Friday night, December 18th: The kids and I are driving home from daycare and I'm feeling pretty good because ALL my Christmas shopping is done ~ for me, this is VERY EARLY because usually I'm the "shop the week of Christmas" kinda shopper! As we are pulling into the driveway @ 5:30 it suddenly hits me - HOLY COW I FORGOT TO GET SOMETHING FOR PARKER's 3 AFTER SCHOOL PROVIDERS (he goes to the Y after school)!! Now I'm panicking because it's already dark and usually once I bring the kids home from daycare we like to stay at home...I never really bring them to the bigger mall with me because it ends up being a total fiasco with me wanting to pull my hair out because they don't want to be there and they aren't letting me do the shopping I need so I get cranky...you get the idea - I do my "mall" shopping during a day off - BY MYSELF. Anyway, I also realized that I start my new job on Monday and will not have any time to myself for shopping before Christmas comes!! PANIC!! Not to mention that the kids are STARVING and I haven't even thought about what to make for supper! (told you this story was long)
As I'm cooking supper I have to break it to them..."Kids, after supper we are going to have to go to West Acres" ~ the groans and "BUT WHY's" start here ~ Then I explain to them that I forgot and laid on some guilt about how sad the daycare providers would be if we forgot them on Christmas (hahahaha...I'm SO MEAN!). It's decided then that after supper we'll freeze our butts off, pile into the car and head out.
I remembered that Victoria's Secret was having a great deal on their body washes & lotions ~ 7 itmes for $30.00 & get one free! What girl doesn't like great smellin' body products!?
See where I'm going with this?:
Late Friday night the weekend before Christmas
3 Kids that don't usually go to the mall
2 boys: 1 that is at that "awkward" stage where anything to do with girls is embarrassing and 1 that is not afraid to point and hollar out "BOOBS"
1 girl that is OBSESSED with pretty frilly, sparkly things and ALL THINGS that pamper
1 mother attempting to head off all of the above problems by TALKING to the kids BEFORE we get to the mall....dum, dum, dummmmmm....!!
I tell them we are going to a "girly" store and they are NOT allowed to TOUCH anything (unless ok'd by me), NO POINTING or snickering. Aiden asks me why I'm telling them all of this, so I say: "you know those commercials where the girls are in their bras and underware?" - Aiden says, "you mean the girls that are trying to be all sexy?" - I say, "yes those girls...well, we are going to the store that SELLS those bras and underware and they also sell sexy outfits for ladies" then I re-iterate the "rules".
As we get to the store, it has 3 sections and we have to go through the "outfit lingere" to get to the body care section. As soon as we walk in, Parker covers his eyes and looks as though he's going to die, Aiden stops walking - dead in his tracks -his eyes bug out & his mouth opens, and Savannah starts heading to the frilliest thing in the room!! I said, "c'mon guys let's head this way, we have a job to do!"...SILENTLY - they all follow me!! We get to the wall with the body washes and Parker asks if he can smell them to pick specific ones for each teacher (yep, he's gonna be a GREAT husband/boyfriend some day! So thoughtful!!). Aiden just stands beside me looking all around and I tell Savannah she should help Parker smell stuff. THEN...the MIRACLE HAPPENS...
An employee (she was in her 20's) walks up to me with a bag (to put the products in) and says to me, "THESE ARE THE QUIETEST CHILDREN WE'VE HAD IN THIS STORE ALL SEASON!" You should have seen my face....I think I looked like she told me I had won a million dollars!! I said, "well, I'm trying to teach them how to behave in a girly store-ha, ha" she told me "GOOD JOB"!! My smile was SO BIG and I just looked at each of my kiddos and BEAMED at them! We finished our shopping (which, by the way, only took us 18 minutes from entering to exiting) and I just hugged them outside of the door (if you're a parent of more than 1 child, you understand this) and said, "I am SO PROUD of you guys! YOU ARE THE BEST!!.....let's go get some ICE CREAM!!" Then, they all BEAMED at me! I took a picture to commemorate the event!
Presenting the 3 COOLEST, gettin' the job DONE, most WELL-BEHAVED kids in a "sexy store" EVAH!
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