The LOOK . . . .

So it finally happened today . . . of all places Costco! Our morning started out well, that is to say we had breakfast, Max did his business, we cleaned up. . . and off we were on our errands to do our final preparations for the baby shower we are having here tomorrow.

Our second stop was Costco for the day and Max generally has no problem sitting in the front and getting strapped in. We tell him it is the pilots seat and he is driving. Well, as of late, he has discovered how to undo the the straps that keep in the front basket / seat. Once he gets unstrapped and is just a bit out of sorts then, it is all about wanting to either stand up, have me hold him or get down to be loose (which is definitely still out of the question). If he is not strapped in our shopping time doubles if not triples from all the comotion. Mind you we were stopping at almost each of the taste-it stations along the way.

Well, we finally make it to the check-out line and while I am trying to load out things on the belt, Max is shuffling around in the basket where he of course is not strapped in and manages to spill the plastic container of snacks I had brought for him. I trying to be a good shopper bend over to pick up his mess and of course Max is screaming "no mommie, no mommie" amongst whatever else - it is really hard to remember at this point. Then I look up at him and he is now half in the basket and half out and I go to grab him out and truly I was in the mood for a good spanking . . . but then I got "the look". You know the look I am talking about. In fact, I would guess that all of us haven given "the look" at some point in our lives to other mothers. I guess it was now my turn to receive it. There she was a grand-mother looking lady giving me the look that surely you are not going to scream at your son or surely not discipline him here in the check out line, are you? This was coupled with the Costco employee who barely spoke English saying to me, I'll take care of unloading your cart . . . since clearly you can not even control one child that you have with you. Ughhhhh . . . I just wanted to get out of there!

As I was finally leaving Costco (mind you know with NO drink, hotdog, or treat) I ran in to a sister from our ward who is also a grandmother and mother of many, many children. (Not sure the count but at least 7). We chat for a few minutes about her upcoming trip to the Outerbanks which reminds me how much I miss going to the beach . . . while Max continues in his rampage and now kicking off his shoes, throwing my list and pen, etc. I felt like I was almost 10 taking my little brother to the big store with no authority! Needless to say, I told Max over and over again how he had not been a good listener in Costco and that made mommy very frustrated.

After nap today, I am happy to report that he did manage to stay strapped in during our quick trip to Walmart. Another popular destination for Max and I since it is the closest. Tonight as he was falling asleep next to me, I reminded him again about how he had been such a good listener at Walmart - it made mommy proud. I did give him the "I'm so proud of you look and smile".