SHOPPING!!!

I have a love/hate relationship with shopping. I LOVE it because I like getting pretty new things and spending money. I hate it because I have to limit myself because I'm not made of money. When I go shopping, I typically go to the bank and take out my shopping budget with cash. That way I won't "accidentally" overspend. Let's face it, Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. You ALWAYS find that one article of clothing that you just HAVE to get that will take you over your predetermined budget. I have to either have Dan come along (which we both absolutely LOVE, btw *rolls eyes*) or make it physically impossible for me to overspend by leaving my debit/credit cards at home and taking cash. In my current situation, Dan's and my pocketbooks and bank accounts have gotten a little relief. Dan was in charge of Christmas, and he did a REALLY good job hunting for good deals. I'm lazy. I see what I want and I get it where I saw it first. Dan sees something, goes home, gets online, finds the best deal, and then finds a store closest to his route to work, kid's schools, church, etc, so he doesn't have to waste any gas. I'm not saying I don't bargain shop. I do look for deals, but I'm not "pro" like my husband. If he had it his way, we'd get darn near everything from a thrift store or garage sale. (Not dogging on thrift stores or garage sales, here. I LOVE them. I just prefer to get some things brand new.)

Anywho, I have made several lists over the last 7 weeks about things we will need for Annie. It has been 4 1/2 years since we've had an infant in our household, and all we have left is the "Golden Swing". (*I will add that story later). No baby clothes, bouncy chairs, Bumbo seats, car seats, infant strollers, etc...NOTHING but the pack n' play and Golden Swing. Dan kept telling me to go ahead and look things up online and start ordering them if I wanted. Here are the 3 reasons I've ignored him: 1. You can't REALLY tell how something looks online. It may look cute in the picture, but hideous in person. Just like you can't tell how something fits based on how it looks on the mannequin. You have to touch, feel, try on, and such before making the decision to buy it. In this case, I want to try folding the stroller, make sure the bouncy chair won't launch the baby across the room, and make sure the clothes are cute and comfortable enough for my baby. 2. I can't use cash to pay. Therefore, I will get tempted to go over the amount Dan and I have set because the money isn't in my hands for me to count or run out of. I hate debit/credit cards and the convenience they give us!! 3. "Meh, I have time..." Or so I thought. I got my nice little email reminder that I am 34 weeks! Whoo-hoo! 6 more "official" weeks, and only 2 more before the doctor takes me off my meds. Wait. What?? TWO WEEKS UNTIL I'M NO LONGER HAVING MY LABOR STOPPED BY MEDICATION?? There is a VERY real chance that I will have a baby in 2 weeks. I don't have a car seat. I have no clothes for the child. No diapers. No nursing tops. No pacifiers. NOTHING BUT THE GOLDEN SWING. Another realization hit me: Shipping can take 5-10 BUSINESS days. Yikes. My brain has been repeating this: "If I don't get cracking now, I may very well have to leave it up to my husband to pick out some random car seat on the way to pick us up from the hospital..." I love the man, but I cringe when I think of what he might pick out or where he'd buy it. With him it could one of two things: an overpriced car seat that happened to have Ninja-Turtles, Transformers, or Legend of Zelda characters on it, or something he saw at a garage sale. Either way, he'd be proud of his "excellent find" and I'd be mortified. So, I have started my online shopping. So far I've only gotten the car seat and stroller ordered, but I am pretty darn sure this might become an addiction. It is so blasted EASY. And I can always return it if I don't like it. I may need to just start making Wish Lists and have Dan look over them before I hit the "Submit Order" button. Maybe. Maybe not.

*The story of the Golden Swing*
Once upon a time there was a lovely young princess and a charming prince. They got married and had a beautiful baby boy. When they were finally able to bring the baby prince home from the hospital, they thought parenting was easy. And it was, for the baby prince slept through the night, only cried when he was hungry, and was easily entertained by his toys and regular baby swing. After some time had passed, a beautiful baby princess joined the royal family. She was NOTHING like the baby prince. Somehow, somewhere, a curse had been placed on the infant. She cried, and cried, and CRIED for hours and NOTHING could console her. When the Charming Prince would come home from his quests he could hardly recognize his once lovely wife, for she looked like a frazzled hag due to a severe lack of sleep. The exhausted royal parents sought help from the entire kingdom for a remedy to their daughter's ailment and sleep deprivation. The court physicians found nothing wrong with the child. The royal grandparents' soothing songs were drowned out by the child's screams. Magic Gripe Water and Mylicon drops may as well have been water for all the good they did. One particular night when the Charming Prince got home, he found his wife (still in her pajamas and looking worse than ever) and baby princess on the floor crying their eyes out, and his son running around naked screaming his at the top of his lungs. He picked up the baby princess, put her in her car seat, and started swinging it from side to side instead of front to back. The baby princess's cries ceased!! Pretty soon the entire castle was quiet because all of its inhabitants were stunned speechless. It was late and passed the royal curfew, but the Charming Prince had heard tale of a magical Golden Swing that would swing from side to side instead of front to back. It was in a far off land and the price was extremely high, but he HAD to try and find it at once so he could break the spells which afflicted his wife and daughter. He set out immediately and did not return until he had fought the traffic and cranky Christmas drivers to get his prize. His wife asked him where he had gotten the money for the Golden Swing and he just smiled and told her not to worry about buying him any Christmas presents that year. His Christmas gift was seeing the baby princess sleeping soundly in her Golden Swing and his wife sleeping peacefully in his arms. The End.