Stomp! Stomp! Little Dinosaur

Pushing through it, like labor. That's what I've been doing all morning. It's self-destructive, but seems less so that sitting on the couch fixating.

I was so stressed last night I decided to forgo the spaghetti and homemade meatballs in favor of toast. I munched on buttered toast and (don't judge) watched Teen Mom 2. There's a baby on the show with orthopedic issues and I have been yelling at the TV for months that she has CP and to get her to Shriners. Well this episode they took her to the Shriners Hospital in Kentucky. They weren't able to diagnose her yet, but I recall being told I wasn't diagnosed until I was 3yrs old. That's my two cents anyway, good job teen mom getting her to Shriners. I'm still betting on CP.

This morning I woke up knowing I need to get busy real fast. I got Riley beautifully attired and then throw on whatever came to hand. After Riley ate 2 scrambled eggs, some banana and drank a cup of whole milk (She's a lumberjack and she's ok...). We were off. Luckily we have a birthday party this weekend and M's mama says to get her clothes, YAY! So, I pulled into Target parking lot about 9am.

You may recall how I feel about carts. Of course I scanned thoroughly for carts near spaces before picking a space. I had the option of unloading the wheelchair and holding Riley on my lap, but then how would I hold the stuff? I could walk with crutches and have Riley wear backpack, but again with my hands full of crutches and the lead to backpack how would I carry the stuff? So, I decided pushing Riley in the cart and having her wear backpack just in case was our best bet. I loaded my crutches and baby bag into the cart first. Then I unbuckled Riley from her carseat and she gleefully helped me strap on backpack. She sat happily in the cart singing "Baaapaa, baapa!" as we rolled in the door.

Some of you may not know about shopping at Target between 8-10am, but it quiet and calm and almost entirely populated by moms with small children. I always liked it better in the early morning. We ran into a mom from Isaac's school with her toddler who politely waved hi to Riley. An employee of the store seeing Riley backpack broke into song.

After 2/3 of our mission was complete Riley got antsy and fussy. "Do you want out?" I asked. "out!" she confirmed shaking her head and reaching for me."Here we go", I thought setting her on her feet and feeding my hand through the loop on the end of the lead. Riley has walked with backpack before (it's always hit or miss), but never in a store. She marched along next to me, sweet little dinosaur. I'd say "stay by mommy. Stomp! stomp! stomp!" and she'd comply (for the most part).

When we got to the register and I told the little dinosaur it was cart time she wailed and pulled against the lead. It backfired because she fell and ran to me for comfort and was back in the cart before she knew it. Not any easy feat for the old back, youch. I swiftly thanked her for being such a big girl walking around the store and gave her a container of Teddy Grahams. As soon as we swooped in on a checkout with no line I pried her fingers loose, had it scanned and open in her eager fingers. Toddlers and snacks. I was just thinking how if you weren't conscious of it you would just continue the feeding habits from toddler-hood indefinitely and blow your kid up like a parade balloon. We made out of Target with a happy Riley.

Emboldened by her behavior in the first store and her pleasant calm snacking mood I ventured into the Party Store. She was sweet in there too. She didn't try to escape one so I bought her bubbles. When we got to the parking lot we blew bubbles for a while before we got in to celebrate and give Mommy a rest. Once we were on our way home I heard roaring from the backseat. "Oh, are those bears roaring?" I asked Riley. She proudly held up a bear and growled. It was painfully cute. I asked if there was a Rileysaurs eating bears in the backseat. She said, "Yesh" and growled.

I followed up my first shopping trip alone with Riley in months with a trip to the kids museum. I used the wheelchair, but like I said self destructive lesser of 2 evils. Riley had fun with her little boyfriend and was soundly asleep before we left the parking lot.

I used her nap as an opportunity to blog and make phone calls. After which there will be lunch, homework supervision, emails and some tidying up to last me until my appointment. Bring on the busy.