Holiday Turmoil!

I had all my shopping done...or so I thought! I'd forgotten about stocking stuffers and a few other stragglers. So, today Micah and I braved the 80 degree December weather and headed to the stores.

I typically love Christmas shopping. But not during the last-week rush. Micah screamed because he didn't want to be in the car, and it got louder with each re-buckling into the car seat after each stop. You could just hear him thinking, "Oh no! Not this again!"

I still use Micah's grocery cart cover when we go out. Most mom's of kids his age have already abandoned them, but I don't like him grabbing those dirty handles and he still can't be trusted to not chew on them. So, each new stop means putting the cover on while Micah gets impatient in the car. And today he learned two new shopping cart tricks. One- he can pull the nice, clean cover off. Which is bad and means Purell hand sanitizer has just become my new best buddy. And two- he can STAND up in the seat and reach for things. Which is way worse! He does it fast, too.
BOOM--and he's up, just like that!

So, thinking I was doing the smart thing, when we stopped at Best Buy to get Terry's stocking stuffer, I opted for no cart at all and just carried Micah on my hip. BAD idea. Have you ever heard Jerry Seinfeld's bit on shopping? It's about watching determined people walking into a store with their list in their hand, ready to just get in, get what they want, and get out. And then you see them 20 minutes later, dazed look in their eye, just wandering up and down the aisles. Well, that was me today.

I was going to get Terry an X-Box game. Didn't know they don't make them anymore now that XBox 360 is out. So, that began the wandering. "What would Terry like? What does this thingamajiggy do? Is this a good brand?" All the while Micah was getting heavier and heavier. And squirmier and squirmier. Finally I made me pick (I realize that I said "me pick" instead of "my pick." I was going to correct it, but decided I like feeling Irish for a minute) and walked hurriedly to the registers (no, Terry, I'm not saying what I got!). And then I had a duh! moment when I remembered the insanely long lines Best Buy has this time of year.

Micah had reached his limit. He wanted D-O-W-N! I finally found where the long line ended and took my place in it. I was hoping for a tall display nearby so I could rest Micah on it, but no such luck. I shifted him from hip to hip for 15 minutes, arms burning, face on fire (darm Houston weather!), embarrassed that I hadn't dropped the kid in a basket before getting into line. I tried to be jovial with Micah. Afterall, it wasn't his fault I'd dragged him around all day. Poor guy didn't even know we had we more stop before going home!

He got a second wind in Target and enchanted fellow shoppers with his laughter as I tickled under his arms every time he'd reach for something. Afterwards, I buckled him into his dreaded carseat and noticed he didn't even make a peep in defiance. "He must be tired," I thought. And before I had even buckled myself, I looked in the rear-view mirror and he was OUT.