Were The Fruit Squeezies Worth It?

I had a blog worthy trip to Big Lots yesterday . . .

Looking back at my mistakes, my first error was having the thought "I could actually get something done today!" I might as well have hollered out the redneck battle cry "Hey, Y'all, watch this" before leaping to some bodily-injuring accident. Oh, none of us actually got hurt on our trip to town. At least, not physically. I'm sure I emotionally damaged us all and I sure as heck felt like passing out some spankings. 

Crybaby had slept 2 hours late and I thought it would be the perfect day to go to town because we wouldn't have to get back early for her nap. In my daydreaming state, I must have overlooked the fact that it takes us hours to even dress to go anywhere. So, we were behind before we even left for town. But I just knew it was going to be fabulous to run to Lowe's for paint samples and to Big Lots for a deal on squeezable fruit pouches! Knock two off my list, right?

Well, we knocked 'em off all right with alot tears and embarrassment along the way. 
The first five minutes in Lowe's were pretty good.  But I had made another mistake of taking a fleece blanket to line the seat in the buggy for the Babe (my 7 mo. old baby girl). Crybaby, who was in the big part of the buggy, just couldn't handle it. She kept saying that she was cold. It was like 80 degrees in the store. I kept saying you're not cold. You're fine. Then she saw a bag of honey bbq Fritos. From that point on, our Lowe's experience consisted of Crybaby screaming at the top of her lungs "I want noodle chips!" with an occasional "I AM cold!" thrown in for good measure while I hoofed it red-faced and sweating pushing a buggy with at least 60 lbs of children and a gallon of paint while holding 40 paint samples trying to look at a couple of things on mega-fast speed and buy one plant. I didn't even know what noodle chips were at the time. All I knew was that she was NOT getting them. Once I had said, "We don't get things by yelling," I knew I couldn't back down. 

After spending 30 minutes loading everyone up, driving to Big Lots, then another 30 minutes of unloading everyone, we were finally ready to buy more squeezable fruit pouches!!! I was so excited! I had stumbled upon them a couple of days before. Big Lots had the Beechnut brand for 33 cents each!!! I usually pay $1.00 to $1.25 for these on sale! Then, I get mad when the kids actually eat them because they cost so much! LOL! So, I decided the 60 I had bought 2 days earlier was just not enough cause I could use these for baby food too! Yippee! These pouches were really the reason we had come to town at all because I knew they would get gone if I didn't make a run for them. And my friend had told me they had Mom's Best cereal for $1 so I was going to grab those too. I made sure to line the buggy for Crybaby with our fleece blanket we use for soccer because I was determined not to hear her say she was cold. I left the Babe in her infant seat hoping she would fall asleep as I perused the pouches.

I kid you not, the second we enter the store, the Babe starts wailing, "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!" It's not an I'm a little fussy cry. It is a someone call DCS, I have the worst mommy in the world cry. Fear and panic struck my heart. Crap! I just couldn't bear loading and unloading everyone in the car again and of course, I didn't bring any formula because this was going to be the best trip to town ever and we were supposed to be home by now. I also couldn't bear to forgo the fruit pouches! Crap. So, I did what any deal-loving mama would do--I tried to run and grab the fruit pouches as fast as I could praying she would pass out asleep or calm down. Um, no. By the time I grabbed 40 fruit pouches, she was absolutely out of control! I couldn't even pay and leave. She was screaming that bad! Plus, 40 pouches would take a while to scan. I had mixed them all up in my hurry. What's a gal to do? I was NOT going to leave those fruit pouches!
So, instead I ran through the cereal aisle (mistake #457) giving Crybaby just enough time to see a box of Lucky Charms and made a beeline for the furniture department. I found a recliner in a corner, unloaded everyone, sat down, covered me and the Babe with the soccer blanket and nursed her. I was so embarrassed. I am just still not comfortable whipping it out in public. So, there I am in 80 degrees in a recliner in Big Lots nursing with a double layer fleece blanket over me. Meanwhile, Crybaby is playing musical chairs with all the other recliners jumping from chair to chair. Of course, we were positioned next to a glass dining room table. BFG and I were nervous wrecks. I might could have nursed unnoticed if Crybaby wasn't so loud and jumping everywhere. Add the fact that she started begging for "Yucky" Charms. "They have the Yucky Charms I want, Mom. I want those Yucky Charms, not the ones that turn me into Hulk Hogan." (Uh, long story for another day.) "I want those Yucky Charms!"

Of course, the Babe fell asleep nursing or passed out from the heat under the blanket. Hard to tell. But we just could not sit there and torture the employees and customers of Big Lots any longer so I attempted to put her in her seat. She woke up and started the wailing again. But at least I knew she was fed. The other customers didn't though. We were such a spectacle. We went back to the cereal aisle. I was determined by golly. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!" 
" I want the Yucky Charms that don't turn me into Hulk Hogan!!!"
Me: "Oh my gosh! Get the Yucky Charms! Get the Yucky Charms!!!! BFG, pick you something out" (So much for the You  don't get things by yelling for them speech at Lowe's.)
BFG: "Like what?"
Me: " Oh my gosh! Are you kidding me? Get anything!!!!! Cookies, whatever!!!!"
BFG: " I don't want cookies!" 
Of course, she didn't because that's what we were standing by. 
She finally picked chocolate Poptarts. 
We finally make it to the check out. I set my four boxes of squeezable fruit pouches on the counter. 
The cashier says, "So, you are one of the ones! Every time we get these, they go so fast!"
What did she mean? Every. Time. They. Get. Them.
I thought this was a once in a lifetime deal!
Me: "Oh, do you get these alot?"
Cashier: "Oh, yeah! They've been on our regular inventory list for . . . oh, I don't know how long."
Are you kidding me? I made this special disastrous trip for something they carry all the time. All. The. Time. This was so not the best trip to town ever. 
So, I piled my three sick, crying kids into the van with my so-called deals. 
Ironic, isn't it? We went for deals on healthy food--fruit squeezies and organic cereal---that turned out not to be deals and drove home eating full-priced Lucky Charms and chocolate Poptarts. And the best part is we spilled half of the box of Lucky Charms in the floor of the van. 
Yup, so not worth it. 



