You'd Think I'd Learn

Last year, I posted about my trip to the Mall two weeks before Christmas. Somehow, I must have forgotten, because today, I decided it was a good idea to go to JC Penney and exchange something and pick up a few last-minute gifts.

What was I thinking?

I forgot The Manimal's stroller in Husband's truck.

He was at work today.

That was when I discovered that our local Mall had eliminated the complimentary stroller rental, and implemented a FOUR DOLLAR RENTAL for these silly "car" strollers. When the stroller was returned, you would get a whopping fifty cent rebate. I had no choice, unfortunately, because one of three things happen when The Manimal is allowed to run free in a public place.

1) He walks nicely, holding my hand and looking pretty darn cute.
2) He runs off, laughing like a maniac, thinking he's playing a "catch me, mommy, catch me!" game.
3) He collapses on the ground in a screaming, crying mess, making his limbs go completely limp, and turning his 35 pound body into a dead weight.

All of these happened before I managed to secure the aforementioned stroller.

Then Sweet Son #1 started.

"Why didn't you get the two seater stroller? I wanted to ride! I'm not going to walk! I want to go home. How much longer are we going to be here?"

I resorted to the tried and true mom trick. Bribery.

So at 10:30 am, SS#1 had a McDonald's Mighty Kids Meal. Before you start throwing me under the bus for feeding my child junk food (and before 11 am, no less), you would've done the same thing in my position. At least he doesn't drink pop!

We managed to complete our excursion in under two hours (record!), and got some great deals on our last-minute shopping. I even managed to drive past Toys R Us without too many pleas from SS#1 to "just stop and look", which is a good thing, as I can't handle that store in a non-holiday season.

Now I'm a smart woman. I taught high school students. I have a Master's Degree. I pride myself on my common sense. Why is it that I can't seem to remember that I should avoid malls in December, or at least three days before Christmas?

Cheers!