November 4th - Patting Myself on the Back

"As the parent of a spirited child, you have to remember to pat yourself on the back for the little successes, to celebrate your moments of greatness." (Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka)

8:30 a.m. today. Mark went to work this Saturday morning, more overtime that he has to endure. I am left at home with two preschoolers and an agenda to shop at the mall. After a quick prayer for patience for all of us, we hop into the car and head to the mall.

We arrive at the mall in record time... apparently there isn't a lot of mall traffic at 9:00, before most of the stores are open. We run hand-in-hand from the car through the gusty winds and step into the warm oasis of the shopping center. Our first stop is Panera Bread.

"I want that one!" Abby cries, pointing to a rich chocolate cake.

"Not for breakfast, Honey."

We settle on a giant muffin that we share while piled into a corner booth. Our trip is off to a great start.

We head off to the stroller rental, the kids prancing ahead while I bring up the rear, carrying the coats they've discarded during our breakfast stop. Sure, we could have brought our own stroller, but it is much more exciting to rent the car-themed double stroller instead. It's well worth the money at times like this, when the kids will be dragged around for some serious shopping. Somehow, pretending to drive the stroller by using the ineffective wheel perched ahead of each seat can keep these two happy for quite awhile.

We head to the elevator area, where Ethan pushes the "Up" button. Abby protests, but finally calms down when she has the privilege of pushing the button in the elevator car labeled "2." The trip up the elevator is exciting and never fails to bring wide eyed looks from Ethan and Abby. We cruise over to Kohl's, our first store.

Kohl's requires a long time, as there are a lot of sales today that interest me. Kids' clothes, toys, housewares, and boots are all on the agenda. The stroller-car provides the entertainment for awhile, until we arrive in the shoe area.

"We need to pick out some boots for each of you. This will be fun!" Their eyes light up and they peruse aisle upon aisle of footwear. Ah, toddler boots.

"Abby, these pink boots are cute," I absentmindedly mention while I scan the shelves below the sample boot. Size 6, 7, 9, 10. No 8's, which are what I'm looking for. Are you kidding me? While I silently curse the other parents who have size-8 toddlers and bought all of my boots, Abby points to a different pair. "This one, Mommy!" She is motioning to a cute pair of light brown boots with a row of flowers embroidered around the top. Size 5, 9, 10, aha! Size 8! We shimmy her already-shoeless feet into the boots. A little large, but she has no problem walking as she struts her stuff up and down the boot aisle. I check the price. On sale for $13 and change - perfect!

Ethan is silent, which can only indicate that there's a problem. I look at him, and see that a black cloud has come over him and he is pouting. "I want boots, too, Mom," he says.

"Good job being so patient while we picked Abby's boots, Buddy. Now it's your turn," I say as I give him a little smirk. His eyes light up.

"Spiderman, Mom!" The marketers of these boots were genious, putting Spiderman all over the shoebox that sits right at stroller-level.

"Yeah, Eth. Let's see." I scan the Spidey-boxes. Not a single pair of 8's. I silently curse the other parents who have size-8 toddlers and bought all of my boots. "How about this other pair, with the cool red stripes?" I ask hopefully. Ethan half-heartedly agrees to try them on as his glance drifts back to the tower of super-cool Spiderman boxes. I put Ethan's foot into the boot. It feels like the boot is the right size to accomodate his wide feet. I finish dressing Ethan's feet, and let him walk to try them out.

He steps into the aisle like he's an astronaut walking on the moon. He takes one exaggerated step after the other, complete with "clunk!" sound effects. "These feel good, Mom!" he exclaims with a wide grin. The boots are the same price as Abby's. SOLD.

We have one more department to stop in. It's time to bring out the artillery, while the troops are still behaving. I need to put that Halloween candy to good use.

"You've both been soooooo good, you can each have a special treat!" I say, as I pull two suckers from my purse. I don't hear anything from them as I shop for picture frames, their mouths are too busy with their dum dums.

We head to the checkout with two empty boot boxes and some other merchandise, the boots remain on the four feet inside the car-stroller. We wait in line awhile, and finally get to the register. The perky cashier smiles at Abby and Ethan. "You were very patient waiting in the checkout line - great job!" she says, reinforcing their good behavior. We leave the store with smiles and packages, ready for the next stop.

It's time to run, I decide, and I bring the stroller to a stop at the play area. "Shoes off!" Abby reminds Ethan as they both struggle to get free of the stroller. They spend the next 20 minutes running around, climbing, sliding and crawling through tunnels. They are very cooperative with other kids there. They are very happy. I don't have to warn them more than once to stop climbing the slides. It is very pleasant for all of us.

"Mom, I have to go potty!" Ethan blurts out across the play area.

"Let's go, Abby! We need to get Ethan to the bathroom," I call to my high-energy daughter. She ignores me. "Abby. Look at me." Her eyes turn my direction. "Ethan needs to go potty, so we have to go right now. I'm sorry I didn't give you any warning." She isn't happy, but she agrees and runs to get her boots before jumping into the stroller. We rush to the bathroom, and arrive just in time.

"It's time to go to one more store, and then we're done at the mall," I announce as we pull out of the restroom. Abby and Ethan give a running commentary of all the sights along the way, the giant statue of Goofy at the Disney Store, the "Mommy" mannequin at the clothing store. And we arrive at the toy store.

Outside the store, I try to plan my strategy for a successful trip into (and out of) the toy store. Time for another round of artillery. I distribute another snack, individual bags of Teddy Grahams. The kids' hands are now occupied. We can enter the store.

I pick out a few items for Christmas gifts. Abby and Ethan are preoccupied looking at all of the toys that surround them in the over-crowded toy store, and don't notice what I've chosen. Good, it will make Christmas morning more fun that way. I pay for the purchases and stroll out of the store. "Bye toys, see you next time!" Ethan calls as Abby waves goodbye to the floor-to-ceiling displays of every toy known to man.

We load up the car and drive home after a very fun and succesful trip to the mall.