We did a bit of shopping today, the children and I.  I did some online ordering this morning, including the free AOL prints, and it was a pretty good deal after all, except I paid extra for shipping to get them here faster.  DH has gone to make application at a couple of places, and also to get our Christmas tree. 

First, I took the children to "Ick"Donald's, for the first time in an age.  (It was so named by Buster when he was younger and unaware of any irony, though I appreciate it.) 

They did pretty well there.  We still trip over one another to a certain extent, and the tiny bathroom can barely accommodate us, but they behaved well and stuck with me.  I need to work on How to Address Strangers Who Address You.  (A. Smile and answer politely.)  I know talking to strangers is supposed to be verboten, but down here in the south it's just common etiquette, and my children are often approached by older folks who ask them questions.  I let them play on the playground for five minutes, even though it was chilly, and Mopsy got wet in some hidden puddle somewhere.

I figured out long ago that the most cost-effective way to order at IckD's is:  one happy meal (one toy and fries to share), then three extra hamburgers (one to split in half), then four extra chocolate milks (Chicken has the soft drink with the happy meal).   Mom orders off the dollar menu.  Like I said, mine eat like birds.  Except Chicken did want an extra hamburger this time, so I got it for her and she polished it off.  Must be a growth spurt.  Anyway, I see no sense in buying five happy meals with five identical toys and a bunch of fries that will only go to waste.  It costs a doggone fortune!

Then we went to Wal-Mart.  (Cue danger music:  ba-ba-ba-bammmm!).  No, really, they did pretty well there too.  We had reviewed our "curriculum" before we left home.  The only difficulty was that it was a beehive, of course.  The aisles are too narrow for a family of our size, all hanging on to the cart.  But they did their very best, with only minimal lapses (Mopsy kept taking off her shoes and dropping them from the cart). 

I remembered that Scrub had a $10 gift certificate left from his birthday, and he treated all his siblings to lizards and snakes from the dollar aisle.  The girls had saved enough money to buy a couple of their own as well.  So, they are happily playing with all their stretchy reptiles right now in the living room.  Chicken also treated her brothers and sisters to bubble gum from the machine.  We gave some to the Salvation Army man too.  What would Christmas be without the bell ringers?

On the way home, we went by the Dollar Store.  I found goodie jars, a new tub for the boys to put their toys in (they busted theirs by sending it sailing down the stairs the other day), and gift wrap.  I scouted a couple of plastic containers that may be useful for our toy storage after Christmas.

So here we are and it's already time to make supper.  Whew!  I need to go unload what we bought and give it a home.  Then I think I will make salmon patties.  After that, Advent.  The children are enjoying singing, even to my rusty guitar playing.  Funny how even a bit of instrumentation helps things along.

I guess we'll have a tree to decorate when DH gets home, if bedtime doesn't come first.

Later!