A "Fun" trip to WalMart

Canon and I have taken dozens of trips to Wal-Mart. Each time he has either looked around with interest or fallen asleep with boredom. On this particular day, however, Canon decided he wanted a better view.

We had been in Wal-Mart about 15 minutes or so when Canon decided his carseat just wasn't the place for him. I was trying to develop my newest pictures - you know, the ones from my FREE camera - at this point, so I took him out and held him. I don't know if you've noticed from all the pictures, but my "long and lean" son has slowly grown into somewhat of a monster. He's huge! I can't be exactly sure, but about two weeks ago he weighed 18 pounds, and two weeks before that he weighed slightly less than 16. So odds are, he's pushing 20 pounds at this point! Needless to say, it is quite difficult to carry such weight in your arms while pushing a buggy around the most inconveniently arranged store in the Western Hemisphere. But a mom will do anything to keep her child happy, so I started carrying the Big Lug all over the store.

After several minutes, I passed another mom with a child who was about Canon's size, and he was sitting up in the front part of the buggy. He looked very comfortable there, supporting himself by holding onto the front bar and calmly watching his mom make various decisions about what to buy. I decided to try it. Canon has been working hard on sitting up on his own, and he's getting pretty good - even Mrs. Sharon says so. Why had I not thought of it myself?!? I slid Canon into the seat and half-pushed, half-supported him the rest of the way around the store. Remember how I said Canon is a bit of a monster? And remember how I said that this other child looked about his size? Well, he was probably about two or three months older than Canon - you know, a normal-size baby. Canon did not fair quite as well as the other boy in his buggy. He rolled and leaned and slid all over that seat. He tried to chew on the front bar and on the metal rails on the back of the seat (eeeewww, gross!). But he did show moments of balance, and it was definitely better than carrying him, so I decided I had made a good decision . . .

. . . Until we made it to the check-out counter. I had bought a very large bag of dog food, and I had to let go of Canon to load it into the back of the cart. It was only a few seconds, but as soon as I had walked behind him, I watched Canon slowly start leaning to the right. It really happened in such slow motion, I wondered why I did not simply reach out and catch him before his head hit the side of the cart . . . but I didn't. It wasn't a loud bang or even a hard one, but it really ticked this monster off. He only cried for a few seconds, but at one point his mouth was wide open, eyes closed tight, face beet red, and no air or sound came out of his mouth. I realized this might be the first time he's ever gotten hurt (at least in front of me. Apparently, Barry dropped him one morning after I left for work, and he gave a pretty good show then, too).

Of course, I swooped him up and got out of there as soon as possible. On the way out of the store, I decided it's never too early to teach your child to "get back on the horse," so I put him back in the buggy and headed to the car. I took a couple of pictures there to commemorate the experience.

At the end of the adventure, he was a little bit happy . . .

. . . a little bit frustrated . . .


. . . but mostly just exhausted. Aren't we all after a Wal-Mart experience?

CostCo is giving away free cameras!!!

Several weeks ago, my camera just quit working. It had been holding on to its last bit of life for a few months, but finally in Mexico, it took its last breath . . . I mean picture. Thankfully, Nonna had given me this camera as a Christmas gift. She purchased it at CostCo - you're one-stop-shop-for-everything-sold-more-cheaply-than-anywhere-else. At the time of purchase (November 26, 2006 - I kept the receipt), CostCo had a lifetime warranty policy on all of its merchandise. No matter what, no matter when, anything could be returned with a full refund. Just weeks later, CostCo smartly changed that policy on electronics to a 90-day warranty. Poor saps who used their Christmas money to buy a camera after the New Year!

Anyway, back to my free camera. After several phone calls - and too many weeks without taking pictures of my ridiculously cute son - I finally made it to CostCo. Now, I knew what the policy said, and a CostCo representative had assured Barry that I really could return it for a full refund, but until it actually happened . . . I really didn't believe it.

CostCo is a lot like Sam's Club. You have to have a membership card to enter and to buy anything. So, when I walked up to the Welcome Guy and showed him a camera box and a three-year-old receipt, I thought he would surely turn me away. He, however, directed me kindly to the Returns counter where an even nicer lady waited to help. At this point, I was sure they would say "Good try" and "Better luck next time." But as easily as I had walked in the door, the camera was returned, and I had a very large CostCo money card (thank you, Nonna and Poppa!) in my hand. I quickly found the cameras and waited patiently for someone to unlock the cabinet to hand me the one I wanted. When I approached the check-out counter, I knew this was the moment when they would take it all away. The man behind the register asked for my Membership Card, to which I shyly held up my shiny new CostCo money card. I half expected him to take it, cut it right in front of me, and have me escorted out the front door . . . but, of course, that is not what happened. He motioned to the credit card machine, and I was soon on my way out the door. Oh, crap! The Receipt Checker! Though I only had one item in my hand and one item on the receipt, she checked it over carefully, then that blessed yellow highlighter made its mark on my receipt. I was home free . . . with a free camera! I rushed to the car, hoping to outrun any CostCo Security that might realize how ridiculous it was that this wimpy girl just walked out with a free camera. Luckily, I've been working out (a little), and I beat these invisible predators to my car.

