"Look At That!"

Only one day into the month and I already am less stressed. I managed to get out of the house today and shop for Eli's birthday! Now at least he'll have a few things from us at his party on Sunday. As soon as he woke up from his morning nap (11:20 am) we rushed out the door and hit up Toys 'R Us before lunchtime.

I wish I had pictures to document this event. I think it must be a LONG time since Ella was in a toy store. She nearly DIED with excitement. She squealed the whole time. "Look at that! It's so amazing! Is that mine?" Oh dear. "Cinderelly! Barbie Girl! A beautiful dress! A baby! Upsy Daisy! Wow, Mommy! Let's look at the princesses!"

After I had found what I was looking for for Mr. Eli, I knew there was no way I was getting out of there without something for Ella. (I know, I'm a softy. Sometimes. But a very frugal softy.) Her heart and hands were set on an Upsy Daisy doll that came with her moving, music-making bed (she still has a soft spot for 'In The Night Garden' even though it's not her favorite show anymore). Sadly for her, I'm not the kind of person to drop $25 on a whim just to make my daughter happy. Certainly not when I can achieve the same excited results and non-fuss exit of the store for $1.98! Nothing like a cheap plastic Disney Princess bag and some princess stickers.

Next stop was the mall for a bite to eat and the rest of Eli's shopping. I should have thought beforehand about the crowds at 12:15 pm in the food court, but I didn't. The lineup for Subway was mucho long, so...we ate at A&W. Ella had french fries, and Eli and I shared a Teen Burger. Good heavens. Did I just admit that to the blogosphere? Seriously though, that little monster was a serious fan of my Teen Burger. *sobbing with guilt* I just needed something to tide us over until the shopping was done and we could go home and eat properly!

Post - Teen Burger escapade, we shopped in The Children's Place for a few minutes and finished our shopping. Note: During this whole time at the mall, Ella carried around her princess bag with stickers inside. Quite the hit. We made it back to our car in the parkade after a minor detour when we lost one of the foot attachments for Eli's one piece snowsuit. Thank heavens it was in the same store as us, and not somewhere else in the mall.

We made it home in just over 2 hours. Phew. Running errands is ridiculously hard in the dead of winter.

Now on to wrapping the presents, and finishing up his birthday video!