Vandalism Doesn't Pay

On a recent lunch date with our friends Evie and Noah, I was in the process of getting Reese strapped into her car seat and I asked Aidan to wait on the sidewalk for me. After getting Reese safely in her car seat, I called for Aidan to get into his. On the way from the sidewalk to the car seat he told me that he wrote letters on the window so that people would know to go to that store and he pointed to the Radio Shack in front of our parking space. I smiled and nodded half-paying attention to what he was telling me until the words were actually absorbed into my brain. HUH? YOU DID WHAT?

I looked over at the Radio Shack window and sure enough, there were Aidan's hieroglyphics written in red crayon. I asked Aidan to step out of the car and I grabbed a few baby wipes. Evie looked on wondering what we were up to. She was shaking her head and laughing, knowing it's always good times with the Gourleys.

I walked Aidan up to the window and asked him to wipe off the crayon. I made it clear to him that we do not draw on windows. I held back my own laughter, because let's face it, this was funny.

I will say that the baby wipe is the one tool that I cannot live without. It can clean anything including crayon off the window of a Radio Shack.

After Aidan got the crayon off the window, we walked into the store to speak to the manager. The manager came up to me and asked if she could help me. I said, "No thank you, but my friend would like to speak to you."

With his head down, Aidan mumbled, "I'm sorry I drew on your window." The manager looked at me for translation. I asked Aidan to repeat himself and to look at the manager. He repeated himself and received a "thank you" from the manager and we left the store.

I got Aidan in the car and looked over at Evie who was still laughing and I shook my head and laughed too. Crazy kids!

The 3 Year Old Registry

Reese's birthday is only a few weeks away, so I thought I'd take her to a few stores to find out what she wants for her birthday and do a "registry list" similar to the one I did for Aidan a few months ago.

We spent some time in Target and she picked out a few items including the pink Mega Blocks set above.  Here are a few more:

The Princess and The Frog Tea Set. Requested: 1 Not Yet Fulfilled.

Princess Shoes. Requested: 1
Will Receive from her Aunt Emily.
Fulfilled.

What my friend Evie wishes she could get for Reese.

Reese's favorite book, but for some reason we don't have it yet!
Requested: 1
Still Needs: 1
Not Fulfilled

Reese like her mama loves weddings and would like to dress up like a bride and even have the rag doll dressed like a bride.

Reese is always taking good care of her stuffed animals and our real dogs Tyson and Haley. She puts fake bandaids on them whenever they "get hurt," as any good doctor knows, a bandaid can cure anything.
Critter Clinic
Requested: 1
Still Needs: 1
Not Fulfilled

After Target, we went to Toys R Us. We continued to snap photos and talk about what Reese wants for her birthday. During our visit I continuously reminded Aidan that this visit was about Reese, and if he wants anything, he'll have to talk to Santa. I got a few dirty looks from other moms, maybe they think I'm too direct, maybe they don't want their kids to know that Christmas is only 6 months away. Oh well.

A store clerk stopped me in Toys R Us and asked me what I was doing and if I knew about their "Wish List." Ummm, no! Sign me up! Store Clerk brought us to the customer service desk, I filled out a form and we got our scanning gun. Uh, oh, this could be dangerous! We started all over again at the front of the store and started scanning. We had so much fun. If you haven't done this, it was really easy and such a smart idea.

Here's her registry: Reese's Registry

Or you can go to www.toysrus.com and search for REESE GOURLEY as the gift recipient. Don't use the city or state, just search by her name.

I hope she gets a few of the items that she wants. I think I may have started a new tradition with my kids with the registry. I love it, and I know they love it too.

Saks Fifth Epic Fail

My mom's group attempted to attend an event hosted by Saks Fifth Avenue and the Frontenac Police Department. It sounded like good times. We were supposed to go to Saks at Plaza Frontenac and the Police Department was going to take photos of the kids and fingerprints (hopefully their only mug shots and fingerprints) to keep on file in case they ever went missing. I was completely on board and I would gladly install Lo Jack on my kids too if it was available.

Mom tip: A few of my friends and I print labels with our phone number on it and stick them on the kids' backs when we go places like the zoo, mall, etc. I use AVERY Label 5160 and my label simply states: "IF FOUND CALL 201-XXX-XXXX" I hope to never have to receive a phone call, but if I do, I will be eternally grateful. We get stopped by other moms who compliment us on such a smart idea. I can't take credit for the idea, but I will continue to use it.

Now, back to our trip to Saks. We planned to meet there right when it started so that we could get our mug shots and then break free for lunch. I got to the mall early (so unlike me) and I walked around to a few stores. Saks is at the only mall in St. Louis that is not kid friendly, so this was the longest hour of my life! The kids wanted to get out of the stroller and they wanted snack (which I was withholding until we got to the event, I was anticipating a long line and snacks would help pass the time), I walked from one end of the mall to the other about 4 times and I popped into a few stores including Sur La Table - very dangerous! Such cute stuff. I picked up a few cookie cutters and I will be back!

When the rest of the crew arrived we made our way to Saks curious because we did not see any signs of our event. We hung out for a few minutes in the children's department while Jenn tried to find out where our event was taking place. I spotted a teeny tiny Burberry coat and for a split second I thought of having another baby just so he/she could wear it.

 Our stroller gang.

Aidan is showing his friend Abe his Leapster.
 

One of Reese's favorite books. We don't own it yet, but we've borrowed it from the library twice and she always grabs it when she sees it at the book store.

Noah taking his turn riding on the Scotty Dog.

Reese, Jude, Aidan, Abe and Noah patiently waiting to hear what our next adventure would be. When Jenn returned, the news was not good...The event was taking place tomorrow! OOOPS! No worries, Daryl and Matt (Noah's dad) would take the kids the following day while Evie and I hosted a mildly successful yard sale.

Upon hearing the news, we contacted our friends Shawn and Michelle who were also going to the event to tell them. In less than 2 minutes we decided to leave the mall and go have lunch.

On the way out of Saks, we took advantage of all that a higher end department store has to offer. I've been obsessed with department stores since my Grandma Minter took me to Bloomingdale's on Michigan Avenue. The first place I went to by myself in New York was Macy's Herald Square, I cried when they closed Carson Pirie Scott on State Street, we visit Santa at Macy's every year and I even took my pregnancy test (Aidan) at one of my favorite places, Bloomingdale's 59th Street. So with this trip to Saks, I decided to have a little fun...

Yes, this is the ladies room. I loved the doors and the knobs.

Reese needed to make a phone call.

Abe stepped out of the phone booth and I expected him to be wearing a Superman costume.

Always looking for a way to burn a few calories, Jenn and I thought it would be fun to carry her stroller up these stairs. For added fun Jude refused to get out of the stroller and kicked and screamed all the way up the stairs.