Just a Little Retail Therapy...

Benjamin smiling at his crazy momma!

Over the last few weeks, as Benjamin's routine has gotten more settled, I've begun venturing out on errands a few times a week during his morning naptime. He sleeps really well in his carseat/carrier when we're driving, he's being carried, or pushed in a shopping cart. Nevermind that he screams like crazy while we're strapping him in, once we get moving, he's a happy camper. These errands have become something I look forward to (thus my tears at this week's snowfall) as they help to remind me that I am real, functioning member of society rather than just a nappy-haired, spit-up covered Mommy (not that that's a bad thing :) Anyway, it's just refreshing to be amongst the public.

The problem is, not everyone understands that my retail therapy is Benjamin's naptime - and this week, the stores have been much busier as the Christmas season hits. On Monday, in preparation for the aforementioned snowfall, we went to Target to pick up some necessities before blizzards hit - namely, I bought a crazy amount of diapers to be sure we don't run out anytime soon. Once we were there, Benjamin was napping so well, and there were so many great deals on cute things ($9.99 fleece pajama pants anyone?) that I found myself just enjoying some liesurely shopping. The employees however were intent in their efforts to restock after the weekend, so there were radios crackling, boxes ripping, and all manner of loud noises on almost every aisle. At one particularly loud noise, the momma bear in me almost whipped around to scold, "Don't you realize people are trying to NAP in here??" Just before my feet went to spin, however, the more sane, self-controlled part of me realized that most people don't go to a retail store to nap - as a matter of fact, who in the world does that?

All I can say is, as a rookie momma, you do what you have to do.

Today, I ventured to Babies-R-Us for the first time since Benjamin was born. And, may I just say, OH SWEET MERCY! I have never in my life seen all manner of precious little outfits, snuggly blankets, adorable stuffed animals, and who-would-have-ever-thought-i-needed-this nifty baby gagdets. I consider it a great testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit's conviction that I walked out of there leaving any money in our bank account at all. I came home physically exhausted, not from the actual shopping, but from having to consciously and physically restrain myself in the store. Moral of the story - i don't need to go there very often! Are there support groups for this?