What would you do with $50 at Target?

My mom gave me a Target gift certificate for Christmas. I was dying to use it, so Boo and I headed over there yesterday on my day off. Here's what I got for my money, baby:

• Two V-neck shirts, one in green and one in purple
• 70s Roller Disco, a Target exclusive compilation (LOVE IT)
• A compilation of 40 number-one hits from the 80s (LOVE THAT TOO -- I am so old that I remember when a lot of the songs hit number one)

I'm rocking one of the shirts and the compilation in the car. Boo is digging both too. Oh, Target: Is there anything you can't do?

What I've done in the last 72 hours

Been a busy bee, although I am getting over a bad cold:

• Stripped my entire bed down to the mattress and washed everything in hot water to kill all the germs.
• Did obscene amounts of other laundry. How does a 20-pound person make so much laundry? Thank goodness for the HE machine.
• Cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed.
• Raked the entire front yard (and then realized I didn't have enough bags for that amount of leaves -- d'oh).
• Made another Big Red run to get stuff for our church bazaar and other sundries.
• Went to a family birthday party on the Noath Shoah.
• Almost finished the Newsweek special issue about the election, with all the behind-the-scenes stuff (dense, but an absolutely fascinating read).
• Took out the baby gate and started thinking about putting it at the bottom of the stairs, as Boo has shown interest in climbing them.
• Went to the doctor and got some antibiotics for my almost-sinus infection.
• Started thinking about my Christmas list and my birthday plans.

So that explains the lack of posts. A lot more going on, and I'll tell ya as we go.

Now at Target: The best and worst of motherhood

So I went to Big Red with Boo yesterday to get some staples. I pull in to the parking lot and find a space near the carriage return. Since I now put Boo in the seat, I like to be by the return so I can get the cart back easier. I go to pull into the space, and a lady is hanging out of her car into the space I want, doing something really, really slowly. So I put on my blinker and silently wait.

Well, the "lady" looks up, and I see she is pouring a bottle for the red-faced, screaming newborn in the middle of the backseat. She gives me the look of death and then she flips me the bird. Right to my face.

Now, back in my younger, pre-Boo, loudmouth days, I would have mixed it up with her. But now I have a child. And I don't want said child to get in the middle of an altercation. So I avoid eye contact and pull into the space. Because I still am a last-word freak, however, after I got Boo into the carriage and started heading for the store, I shot over my shoulder, "Wow, classy people." I'm so mad I'm shaking.

But then I think about it. I know I was a bit wrong. But I honestly didn't know there was a baby back there. And I knew the haunted, exhausted look in that woman's eyes only too well. Part of me wanted to slap her, part of me wanted to hug her and tell her to hang in there. It's all part of the newborn hazing ritual.

Now, for the best of motherhood: I got what I needed to get, paid and headed over to Starbucks/Pizza Hut to grab some lunch. I pay for my food and head for a booth with Boo, who is seriously pissed off I'm eating in front of him. I gave him a bit of my crust, and that satisfies him. Just then, an older lady, younger girl and newborn come around the corner, and I'm blocking their way, so I move the cart. Boo is very interested in the baby in the cart and chatters away to me. The young girl gets up to get their drinks, and Boo squawks at me for more bread.

The young girl's head whips around. "Was that her?" she asks the older woman anxiously.

"Nope, it's my kid complaining about not getting enough bread," I tell her. She smiles and continues to the counter.

The older woman left in the booth turns to me. "How old is your baby?" she asks.

"Almost 10 months," I say as Boo jabbers away.

We chat about baby issues, and then I ask, "How old is that baby?"

The woman puffs up with pride. "A week old," she says.

Suddenly, I see myself in January. That's me and my mom, sitting in the cafe, my exhausted self getting some caffeine stimulation while my older, wiser mom looks over her grandchild. I smile and wish them well as I finish up my lunch, bus my table and move toward the exit.

Ah, motherhood: It's a double-edged sword.

Daze off at the big box

I often spend a good portion of my two days a week off at either Target or Wal-Mart. This can get dangerous. I go in either store for some health and beauty items (can't beat their prices for these things) or stuff for the baby, and I walk out with $50 or more worth of stuff. It is seriously pissing M off. And the thing is, very rarely is it junk -- it's all stuff we need; I just didn't know we needed it until I went in there.

For example, today I went to Target to buy a new clock, which we needed. The clock was $25, but I walked out of there with $65 worth of stuff. Why? Well, because Diet Coke cans were on sale, so I grabbed a 12-pack. Then diapers were also on sale, so I grabbed those too. Lysol wipes? Also on sale. Then I checked out the clothes and found cute T-shirts, so I grabbed two. You see where this is going? It's all necessities, but considering you can get it all in one place (including a Starbucks, thank you very much), it just adds up.

The heat is off

Thank goodness. When I went to Target yesterday and got back into my car, the dash registered 101. Unbelievable.

And speaking of Target: Looks like I'll be doing my shopping there from now on. Was in Super Wal-Mart and there was an incident between two people in the store involving a lot of shouting, swearing and threatening. I called the manager, and he told me there is NO security in that store. WTF? It's Wal-Mart. Then I discovered this site and that it's a common issue. Not so much so at Target. This is the only time I am happy to be in a red state rather than a blue.