The Cure for the Shopaholic

Just wanted to give you a little taste of what shopping with a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old boy after two nights of sleep-overs with their buddies (meaning sleep deprivation) is like. For some reason, in the midst of the madness, I recalled a similar moment in the past in which I am pretty sure the words I will not shop with both boys after sleepovers again ran through my head. Hmmn, a little too late with the memory.

The boys had a wonderful time with their buddies and as is the norm for sleepovers, sleep was comprised. But, I was determined to do a little shopping. I had already narrowed it down to the bare minimum - 5 stores. That was it. Some of them would just be a "walk in, look around, walk back out". 5 stores. Is that really too much to ask? Yes, it is.

We started off the day like this:

C: How many stores today, Mommy?
Me: 5! That's it! Only 5! Some of them will be really quick ones, too. I have a sticker for you and your brother for each store. If you are well behaved, stay with me, do not grab any merchandise and have best behavior, then you will earn a sticker and at the end of our little adventure, you can each get a giant bug - we have one spider and one praying mantis.

C: So, how many minutes will we be in each store?
Me: Not really sure. Maybe 10 minutes in one, and 1 minute in another.

As we arrive in the parking lot, R announces he has to go potty. Luck was on our side. The restroom was two doors down from the store I wanted to shop in. We all went potty and headed to shop. Right for the clearance section. Found a few things, headed for the fitting room.

R: Mommy, I have to go potty.
Me: What?
R: I have to go potty.
Me: Really? Because we just went potty like 2 minutes ago.
R: Yup.

Off we go. Again. We all go potty. Back to the store. Head straight for the fitting room where girl has held my items. I start to try on.

C: Mommy, I have to go potty again.
Me: Seriously! What is it with all this pottying? You really have to go again? Can you wait 5 minutes?
C: Need to go now.

Back to the potty. I have not caught on yet to the allure of these restrooms. Sure, they have automatic flush and sinks, but really. C has a crisis because the automatic toilet won't stop flushing while he is trying to go. I manage to get the door unlocked and go in and save him from the tidal wave.

Back to the store, purchased my items, cut the store list to 2 and got out of there. Boys got their bugs. I'm not even sure I like to shop anymore.

The Black Hole

Recently, a dear friend posted about the Black Hole, more commonly known as Target. This seems to be a black hole because while well-intentioned, we just can't seem to escape without buying things we don't need and spending more than we intended to. Here are my thoughts on the Black Hole:

I used to be sucked in. Every time I was shopping in the vicinity of Target, I had to stop in and just see what they had. Sure, I probably had a few things on my list - toothpaste, Ziplocs, soap, but I always seemed to veer from my list and end up with great things at great prices, but not things I needed or money I needed to spend. I started thinking about it recently and realized that my personal issue with Target is that I see it as a special treat to go there. For some reason, when I am there, I grab things as if it might be the last time I can go to Target. I must claim this item!! I also must give some credit to the atmospheric effect. I am not sure why, but when I walk into Target, I feel like I am home. I know the exact layout of the store, I am relaxed, happy and excited to shop.

I know this may be shocking to hear from a Shopaholic, but lately, I have been somewhat surprised at my spending there. Where once, $80 was my consistent spending there, a few months ago, it was only $40, then $30, then $15 and the last time, only $7!! Each time, I have exclaimed to the cashier, I don't think I've ever spent this little in Target!!! Now, I don't know how it is possible to continue this trend without sticking to the dollar spot. I still love Target dearly, but I'm hoping I can enjoy and still be able to send my children to college.