Why on-line shopping rules
We are spending the weekend in the Smokies. Specifically here:
I thought it might present some good photo opportunities for our Christmas card photo of the girls. As I was patting myself on the back for thinking ahead, I loaded the kids into the car to head to the mall. I thought maybe some coordinating PJs would be cute in the cabin setting for the photo. I found a parking spot and in the time it took me to struggle the stroller out of the back of the car and get it open, another woman pulled in, parked, got out and was inside the mall. I didn’t even have a child out of the car yet. That is okay – my life is full of laughter and baby smiles even if it takes me 10 minutes to get the stroller out and set up.
I get the kids into the stroller and head inside. Once we enter, Sabrina begins demanding crackers and Tessa starts to cry. Not to be deterred, I gave Sabrina some goldfish and hoped Tessa would fall asleep quickly. I only intended to be in the mall for less than an hour. I had parked well away from the stores I wanted to check out (I’m not a fan of the mall and have no idea where things are located inside). We finally get to the first store and Tessa takes it up a notch. She is now sobbing. I think I can get in and out of the store quickly having forgotten that this childrens’ store isn’t designed for people with kids – there is no room between the racks for strollers. Tessa is so upset that I leave the store. I get her out to comfort her. Sabrina has finished her crackers at this point and begins demanding more. I put Tessa back in the stroller and she begins screaming again. I try to run into 1 more store only to exit immediately because I can’t look at anything with Tessa screaming. So I start the long trek back to the exit.
For some reason, everyone feels the need to comment on my screaming infant and whining toddler. People smirked or smiled or ahhh’ed. One woman commented “Someone isn’t having fun at the mall today.” You think? Because I am having a ball. And one of the guys at the kiosk that sells the clothes that soak up a 2 liter of Coke steps in front of me and says “Excuse me ma’am, could I…” I looked at him and said “You’ve got to be kidding me” and blew past him.
So a big FAIL on the attempt to pick up outfits for the photo. The question is, am I brave enough to try again tomorrow?
Were you in Gymboree? I love their stuff but the store makes me bat shit crazy! You cannot navigate a stroller in there. Who do they think their demographic is anyway?
If you go for it again tomorrow I suggest drugs….for you or the children. Whatever works. Otherwise I totally vote for online shopping.
OK, that cabin rocks!! I know you will have a great time! Sorry about your mall experience! Sounds so familiar!
Hmmm… if you do that to yourself again tomorrow, I’m not sure if “brave” is the right word to describe it. 😉
Maybe a quick evening trip by yourself once Steve gets home??
I have two words for you…..Overnight Shipping. 🙂
That cabin is freakin’ awesome! As far as the mall, I second a quick trip when hubby comes home. 🙂
In the past two years WWW has become my BFF! 😉
Ugh. I feel your pain. Well, only a portion of it – as I only have one kid who hates it when I try to shop. I’ve given up on taking her to the mall with me. Waaaayyy too hard. I buy online or shop when I have a sitter.
I don’t do malls with my children. There isn’t enough Valium in North America for me to try it. And I don’t have a newborn – there are just different challenges (especially with 2 hyper little boys and a toddler and a mouthy 9 year old)
And I agree with anyone who recommended overnight shipping. You would have paid the $20 something dollars just to be magically transported home during the throwing of the fits at the mall. It’s worth it. Don’t think of it as shipping cost -think of it has paying for not having to go to the mall again. Trick yourself into thinking the mall store will personally deliver it for $25 dollars. Everybody’s a winner!
I agree. Online shopping or once Steve gets home. Oh, Target after 7 pm without children? You could actually have fun! I read someplace a while back that best way to go shopping with young children was not to take them!
Aardvark – I stopped Gymboree and the Children’s Place. The Children’s Place was really bad for fitting a stroller…the Gymboree was slightly better but still not easy. I know floor space costs money but if they want people to shop for children, they need to make it easy for people WITH children.
Our gymboree is AWFUL with space. Really, how the hell can I fit my SINGLE stroller down their aisles. I still love their stuff.
Anyway, I always think about walking up to an onlooker and ask them if they have a problem! M was screaming because I God-Forbid made her WALK to the door. You would have thought I was beating her in the parking lot for heavens sakes!
Online shopping rocks for so many reasons!! I hate going into children’s stores with a stroller. Obviously, they were designed by someone without children.
The cabin rocks!!!
OH, you are a Mom–you’ll try again tomorrow!! We always try again.
Yes, in our malls it’s Gymboree that isn’t made for shopping with children, especially ones that have this innate need to grab EVERYTHING they can possibly touch.
I think you should sweet-talk Steve into giving you a couple of hrs to go by yourself one evening.
got m super cute pj’s at target for christmas. nick and nora!
I immediately thought of The Children’s Place. I was just there this weekend and you can barely walk through it – much less push a stroller. Not sure that I can say shopping with kids gets any easier – they just whine, ask for everything they see, whine, touch everything, wander off from you (I must say “Son, stay with me” a thousand times), whine, ask how much longer…..well, you get the idea! Online shopping or shopping alone are the way to go.
Have a great time at the cabin – it looks wonderful~
I suck at shopping but have HUGE CABIN ENVY right now.
go to gymboree.com
I barely try the mall with one child! LOL
you are so funny. I laughed out loud about the lady next to you darting in the mall, sooooo true, those darn double strollers are so hard to load. Last time at the zoo after cursing aloud for about 10 minutes, I finally just threw the darn thing in without folding it. I haven’t brave the mall yet with both kids. Good luck tomorrow, sounds like a cute picture!
