I swear she can read

We were at the pet store picking up food for Kahlua. A nice Petco employee was feeding the small animals and latched on to us. She showed Back Seat Girl the animals and asked lots of questions. At one point she asked BSG how old she was, to which BSG replied "three and a half". I don't know where she got that, but as of the 25th of this month she is three and a half. Maybe she can read the calendar? Sometimes she scares me.

Immediately after that BSG is looking at a cage of gerbils, and asks "are these the common mice?". Um, "common"mice? The Petco employee looks up at me, a bit startled. I shrug my shoulders. I don't believe I've ever uttered the phrase "common mice" before. Then the Petco employee takes BSG to the cage right next to that one where there is a sticker on one corner announcing that those were the common mice.

Dude. I thought we were just learning letter sounds. I'm a bit freaked out.

Look what came today!!

I am a bit ashamed at how excited I was. I also really wish those rain boots came in my size.

Reasons why my tummy hurts, by Back Seat Girl

"Because you are filled with curiosity, just like Bear" (Bear is a character in one of her books)

"Because your tummy thinks it's growing"

Also-I have a sickness. This sickness has to do with my obsession with children's shoes. It was manageable when I just had one kid, but now I have two, and it looks like Back Seat Boy will be walking in another month or two, so now I have two pairs of feet to outfit in shoes. Luckily, Vincent shoes is having a sale. If you know someone who has little feet who might need shoes go there now. Sizes are starting to run out in some styles. I will admit that I bought Back Seat Girl a pair that wasn't on sale, because I've been lusting after them for a long time and they are obviously never, NEVER going to go on sale. I'm also a little mad because the pair I bought her for Christmas are now 50% off and I bought them at full price. Ah, well, I got two pairs for Back Seat Boy that I'm hoping will last him through fall next year. I can hardly wait to see him cruising around in his new shoes. (He walked along the entire length of the couch today!!)

Gotta Love MN

I love living in a place where skin is referred to as exposed flesh on the weather report.

GO PACKERS!!!

Other parent rant

Yesterday I took the Back Seaters to the library. Back Seat Girl has been wanting another Babar book, and it looked like it would be the last day that the temperature would go over 0, so I packed up the kids and the kleenex, and off we went.

I was nervous about Back Seat Boy. The library is a place where all of the books are in order and they like it quiet. One of BSB's favorite things to do is pull himself up on BSG's bookshelf and take all of the books out of it, and he also really likes the sound of his own voice. I knew when we got there he wouldn't be content to just let me hold him while there were all of those books just begging to be pulled off of the shelves. I brought some toys and snacks and hoped for the best.

After asking the librarian where I could find the Babar books, we made our way over to the little kid's section and I took all of our coats, hats, etc. off and set BSB down. There was a large wooden box with stuff all over it to play with--wooden beads to push along a track, that sort of thing. BSB made a beeline for it and was very contented to sit and play with it while BSG and I searched for Babar. He was being very well behaved for a 1 year old in a library when a boy probably around BSG's age appeared. I had seen him before with his mother, so I didn't pay too much attention.

That is, I didn't pay attention until I heard the wooden box making a lot of noise and I looked up to see the little boy pick it up, which was quite a feat I might add, and carry it away from BSB so he could play with it himself. I looked around, the mom was nowhere in sight. BSB sat where he was, reached in the general direction of the boy and the box, and made his "I want that" noise. I looked at the boy. He looked back at me. BSB started crawling towards the boy, the boy picked up the box and moved farther away. Still no mother in sight. Now BSG noticed and said indignantly "That boy is taking the toy away from [BSB]!". I was proud of her for being kind of angry, but instead of telling her to go and beat him up (she totally could, she would have righteous indignation on her side), I got some of the toys I had packed for BSB and distracted him. He was very good and focused his attention on the toys and the giant bear sitting on a bench. He enjoyed throwing himself at the bear repeatedly while BSG and I read books on the bench, all the while the little boy was watching us and playing with no mother in sight. Finally he came over and dragged the huge bear off of the bench, when suddenly his mother appeared and said "Oh, is that bear too big, [preshus]?" and laughed like it was a funny little incident, even though the kids and I were about two inches away from the bear and it was very obvioius why her kid had taken the bear away and was now struggling to drag it as far away from us as possible.

First of all, where was this mother? I bet it took at least 15 minutes for us to find a book and read and stuff, and the whole time this kid was unsupervised. If the mother was watching and I just couldn't see her, why didn't she intervene when he took the toy away from BSB? If it had been BSG doing that, I wouldn't have just ignored it. Then when the kid pulled the bear down off the bench, why did she just make a little joke? Once again, if it had been BSG, I would have instructed her that they were playing with the bear and we needed to put it back now. Even if it had been BSB, I would've put the bear back. This was a giant bear, people. It was obviously not there to be moved around the children's area.

I am not the best, most responsible parent in the whole world, and I'm sure there have been times when I've taken my kids' side just because they were my kids, but there have also been plenty of times where I've seen that my kid is the one being the jerk and done something about it. It's OK to admit it when they are misbehaving. They're kids! They aren't perfect. Obviously, neither are their parents.

