1. Abby had a meltdown of all meltdowns at Babies R Us today. So, if you were in a 5-mile radius of the Allen Babies R Us at around 11:15, yes, that was Abby you heard. :)
2. I'm an idiot. Abby had some birthday money, so I strolled over to Toys R Us to get something for Abby. I bought a cute little Dirt Devil vacuum cleaner, and she was stoked. She loves to push the real vacuum at home, so I thought this was a win-win situation for me. Instead of her wanting to push our vacuum (slooooooooowly, I might add) at home, this way she could "vacuum" next to me. Kill two birds with one stone, right? I get to vacuum, and she gets to pretend vacuum. Everyone's happy, right? Wrong. That thing is the noisiest, most annoying toy known to man. This is the thanks I get for trying to be kind. Ugh.
3. In the parking lot of Babies/Toys R Us, I saw a woman unload her bags from her cart and leave her cart right there in the parking lot, taking up a parking space. She got in her car and drove off, just leaving it sitting there TEN FEET FROM THE RETURN AREA. Are you kidding me, lady?! How lazy have we become?? Well, Dramatic Me marched over to the cart just as she was pulling off, and pushed it into its proper area. I put on a nice, over-the-top, Oscar-worthy show, if I must say so myself. She could see me in her rearview mirror as I drove away. Hopefully, Lady in the Nissan Sentra, you'll be kind enough to return your cart next time so good, rule-abiding citizens like myself don't have a good parking space blockaded thanks to your inconsiderate, selfish self. Ah, I feel better. :)
4. I had a gift card to spend at a certain children's boutique in Longview this past weekend. I won't say the name of the store, but it starts with "Lollipops" and ends with "Lace." :) Anyhoo, when I walk in there, I always feel really poor. Like the people behind the counter are thinking, "Oh, what's that poor vagabond doing in here? She obviously isn't rich enough to be shopping here! Perhaps she came in here to seek shelter from the blistering sun. Surely she doesn't have the money to purchase items in here. Poor soul must have a gift card." Dangit. They figured me out. It's one of those places that if I touch a shirt, I hope I don't get dirt on it because then I'll be forced to buy it, and in order to pay for it, I'd have to sell some of my plasma. You know what I mean?
Anyway, I carefully looked around for something to spend my $50 gift card on. I know what you're thinking: $50? Wow, that's a lot! And if it were Wal-Mart, you'd be right. But at this place, it maybe would buy me a pair of lacy bloomers. That, or a pair of socks. I kid, I kid. Seriously though, they had an entire section devoted to the most adorable smocked dresses. I gasped at the price tag. $72. For a dress. For a two-year-old. A growing two-year-old. Call me old school, but I can't see paying that much money for a dress for my child. Don't get me wrong: if you have the money, go for it. But for me, $72 is a lot of money.
My philosophy is: pay more money for something that's going to last you a long time; pay less for short-term items. And to me, clothing for Abby is a short-term item. Like I said, that's just me though. So, my goal was to spend my gift card on something Long Term. I perused and perused and perused some more. Gosh, a girl can get lost dreaming in that place for an afternoon. Oh, what adorable items they had for sale. I ended up purchasing the cutest little baby doll high chair. It was the perfect gift. You know why? Because it will last for years. That's better than a little smocked dress anyway, right?
Lastly, I'll leave you with a play-by-play of yesterday's Soccer Tots. Abby did well for the most part but wanted nothing to do with one drill: kicking the ball while Mommy's foot was on top of it. She didn't like that. You all will be pleased to know, though, that she was the leader for the obstacle course as well as the final line to kick the ball into the goal. When Coach Kendrah asked for the kids to line up behind the dot, Abby was the first one there both times. Actually, I think it has less to do with leadership skills and more to do with the fact that Abby's the oldest in the class (well, second oldest by one day) and understands what Coach is asking. But I'll just pretend that she's a born leader! :)
Warming up. By the way, Papa Rick, everyone LOVED Abby's shoes. One Mom commented how "happy" they were! Abby loves them too. In the car, she said, "Papa...Abby's shoes." So, she knows they came from you with love. They were perfect!
She's got her sights set on that goal!
Balloon time!
Chasing the balloon
Luckily she came running back to where she was supposed to be!
At the end of the drills, Coach has all the kids circle around and put their hand on a box. On the count of three, they yell, "Go Soccer Tots!" And by "they" I mean Coach. No kid yells that. They just stare at her with a really confused look on their faces. It's pretty funny actually. But, after "their" chant, Coach stamps their hands. This is their favorite thing! Here is Abby showing off her ball and star stamps.
Our little Soccer Tot star. Too fun.
Happy Friday, everyone! :)
