Oh. My. Goodness! May 25th was a shopping disaster....D.I.S.A.S.T.E.R! Call me hopeful, family-oriented, naïve, or maybe stupid is the only word that describes it.
I do not like to be separated from my children. It's probably a very unhealthy attachment I have to them. I long for their presence and worry about them every single moment I am away from them (even when they are with family) and I hate asking people to watch them. Not to mention, people are probably on pins and needles when it comes to watching my children because I am such a worry wart.
Back to the story, Curtis needed to get some clothing for his trip in a couple of weeks. He had a day off and I like to spend as much time as I can with him because we don't get to do that too often. I wanted the shopping experience to be a family affair because of the above mentioned things. Anyway, we started off decent at JC Penney. Ava was allowed to walk around for a little while by herself, but when she turned disobedient to stopping and holding my hand, she quickly found herself back in the stroller. Sally only got fussy for a bit while daddy was trying on clothes...nothing a little cuddling with mommy can't fix. After only finding a sports jacket, we decided to head to the mall. We went and ate first at the food court. Then, we went to Macy's. Ava had a nasty diaper and I tried changing her in the stroller....I had no idea just how disgusting she was and we looked like hillbillys as she was pantsless and shoeless, not strapped in her stroller, standing with her hair all a mess. To make matters worse, we were out of wipes (how could I let that happen!) and she peed on the changing mat which I still have yet to clean (gross, I know, I know.) After getting her dressed and as put together as we could, we decided Macy's had nothing and headed to Belk.
Things quickly turned from bad to worse. Ava would not cooperate. Even if daddy was holding her she was not a happy camper, She wanted down, wanted to explore. She navigated her way away from daddy and was found under a thing of clothing. Meanwhile, Miss Sally Jean was screaming because she was hungry so I found a place to sit and feed her. She was content only when the bottle was plugging her up. In between burps she was screaming like a banshee. After she was fed, I traded girls with Curtis. He took Sally who had seemed to calm down and I took Ava and held her hand while we walked around. Ava, however, was on a mission of her own--to unhook hands and take off, touching everything in sight. After a few walks around the top floor of Belk , trying so hard to avoid the home décor section of the store, several falling to the ground screaming episodes, and becoming a rag doll when I tried to pick her up, we headed back to Curtis. I hear Sally screaming, and Ava is screaming, everyone is staring and probably inwardly shaking their heads in disbelief, thinking how young and irresponsible we are, we looked at each other and said at the same time, "Let's go home!"
It was horrific, to say the least. A shopping experience that would probably be best forgotten, but some things you just can't forget.
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