Could I be any more stressed? We ran errands all morning and I still have piles of laundry to wash and stacks of forms to fill out and the Schoolhouse Rock DVD is stuck, according to the little man, and my stomach is all upset and I hope I don’t hurl. Would serve me right, though. I am incapable of entering a World Market store and only purchasing the items on my list. This time I didn’t go too overboard, but when we got to the car I tore into one impulse purchase…a 99 cent bag of sesame chips. I fear I overdid it. My stomach wasn’t properly buffered, as the only other items I’d consumed until that point had been a bowl of peanut butter panda puffs cereal, and a giant mug’o'coffee. Hopefully I won’t be feeling the after effects all day. There was another difficulty encountered on our journey. Now that the little man is a bit older, I am noticing an insiduous evil lurking everywhere. I suspect most overlook it. But anyone with children over the age of three or four cannot help but be aware…of the gumball machines, containing pieces approximately the size of golfballs. These dispensers are strategically placed, near building entrances and exits, restrooms, water fountains, and anywhere else you may find yourself needing to be with a child in tow. I recently discovered that the Har Mar Mall has them positioned every ten feet or so, so that they cannot be escaped. Naturally the little man feels the need to fiddle with each and every one, hoping to produce a piece, or he searches for change…though neither effort has ever proved fruitful for him.
p.s. No, I’m not some misguided hippie mom doling out carob and/or brown rice based “treats”. The little man has his share of honest to goodness sweets, and on a regular basis.
p.p.s. In case you might be wondering about that second photo…I’m trying not to assign any deeper meaning to it, other than the little man has discovered that the Playmobil people fit inside the dinosaur finger puppets. But the dinosaur men are a little creepy.