Still here...

I had internet problems for a while (OK, maybe I was the problem, whatever), and I know you all missed my wit, but now Driver is home and he fixed the internet (OK-me) and you can all look forward to my wit just as soon as I can think of something witty to write about.

For now Back Seat Boy would like you to know that he really, REALLY does not like having his hair cut. Having pieces of frosted animal crackers put in his mouth barely makes it bearable.

Music to Play While Reading the Next Post

I feel so dirty.

Dear Cub Foods,
I know, I know. You haven't seen me in a while. I will admit that I was lured away for a time by the sleek new SuperTarget. It takes two to tango, though. I am not the only one at fault here.

Listen, we both know our relationship hasn't been the smoothest. I do love a lot of things about you, and I guess Dr. Phil would tell me to talk about those first. I love you for your comfort, for the fact that I know where everything is and could make my grocery list in order of where I will find it in the store. I loved your size--big, but not too huge, with plenty of selection. I loved that I almost always found what I was looking for, except for a few rare ingredients that I would have to go to Lund's for. Let's face it, you and Lund's--two different stores. I like that you don't pretend to be something you're not. You're a grocery store, plain and simple. I appreciate the fact that your checkers know what ginger is without looking it up on that plastic list of barcodes and then having to call over the manager. I like the old ladies who fawn over my children and the old men who hang out and drink coffee. I even like the crazy old lady who pushes a cart full of miscellaneous cleaning supplies, including a large broom which is obviously very old, wearing latex gloves (she adds charm).

All of these things are great, yes, but there are some things about you that I do not love. First of all, Cub, what is the deal with the big carts? I'm talking about the ones made for those of us with more than one child, the ones with the plastic cars on the front. Those things suck!! They are all old, don't push right, and never, ever sit on all the wheels at the same time. If the front ones are on the ground the back wheels are about an inch above it and visa versa. I am, however, actually happy when I find one because they are never all nice in a cart corrall somewhere. No, they are scattered around outside. Sometimes they are just next to the building but nowhere near any door. Many times they are out where the red-headed step child carts are, stuck in a puddle or the snow. This is really great when you have a small child who's walking and another you are carrying. Yes, honey, just scale the snow mountain and step right inside, I'm sure it will be fine. It's also great when it's snowing or raining. I love nothing more than setting my baby down in a wet, cold cart while my 3 year old looks at me like I'm crazy after suggesting she get in. Even she knows it's ridiculous.

Then there is the matter of that one checker. The young man with the beard who very well may be the slowest checker. in. the. whole. world. That guy has got to be trying to go that slow. It's not like he's new. I've lived here for over 5 years and he's been at that store the whole time. You must do something about it. At least now I know to avoid his line.

I also really don't like it when you leave random boxes in the aisles. This happens a lot in the produce section, but it can be anywhere in the store. I'm already having trouble navigating with the piece of crap cart I've dug out of a snow bank and dried off with a towel I'm now smart enough to bring along, now I've got to shimmy past a few boxes and the shelves of cereal? You've created a road block. All traffic must come to a halt while we take turns squeezing by the apparently useless boxes. And what if I need something behind those boxes?

OK, OK, I didn't mean to upset you. Nobody is perfect, but you understand why I had to wander off the reservation, don't you? I mean, SuperTarget's allure is pretty easy to understand. I can get all of my errands done in one stop, which is important now that I have a baby boy who does not take as well to errands as his sister did. Plus, it's new. It's all shiny and new and clean. Also--they have a Starbucks in there. AND a D'amico and Son's deli food, AND those Bruce's sweet potato pancakes we all love. COME ON! It practically sat on the corner in a short skirt and begged me to come in. (Not that I'm attracted to people in short skirts...)

After a couple of big grocery shopping excursions, though, I must say, I missed you. First of all, where is the cheese? The front of the store? Yep--some of it is, but lots of it is also in the back with the rest of the dairy. The aisles in the produce section run diagonally, which I CAN NOT STAND. Since it's new I don't know where everything is and when I miss something and need to go back it feels like a maze. Speaking of not knowing where everything is, I hate that I don't know where everything is. It really bugs me that I can't just make my list, whip in and out of there, and be done with it. I know that is maybe more about me then about Target, but either way, I don't like it. The checkers? I know you're all new to this, but hello? It's ginger. It's not that exotic. Then there is the matter of selection. While it's not horrible, it's not that great, either. Basically, it'll do for when I need to pick up a few food items along with more toothpaste and deodorant, it won't do for my big grocery shopping trips.

That is why you saw me there yesterday, with my daughter up front in the plastic car talking and asking me questions even though I can't hear her that well when she's all the way up there, and my son sitting near the handle bar reaching for everthing he may be able to grab and making his 'I want that' noise. Nevermind that he doesn't know what 'that' is, he'll decide later whether it's worthwhile or not. I was back, pushing the cart I had to walk halfway across the parking lot for, but my list was all in order and we were in and out of there in half an hour and I got everything on my list.

So, Cub, thanks for taking me back. I guess I needed to see what else is out there to realize how good I had it right here with you. I was wondering though, about those carts, maybe there is something you could do?