About shopping and stuff

Last week, Nicole and I went to Hobby Lobby. It's so nice ditching the boys so that we can get into these crafty stores without the humming and yawning and sarcastic comments when we see something cute!!! And so, Coco found these crosses for my cross collection (on clearance, no less!!)
Just in case you've never seen it, this is my cross wall...

Then, she sees this rooster, and she tells me, "mom, I really, really need this chicken in my bedroom!" I asked her, "why?". Her reply? "Mom, I've ALWAYS had A THING for chickens, you know that! I just really, really NEED to have it!" Now the "chicken" was on clearance for 3 dollars, so she now has her very own art piece in her bedroom.


(Note to the reader: Nicole has NEVER even mentioned the words chicken, rooster, hen or any other bird related to the aforementioned, just in case you were wondering what her "thing for chickens" is. Beats me)

(Second note: after passing by and seeing the picture here, she asked me, "do you know what I like the most about my chicken? That it doesn't wake me up in the mornings!" All we needed, another comedian in the family!)

I ended up getting a few scrapbooking goodies that I didn't need, but really NEEDED, although I will always deny it. Anything can and will be used by my husband in the insanity hearing... Maybe I'll take pics and show later... in a blog unbeknown to my dear Brian (place evil grin here)

Now, in all honesty, I don't like shopping (unless, of course, it's scrapbooking stuff, but that goes without saying :) As a matter of fact, I especially HATE shopping for clothes, shoes and/or accessories. All my life I've been like this, really. When I was a teenager, I would always go to the store, look at whatever I liked, and say, "give me this in black, red, green and white", or whatever, and be done with it. Not that my parents couldn't afford it, because thank God, they always had plenty. I was just not interested.

Same with shoes. I don't have a lot of shoes. I didn't realize how little I have until I realized I've been using the exact same sandals as last year, everyday. And I noticed it, because I have the exact same tan strips on my feet as last year. Except for the shoes I wore for Connor's baptism, which totally killed me and I have no intention to use again, I have stuck to my black sandals for two years. I'm pretty functional. They work, so I wear them. And I always buy black, white or tan shoes. Don't know why... I just think that those will go with absolutely everything, so no need to get anything else.

So, with that said, I never imagined how much fun I would have taking Coco shopping... I LOVED IT!!! We went to Target on Thursday, and we pretended we were friends meeting at the store. I am always Miss James, and she is always Miss Maria (since she was 3 she chose those names for our make believe plays, and we have stuck to them). We were looking for a basket, but the girls clothes section always assaults you when you walk in. And so, I decided to get a few very much needed back to school clothes and sandals. We had a blast!

In any event, I have to say that the shopping experience was very eye opening to me. Brian and I were talking about how taxing his hours have been at this new job, and how little we see of him. It's really been getting at me. I don't see him in the mornings, and in the evening I am so tired, I'm crashing into bed as soon as he comes in. It's been very tough on Brian, too, the stress level is like nothing I've ever seen before.

But on Thursday, after having a bit of an argument with Brian because he was running {again} late, I realized that this is the first time in a long time that I can go to the store and not HAVE to go directly to the clearance section. Not that Target is a fancy store, but even there it was tough at times! Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE paying the least amount of money possible like most everyone else. But I actually never shopped with any of the kids before, probably because I was afraid that I would not be able to afford whatever they wanted to buy. I would go by myself and get whatever I could from the clearance section, and bring them home. Lots of hand me downs, too (those are always welcomed!). My in laws would get the kids' back to school clothes and thing like those.

So, as I came back from my shopping little outing with Coco, I went to Brian, laid on the couch besides him, and told him how grateful I am for all he is doing for us. I feel bad that I haven't been as supportive as he needs me to be. I was only focusing on the inconveniences to me, when his hard work and sacrifice has been done so that Nicole and Connor and Cesar and I can have the things we all need without worries.

And so again, thank you Brian for looking after our family and providing for us, and for being the man you are. We are so blessed to have you as our pillar and our guide. And thank you Noni and Papa for the great man they made out of Brian. I can only hope that we raise Cesar, Connor and Coco so they can be just like their daddy!