December 27, 2008

Long Day

Today, I decided to take Dawson along with me to the various stores to do some returns, exchanges and clearance shopping. Big mistake. BIG.

What was supposed to be a quick venture to Walmart and Target turned into five hours of shopping and bumming around. (And I think I spent a little more than I intended because the Doodlebug was with me.)

Dawson was well-behaved for most of the trip, save for the few times he begged (and whined) for toys and treats, and I managed to remain calm far longer than I thought possible. (I’m not very patient when it comes to shopping, especially with Dawson.)

We had some gift cards burning holes in our pockets and what better a day to hit the retail establishments than two days after Christmas. I’m no dummy. Had I tried to go shopping yesterday, I’d have never made it home with my sanity in tact.

It was still busy in the shops and stores today, but it was manageable and I wasn’t complaining.

At Walmart we exchanged a board game, picked up some bathroom tissue and more Easy-Ups for Dawson, and I got some miscellaneous things I needed — minus a black ink cartridge for our printer. It seems the HP #21 Black ink is mighty popular. (I tried to remember to check at Target and completely forgot. It’s not my fault, I got distracted by all the Christmas Clearance.)

We ran into Game Stop to use a gift card that Dawson received. He had been begging for the Mario Party game for the Nintendo DS, but once inside the store he changed his mind and picked Mario Kart instead. (And he’s been playing it since we got home. My 4-year-old is a gamer. This kind of scares me.)

After that we finally hit Target. I wanted to check out the clearance and scored some new holiday dinnerware. It’s plastic and so adorable. I’ll post pictures soon. I also stocked up on wrapping paper, gift bags & tags, holiday cards and some outdoor lights, too.

Target is my favorite place to shop and I tried not to go overboard with the clearance stuff, but it was so difficult to walk away. I grabbed some new socks for the hubs (he goes through socks so quickly, it’s crazy) and bought a new book for myself (by James Patterson, my favorite author).

All that shopping made us hungry, so Dawson and I had dinner at Wendy’s across the street. Next we went to the book store and I perused the new releases while Dawson played in the kids’ section. Finally, we went to Shopko and exchanged the shoes I got him that were too small and picked up a new Backyardigans DVD that was on sale.

I was so ready to go home, but ever since we walked through the door I’ve been playing video games, board games and watching iCarly with Dawson. While I enjoy playing with my little guy, I can’t help but yawn. It’s been a long day.