Today is Kyle's first day of school (with students) and I am back to my usual routine with my stay at home day. However, "usual" is not so usual because we have major packing, planning, and shopping to do. We went out yesterday for some "fun" and decided to check out some refrigerators and buy the kids new shoes. If you know me, you know that I must absolutely get the very best deal. I already pre-shopped online (I LOVE that) so I knew pretty much what we were looking for and how much we were going to be spending. Then we get to the scratch and dent section of Lowe's...well, don't they have the perfect refrigerator with not a scratch or a dent on it. As we are considering the deal, Cameron comes over to me saying "poopie". So we truck it over to the restroom and back. Meanwhile, Kyle noticed that an inside shelf was a little loose. So, we thought we had better check out the competition at another store. I am rejuvenated by the thought of a great deal and happily bounce to the next store. Cameron has not yet recovered from "vacation" and is bouncing off the walls (or in this case, it was the refrigerators and washers). Found the same model, with only a tiny scratch behind the handle. At this point, Mikaela was crying, Cameron was bouncing, and Kyle was very frustrated. It just wasn't a good time to make the purchase. I got the salesman's name and told him I would be in touch.

Today, I was determined to get poor Mikaela some decent shoes that fit! Jen called last night and said she needed some emergency babysitting for the morning, so Max (8), Nick (5), Cameron (2), and Mikaela (1), and I all went shopping. Still fueled by getting a deal, I decided to go to yet another appliance store. (Note: again, if you know me...once I get an idea in my head there is no turning back). The deals weren't as great so we headed over to the mall. Now the fun really begins...Cameron seems to have an affinity for rain boots (see earlier post) and gathered about 4 pairs while Mikaela was crying her way through getting her feet measured. The saleswoman tells me that Cameron has one foot a 1/2 size smaller than the other. "Not uncommon," she says and I silently apologize to Cam for what I know comes from my side of the family. Although Kaela is crying, I know that she is the easier one at this point and we try on the simple white walking shoe with some little flowers. Fine. Done. Cameron...well, he wasn't so easy. Because of his mismatched feet, it seemed the shoe I picked out was slipping on one foot. So, here's where it gets tricky. The lady thought that a tie shoe would fit better. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks--I stood in the exact same store, in front of the exact same firetruck when I was in elementary school, and was refused the cute dress shoes because I had narrow feet and had to wear tie shoes. Well, this fate was not to be Cameron's. I want a cute tie shoe, with no white (so they at least seem clean)that he can run in and not fall (an affliction that occurs with his current shoes). I ended up buying Kaela's and while walking out this crazy salesperson brings out yet another shoe to try on (with velcro, by the way) and asked if he wanted to try it on. Um, lady...I'm walking out, with Cameron's shoes on and no rain boots in hand, with two other kids who are more than ready to play on the playground. No, I do not want to try on another shoe. She had the nerve to breathe loudly and walk away.

This was only the beginning...but I don't want to lose you, so I will not go into the details. Let's just say, when I pulled in the driveway I was thankful that the boys were getting picked up and my kids were going to bed very soon.

So, here I am 2 hours later finally getting some quiet time. I have a million things to do, but I am very good about letting myself have about an hour of "me" time. I usually make a phone call to Amy or my mom (Amy wasn't home), or read my email (inbox is empty), catch up on some blogs (only one unread post that is not work related) and then check the new listings on Craig's list (I feel like I am garage sale-ing from my home). I am done with those things and none of it has curbed my urge for a chocolaty, creamy, yummy, sweet, fulfilling snack. I don't keep anything like that around the house, which I have noticed just makes me eat a few of the healthy things until I give up on satisfaction. So, due to the lack of comfort food I am blogging hoping that by the time this LONG post is finished the craving will have passed, or at least I can tell myself that fun time is over and it's time to get packing.