Health & Fitness
Christmas Shopping, the Holy Grail, and the Patron Saint of Mothers Shopping Alone with Two Babes
My first Christmas shopping trip with both Babes: I remember like it was yesterday. Especially when I spilled red fruit punch. Everywhere. Enjoy!
Everyone said the day would come when I could look fondly on trying to handle the Christmas holiday when The Babes were young. I laughed (well, probably more like snorted).
I was wrong.
I wrote this post two years ago. I feel nostalgic about my first Christmas shopping trip alone with The Babes. When I read this, all my feelings of anxiety and elation and frustration all come flooding back. Well, the feelings of anxiety and frustration have softened around the edges a bit.
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From a personal standpoint, I am so glad that I wrote about this; it’s kind of like a scrapbook page of my life ... except in written form.
Enjoy!
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“Wow!” That’s pretty much all I can say. It’s like I pushed the fast forward button on warp speed after Thanksgiving, and next thing I knew, a whole week went by in a blink of an eye! So what have I been up to, you may (or may not) be wondering? SHOPPING!! And not the fun kind where I browse, and think, “Oh so-and-so would like that. I think I’ll get it.” After paying in cash for my item, I think to myself, “I think I’ll have a Starbucks. I’ll have a large 2 percent crème brule latte with whip and the crunchy things on top, since there are no calories in it.” (This is MY fantasy shopping trip)!
No, my shopping this week started with scouring the Internet for deals on princess castles on AND after Thanksgiving, and then again on Cyber Monday. Then I went on Price Grabber a gagillion times to see if I could pay anything less than $50 for a princess castle. And then there it was, The Disney Special Moments Cinderella Castle, the Holy Grail of Princess Castles (according to Marie ... I would have preferred the one from Imaginarium ... if it was not like $100 plus). I found the Holy Grail at Walmart with free shipping for $44. I felt like I made a deal with the devil on many different levels. But whatever, it’s Christmas, and I knew it was a toy she would play with for hours and hours and hours.
I could not get all my shopping done on the Internet alone. And since it is illegal to leave children 3 and under alone unattended, I decided to take them to the mall for our first Christmas shopping trip. I ran to three stores with my double side-by-side stroller. I was feeling pretty good about myself as I gracefully navigated through dressing rooms and areas with breakable glass. I felt even better when I went to the Disney Store and shopped for Marie unbeknownst to her. (I took a sales person and literally spelled out what I needed to put in my bag, had her hold it behind the counter while Marie picked out a decoy purchase for her and Thomas. I never knew how fast I spelled when the lady looked at me and said that she only heard the "l-y" from j-e-w-e-l-r-y).
I was feeling all giddy from the buy-one-get-one sale, pulling my sneaky shopping trip off without one of my shopping companions being any wiser, AND not losing either Babe in the store. I decided to celebrate my victory at the food court. Marie wanted a hot dog, and my bourbon chicken was on the opposite side. So being the good mother that I am, I bought her hot dog first and then attempted to push my colossal stroller in one hand and hold her tray with RED fruit punch in the other. I got so close to my bourbon chicken stand and then I bumped into a table.
*SPLASH* went the RED fruit punch all over Marie, the stroller, my new shoes, and Thomas’ pants. The Patron Saint of Mothers Shopping Alone with Two Babes must have been looking down on me because the custodial service workers were right there to clean EVERYTHING (even the stroller) for me. And when I told the bourbon chicken guy I foolishly tried that crazy maneuver all for the bourbon chicken, he gave me an extra scoop. Thanks Patron Saint of Mothers Shopping Alone with Two Babes!
How’s your shopping coming along? Any good stories from this year or those from Christmas past?
Looking for more posts like this? Check out my blog at mommyonthespot.blogspot.com