With a two year old and eighteen month old I sooooo understand this!!!!!!! 🙂 I am just cracking up at the comments — from others at the mall (I get these too!:) –Michelle hear me when I say I feel your pain!!!!!!!! 🙂
But these days are fleeting, my friend, we will have all the time in the world when they are grown and we will see another momma with screaming babies and miss our once little ones ðŸ™
I agree with you, online shopping rocks! But, you are indeed cutting it kind of close with the shipping.
Here’s the next best thing: go to gap.com they have a great selection of little girls’ pjs, many of them holiday themed. Pick out what you like. Call your local gap. Check if they have the items you want in the sizes you need. Have them set them aside for you. Go pick them up. Might even want to ask which is the closest entrance to park at! 🙂
Also, I just email forwarded you a 30% off coupon for gap (can use starting tomorrow) and 5% goes back to charity.
Oh, and I am not in any way affiliated with the gap. (Just a fellow mom who’s been there, done that and feels your pain! ;))
Wow I just knew it was Children’s Place! Sweet cabin. We are going to brave Disney for the first time. I know its early yet, but kids are free til 3 and Jamie isn’t 3 until January. Plus we live 3 hours away. So Thanksgiving at Disney it is.
I also have cabin envy. Have fun there, and I hope you can get some awesome pics of the girls.
As a single mommy, I have to soldier on, screams and attitudes and all. I feel like the entire mall is looking at ME when the 2 yr old cries, as if I have just punched her or something.
I now have shopping envy. Take Rachael up on that coupon at Gap. Good luck!
You have just summed up why I buy almost everything online. You are right on about the kiosk guys always asking if they can have a minute when they see you struggling with children. HELLO!!! And don’t even get me started about how closely they put the dang clothes racks. I swear, it is the worst in children’s stores when I’m pushing a freakin’ double stroller through the store.
Go for it tomorrow is another day!!
Don’t you want to punch people who smirk at you when your kid(s) are screaming their heads off? Like you ENJOY having a miserable child on your hands. ugh!
I’m sorry your mall attempt was such a disaster. I’m not brave enough to go to the mall with Emily alone. I have to bring backup!! LOL I push the stroller and the other person follows along behind me picking up all the clothes Em has pulled off as we struggle through the racks.
What an AWESOME place!! Wow, that looks wonderful. I got Christmas jammies for Bear yesterday at Babies R us.
I am jealous ! Not of the crying and the whining in the mall 🙂 but of the cabin. I love the Smokies!! I havent stepped foot in a mall in years. HATE. THEM. I love online shopping and you can get much better deals. Try Target for the pjs..I have great luck there, and you are in and out!
Sorry about the hellish shopping trip. I’m grateful for online shopping since it’s all but impossible to shop with a little one in tow, but I do get tired of paying for shipping for things. I always think of it as the “toddler tax.” Agree completely about the incredible stupidity of stores like CP and Gymboree and the non-existent aisles. Who on earth do they think will be shopping there but the stroller brigade?
If I can present one different take on the people smiling when your kids are melting down– When I’m out and see someone with a child or children who are giving them a hard time, I can’t help but think how I feel in those circumstances. When my daughter is melting down in public, I get so self-conscious about the disturbance we’re creating and paranoid that everyone who looks our way is giving us the stink eye. So when I see it happening to someone else, I end up smiling not because I think that it’s funny. It’s more of a knowing smile. I guess it’s in some sort of parental solidarity and to indicate that I’m not irritated by their kids. I can see, though, how it would come across as a smirk (especially if I’m by myself and people can’t see that I have a little disturbance at home myself) so I’ll try to be more conscious of it from now on.
Ansley
So did you brave the mall today or get Steve to watch the girls so you can go solo or forget it or decide to go with overnight shipping.
I love to shop, so I usually just take Ally with me, she is pretty good, and if not, then I do what you did and make a beeline for the exit and I bribe her with food. But she has her share of public meltdowns. I guess they happen to all of us. I just can’t imagine 2.
I forgot to say I hope you have a great weekend!
When my Caibs was about 4 months old, she did this at Wal-Mart. I had my other 3 children with me. Caibs was screaming. That puts it mildly. I never pulled her out of her carseat because I knew if I did, I wouldn’t get her back in. She was fine – just angry.
I hurried to check out & leave.
Some old bat, I mean lady, on an electric cart came up to me as we were walking out & shouted at me so loudly – all activity in WM ceased. She threatened to turn me into CPS & then yelled profanity at me, in front of my young children. I do believe she planned on decking me but a WM employee scurried me out.
I would have liked to have gotten on her electric cart & ran her sorry butt over.
But I didn’t.
My children saved her. LOL
First, loooooove the cabin. We rented a similar place in WEstern NC last winter. Fabulous get-away. Toally worth the packing and preparation and hopefully, it has a hot tub for you and Steve. As for shopping, I always snarf when people say,”You children are SO well-behaved!” I readily point out that they should just be glad they didn’t encounter me and my band of boys the day before at Trader Joe’s/Belk/Penney’s/etc. It keeps a mama humble.
[…] me crazy.? I haven’t been to the mall since the last incident in November.? I thought perhaps since 6 months had passed I might be able to expect a better […]