there weren't any car carts, and then the screaming started. I've shopped with a screamer before, so my plan was just to stick him in a regular cart and get started. But he had other ideas. As he continued to scream, he held his body so rigid that I literally could not get him into the seat of the cart. And there was no way I was sticking him in the back of the cart. I have a sneaking suspicion that if I had tried, he would have jumped right back out. Anyway, there I was, standing in the front of the store holding a screaming and flailing one year old. An older gentleman that works at the store passed with a look of concern ("No, I'm not beating my child. There's no need to call Child Protection Services.") and when I briefly explained my dilemma, he promptly disappeared. I continued to wrestle with Matthew (WWF would be proud) until I finally got him to bend just enough to shove his legs into the seat of the shopping cart. And just that moment, the aforementioned gentleman reappeared with a super fancy rocketship cart in hand. He had gone out to the parking lot and found one just for us. The screaming stopped immediately, although it took a few more minutes for the tears to stop.

That man gets double points in heaven. And a smile from Matthew. And that is just one more reason why I will drive a bit further to shop at Ream's.

Trio

Three good things have happened to me today. The first involved shopping (which I generally abhor). Jeans were on sale and since I've resorted to iron on patches to keep my current jeans wearable, I figured I better just suffer the store and get a new pair. But here's the good part: I found a pair of jeans not only in my size, but in a petite! Yay, yay, yay! I don't have to roll up the legs and the waistband does not come up to my armpits! It was like a mini miracle in the Shopko.

The second good thing is that Nathan brought me flowers. As adults, we usually look out over the yard and let a few curses escape our lips over the weeds that blemish our less than perfect lawn. But to a four year old, a dandelion is nothing more than a beautiful flower to give to his mother.

The third good thing happened after lunch. I was washing the dishes when I heard Matthew complaining behind me. He wasn't shrieking in pain or anything, just complaining. So I turned around and saw this:


And thus was I blessed with the gift of laughter. This crazy kid of mine has a thing about shoes and has recently discovered that playing with the shoe rack is a super fun accompaniment to shoe-capades. So I couldn't help but laugh when he fell in the thing and got stuck!

I don't think it is a coincidence that two of my three good things came because of my children. In my crazy, stressed out life (and in spite of the fact that they contribute greatly to my crazy, stressed out life) my children bring me many "shining moments of joy and satisfaction." And yes, I laugh at them. I can't help it. You try to keep a straight face when your four year old son falls off his chair screaming because he bit his own finger while eating lunch.

The Reason I Hate Shopping

I bought a cute new pair of shoes today. They weren't available in a wide width, so I had to go up half a size. That happens to me all the time. I have these short, fat little feet that are hard to fit into cute skinny shoes. Now these shoes are very springy-meaning they remind me of warm weather, lighter spring clothing, and an imminent release from the need for socks. I really like them. I would really like to have something new and cute to wear them with. Easy enough, you say. Just go shopping. But that's the part I hate.

You see, I am not any easy size to fit. I am just under 5'3", which makes me a petite. And yes. There are tons of cute clothes for petites out there. However, I am also very curvy. And almost every petite-sized piece of clothing I have every seen is designed for super-skinny-with-no-curves-and-short rather than for womanly-curves-and-just-happens-to-be-short-also. It is extremely frustrating. When I shop, I see all these adorable things and rush to try them on. But if I am shopping in the women's department, everything is too long, sagging in my torso area so I look even chubbier than I am. If I am shopping in the petites' department, nothing will close over my womanly chest. I spend my life trying not to trip on pants that are too long, continually pushing up my sleeves that are too long, and trying to keep my waistband from hanging on my actual waist because then the crotch of my pants is down between my knees. It is very discouraging.

At least I know how to sew. Now if only I could find patterns for the super cute clothes (rather than the matronly and figure killing tunics) in the size I need!