One reason that I did not come to CostCo sooner was because Barry insisted that it was not worth spending the money on a tank of gas to get to Montgomery or Birmingham just to return a camera. I should have stood up to him. I had enough money on my CostCo card to fill up at their gas station, and I still have just over $22 left. I'm thinking of buying Nonna and Poppa something nice for Christmas. That is, if the Welcome Guy will let me back in with just a CostCo money card.

While I was pumping gas, I couldn't help but tear into my new package and take its first picture. Can you guess who got the rights to that sacred first pic?

Over the next few days, I made up for all of the weeks I lost without a camera. Here are a few of my favorites. (Ok, my computer is not letting me download anymore at this time. I'll be sure to post them soon - they're too cute to miss!).

Canon has become super flexible. He loves eating his feet!

This is one of my favorite Canon Classics of all-time . . . or for the last almost-six-months!

This is just hilarious!

Sitting in a highchair at MyGoo & Docs - his first experience in such a contraption.

Just a little "Vogue" shot.

Mrs. Moss Goes Back to School

Summer is over, and the time has finally come. Mrs. Moss must return to her other kids. You know, the "not blood-kin" kind. I have to say that teaching is the perfect profession for me for a number of reasons. Thankfully for you, I'm only going to talk about one of those reasons. I used to imagine myself as a stay-at-home-Mom . . . until the summer after my first year teaching when I realized that I am terrible at staying at home. I eat A LOT! I watch A LOT of television. I bother my husband at work A LOT. I go to Target A LOT. And I'm just generally lazy and obnoxious! It's not my fault. Have you met my mother? (You know I love you, MyGoo!!).

This summer, however - now that I actually had to wake up at a decent hour - I found that I can be somewhat productive when I'm not at work. However, I still feel a real calling to my career. With teaching, I get the best of both of these options: several weeks out of the year to stay at home with my son, but I still feel like I'm contributing to society in some way. This is not to say that stay-at-home-Moms don't contribute to society. My own mother and mother-in-law raised seven children, collectively, who grew up to become an engineer, a banker, a rocket scientist, a teacher, an administrator, a physical therapist, and a plumber. Well done, Ladies! What I mean to say is that Deborah-as-a stay-at-home-Mom would not contribute to society. You read the "lazy and obnoxious" part, right?

So now I must return to the Working World and abandon my all-too-perfect baby. Barry and I are so fortunate to have made the friends that we have here in Dothan. In the spirit of going back to work, I am speaking specifically of Josh and Mary, who have selflessly given up their house so that Colton and Canon can stay there each day to entertain Mrs. Sharon, Josh's Mom. She has so graciously agreed to keep both boys, and we could not be happier with the arrangement. Canon will have someone to socialize with everyday but without having to go to daycare so young. Of course, this only means that we are prolonging all of the diseases he will get, not preventing him from getting them at all! And, of course, Mrs. Sharon is our Dothan-mother, and we are so happy that Canon will get to love Nana as much as we do.

Upon returning to work, I can't help but reminisce about our fabulous summer together. As meat-headish as this sounds, the thing I will probably remember most about our first summer is our work-outs with Mandy & Luke. Not only did Mandy and I get closer to our pre-pregnancy physique, we became better friends, and Luke and Canon got to hang out as well. Mary and Colton joined us for our runs, too, and it was fun to have all the boys together. Also are the memories of all four babies together. Though this didn't happen too often, it was quite an experience when it did. Alicia is definitely the best at keeping all four of them happy at one time!

I will also remember the many "firsts" that happened this summer. Canon experienced his first trip to the lake and the beach. He also went to his first movie and spent his first night away from me and Barry. He rolled over for the first time, ate his feet for the first time, and laughed for the first time. He ate his first solid foods. (As an aside, why do they call it "solid" when it's basically formula in a spoon?) So many experiences for such a young baby. But as Barry says, when you're only weeks old, one day is a big deal!

For most people, there are still a few weeks left in this season, but for us teachers, the summer has come and gone. So now I put on Hat #3 and try to figure out how to balance three hats on my head at once. Though I returned to work in May after Canon was born, somehow the loom of summer made work seem less like "work" and more like a test to see if I could stay away from my brand new baby for eight straight hours. Now, it feels like work . . . not in a bad way, just in a real way. Mrs. Moss goes back to school. It feels different this year.