i'm a marketer's wet dream.

warning: there's a whole lot of baby gear talk in this post. i will totally understand if there's a sharp drop in my stats for today's entry as a result. now, on with it:

so i let myself get suckered into buying more baby gear. and i do mean sucker. i mean, if it's shiny, sparkly, snazzy, or interesting in any way, shape, or form, i'm buyin' it.

i had some store credit at right start, and an hour-ish to kill while the kid got her five cavities filled. yes, i said five cavities. i sure didn't envy her one bit, but i tried to convince her that it would be no thang - at least it wasn't a root canal or some other form of dental torture. anyway, i dropped her off and went on my merry way.

i walked into the store with the sole intent of picking up a little pouch to stick in my bag that would hold a couple of diapers and a travel pack of wipes. i knew exactly what it looked like and had a good idea of which area of the store to find it in. but the moment i walked in, i was drawn to the sale signs all over the place, and from there i was lost.

i've written before about how much i love my moby wrap. that thing is a godsend, and i don't know how i lived without it. but it's kind of a pain in the ass to take anywhere - there's no quick and easy way to throw an 18-foot piece of brown material into a diaper bag, nor is it exactly simple to tie the damn thing around me out in public. i'm forced to either tie it on before i leave the house, or get it all dirty as i whip it around me in some parking lot or restroom. meh. so i found this sling, which seemed pretty compact and easy to put on:
it even has pockets and things for me to throw keys, cell phone, and money into. sweet. so i scooped it up and kept shopping.

remember the hooter hider i talked about a few days ago? the poor bean gets all sweaty and uncomfortable under that thing, no matter what the weather. what can i say, she's a sweaty monkey like her mom. so when i saw this:
i was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. it promised discreet nursing while keeping the bean from getting overheated under a blanket or cover. plus, it had a built-in burping pad. sounds stupid, but that's handy shit! so despite the unfortunate name - "slurp & burp" - i grabbed one and moved on to the next rack of colorful (and totally unnecessary) crap.

i ended up spending my merchandise credit, and then some. oops. the hub is going to KILL me when he finds out i came home with yet another bag of handy-dandy stuff. oh, well.

i picked up the kid and we were finally off to meet up with my BFF, out in BFE. and when we got there, she had quite a spread ready for us: grilled chicken and veggies, wild rice, green salad, more veggies and dip, crackers with cheese and salami, and cookies and brownies. yum. once i sat down to get my grub on, i didn't stop munching till i got up to give her and the kids our christmas presents. heh.

we spent some time catching up and playing with the bean as the kid tried not to look bored as hell. i gotta give her props, because she did really well. not once did she utter the words "is it time to go yet?" but she looked pretty relieved when it was finally time to go.

and what did we do next? more shopping. we hit up paper source, gap, urban outfitters, victoria's secret (old town pasadena, if you couldn't tell), and then stopped at the mall on our way home to do a couple of gift returns. i also got to test the new sling out, and i'm on the fence about it. i think i'll give it another shot and if the bean still doesn't dig it, i'm packing it right up and taking it back.

tomorrow, i promise to talk about stuff that won't make your eyes glaze over. hell, i'm probably making this promise to absolutely no one, because i highly doubt that any of you have actually gotten this far. old mcdonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. you are my sunshine, my only sunshine. the wheels on the bus go round and round. why? because no one is reading this shit anymore. even i'm bored with me. blahdedy blahdedy blah! lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

i've officially lost it. i better go to bed.