Let me just start off by saying that Tax Free Weekend has nothing to do with giving parents a discount on school supplies. In fact, I’m convinced that Tax Free Weekend is just a ploy to get people to spend more money than they usually would on any given weekend, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas time. After a week of being cooped up in the house with a very busy Moo who had a wide range of tantrums each day, I was dying for some time out on the Queen City. So, we decided to head out to one of the local malls.
I should have known what craziness lay ahead when Jay almost rammed us into the back of this white car in front of us at the light. He swore that he had the situation under control and that he saw the car there. And of course, my question to him was if you saw the car in front us why would you speed up and then slam on breaks like it came out of thin air. I think that at times his mind gets distracted from his driving. Thankfully, we made it to the mall parking lot in one piece.
However, we did not find a close parking spot to any of the main entrances. That was to be expected though. So, I wasn’t too disappointed. Although, I was keeping my fingers crossed that we would find something a little bit close and we did. Lugging a baby in almost 97 degree weather is no joke. The sun was beaming very bright making it feel like it was almost twice as hot as it really was. I broke a sweat just loading Moo into her Jeep stroller.
Once inside the mall, I was in utter shock at the wall to wall people. And I’m not talking about kids or teenagers. I’m talking about grown people shopping for themselves. It was like a circus. I’ve worked in two of the malls here in the Queen City-three years at SouthPark and almost one year at Carolina Place- and never has seen it get that bad during Tax Free Weekend. I mean I could barely push Moo’s stroller without almost running over somebody or their foot or the back of their heels.
So, after a quick stop at the Sprint booth to check the new Sprint Evo, Jay and I decided to call it a wrap and jump ship. It wasn’t worth the headache of trying to move around and navigate the heavy crowds. Instead we decided to hunt down the closest WalMart, buy some grilling supplies and head back home to grill out. Well, the first WalMart we came to was in The Aboretum. Of course, I remembered that they have this awesome upscale pet shop called PetLand and decided I wanted to make a stop and see it.
After all I had fallen in love with my first Yorkshire Terrior there. And since we’re only planning to camp out in this duplex for six months or until we find our dream home, I decided to check out their puppy selection. Now Moo isn’t really a fan of dogs. Therefore, I wasn’t really expecting her to enjoy the visit, but to my surprise she had a blast. She and Jay became quite taken with the parakets. He wants one for Christmas or whenever we move out of this place.
I think they kind of grew on me too because I agreed to get it when we move. Maybe it’ll be an anniversary present or something. Plus don’t get bigger than a cell phone (Palm Treo). What Moo wasn’t too keen on at the pet shop were the snakes and lizards. She wasn’t even remotely interested in looking at them. I was relieved because I don’t have to worry about being one of those kids who wants the crazy pet snake.
About 45 minutes later we finally made it the WalMart and were disappointed to find that they didn’t have the grill that we wanted or a meat section. Off we headed back into the heat to Food Lion down the street. So, stocked up with steaks, hamburger meat for the Ranch burgers, cole slaw and buns as well as lighter fluid and matches, I agreed to head back to the house and prep the food while Jay headed to the other WalMart and got a grill.
Well, clearly a year of no grilling has made Jay’s normally good grilling skills a little bit rusty because he could not get the grill to get hot enough to cook the burgers. Luckily, I’m a true grilling master and was able to get the fire blazing. However, in the process I almost burned myself. Thank goodness for quick hands. We had a delicious feast that night and I fell into lovely food induced slumber.
Sunday was a lazy day for us. We sleep in a little bit-me, Jay and Moo- all squeezed inside Jay’s twin sized bed. (Moo and I are used to sleeping in a king sized bed, but it was too big for the master bedroom here.) Yes, Moo and I co-sleep still. However, she does have her own beautiful cherry oak sleigh crib that she refuses to sleep in. Jay tried to get her to sleep in it Saturday night and she had a major melt down and he took her out. Neither of us are pro letting kids cry it out when it comes to things like that. Now if she has a tantrum that’s another matter.
It’s not really crying it out but allowing to calm down. We’ve learned that screaming tantrums with Moo only get worst if you try to calm her down. She usually stops crying after a minute or two if we let her be for a while. Personally, I think she’s embarking on her terrible twos at the ripe age of one and a half. Therefore, when she turns two she should be half way done with the mood swings and crying fits.
Overall, we had a great weekend being fully moved into our new place now. She’s adjusted to the fact that she doesn’t get to see Grandma on a daily basis. And I’m excited to make more connections and get more involved in some mommy and me activities with other youngs moms. Plus, being around other toddlers will help Moo to continue to build her social skills. Hope that you all had a great weekend.
Don’t forget to check out my Yo Gabba Gabba! Prize Pack Giveaway. It ends this Friday.