 

Chasing Rainbows

I've been totally MIA because I am an idiot. My friend told me that she earned $101 selling her kids clothes to a used-clothing store. I spent weeks trying to do the same. Did you read that? Trying. As in, unsuccessful. Apparently, her kids' clothes have golden thread or something 'cause that store sure did not want to shell out big bucks for mine. So, then I became determined to sell it for the highest price possible and jumped in on a consignment sale. Still I did not match the dollar amount. Nope, but I did spent probably quadruple the amount of time dealing with mountains of clothes. So. Not. Worth. It. I don't have time to use the restroom. Why would I think taking two complete weekends to tag clothes was a good idea? It's not like my house is a complete wreck or anything. I mean, we don't have so much junk lying around that we trip on something every time we walk through a room. Heck, no. And we are certainly not tripping over the 6 garbage bags of clothes I have lying around that I am now GIVING AWAY (aka Not getting one measly penny for them). Why didn't I just give them away to begin with instead of putting so much work into this? And why the heck do I buy so many darn clothes to begin with? Crazy, I tell ya'! Mama Said

The Cry It Out Diet

I'm not sure if I'm an idiot or a genius. I decided to Ferberize Crybaby (aka cry it out in the crib) on the same day I started the 17 Day Diet. Pretty tough day, which supports the "I'm an idiot" point of view.

But, when she was crying, I didn't think about being hungry. And when I was starving, I didn't think about her crying. So, could be genius, don't cha think? And, hey, why not have one super tough day instead of two separate tough days?

Of course, I did win Worst Mommy Award again. I win every week. I try to not win, but I'm just excel in that category.

To add another dimension to my day, I decided to try Crybaby on her Prilosec again. I had tried it for 5 days and quit for reasons I could no longer remember. So, I gave her a dose and before long, I remembered the reasons. She puked even more and had diarrhea and was fussy.

Well, later in the day, I decided I would look up the side effects of that medicine in infants. Oh, get this! A side effect is restlessness and sleeplessness! Even headaches! And I had been making her cry it out all day! Bless her bones! May the Lord watch over and protect her. I'm not doing so hot.

BTW, I will never give her another dose of this medicine. The side effects are absolutely horrible. Major stuff like messing up their white blood cell count and making them more susceptible to infection and screwing up the lining of their intestines! It's crazy! Um, I think I'd rather just clean up puke all day than put may baby through all the side effects.

Gotta go before I pass out from hunger,
Mama Said

It Finally Happened!!!

I just knew it would.

I've been dreading it for months and months.

Ever since I was pregnant in fact.

I handled it better than I thought I would.

I didn't scream and run for Rhett like I used to.

But it was still sickeningly horrible.

During a middle of the night feeding last night . . .

You won't believe it!

Have you guessed yet?

A real live mouse walked by!!!!!

Aaaaaagh!!!!! I swear it will be the mice that drive me away from this house. I can't take critters in my home! Yuck!

Throwing out poison packets right and left just as fast as I can,
Mama Said

She's Out!

My sis is finally out of the hospital today. Haven't gotten to talk to her yet. But she's obviously doing some better.
Thanks for your prayers!
Mama Said

C-R-A-Z-Y Weekend!!!!

and I don't mean like whoo-hoo party crazy. Wish I did.

My uncle passed away Thursday after battling stomach cancer the past 6 months. I'm very sad about that. He was an awesome warrior for Christ. And although I am sad, I know he's in Heaven and I'll see him again.

But that led us to plan a weekend out of state for his funeral. However, our trip never happened.

At the same exact time, my dad and my sister went to the emergency room. Different hospitals, but literally at the same time.

My dad had been having alot of abdominal pain all week and the walk-in clinic said to get to the hospital. But his turned out to just be his ulcers (Praise the Lord!) probably due to the stress of his brother dying.

My sister, however, had appendicitis and had to have an emergency appendectomy in the middle of the night. And this is just a month after having her gall bladder removed. Makes you wonder, huh? Anyway, she is still in the hospital because she still has a fever and for some reason, her body is not coughing up stuff or something after having the tube down her throat. So, she's at risk for pneumonia. Is this not insane?

Blessedly, her mom-in-law is on spring break this week and can take care of my niece and nephews. We gave her a break this afternoon and kept them. Wow, 5 kids at once is a hoot! Esp. two babies.

Anyway, prayerfully, she's be out tomorrow.
Mama Said

Spring Weekend

This weekend was actually pretty productive. Yay!

Took BFG to a Daisy Scouts function and met a possible new friend for me. Check.

Cleaned out my car so we are no longer climbing over piles of trash to get in. Check.

Transferred Crybaby from our bed to the bassinet. Check with a Whoo-hoo!

Went back to church. Check.

Survived the time change, barely. Check.

Yup, purty good.

Mama Said