What Was I Thinking!!

Here I am waking up Saturday morning 9 days before Christmas and nothing to do. Husband is at work and the kids are wired and it is only 7:30 am. So I get out of bed, start the kettle and think about what we could do to waste the day away. Instead of doing laundry, wrapping presents, doing the dishes or cleaning the house I decided that we should head to the mall. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? First of all I convince my 3 year old that riding in the stroller is the best idea and surprisingly enough he agrees. So here we are in the furthest most parking spot we start off on our adventure. Our first stop is Winners. All I need is a birthday for the mother-in-law. This should have been easy. My 7 year old does not like anything that I pick out and the 3 year old (who is way too big for the stroller) has figured out how to push the stroller by himself by pushing the wheels with his feet. So as I am explaining to my 7 year old that Grandma may not like pink leopard print my 3 year old is rolling down the main isle. Well after about 45 minutes we are in line and paying. Next stop Shopper's, only to find out the item I saw in the gift flyer that may be worth $15 is selling for $25. So in line again to pay for 2 packages of tic tacs and a well needed pack of gum. Next on the list is the rides. Keep in mind that I just said no because I did not have any change only to discover my 7 year old has change in her pocket. Well that just wasted 15 minutes and we are off to Stiches. On the list is presents for Daddy. I had never been in the store before because they do not carry my size but lucky for me they have Daddy's size. Also in my favour the whole store is on sale. $70 later I am off with 2 sweaters for Daddy and 2 sweaters for me. My lucky day, if Mommy is happy then everyone is happy. Next we head to Sears (and apparently so does everyone else). "All we need to buy is a present for Papa" I said. Well that did not sit to well. All I heard was "I have to pee" and 'I am hungry can we go". First attempt failed so off to the bathroom and fight to go back into the stroller but after a very well thought out bribe we are off again. The second attempt failed so we are outta here. The argue over lunch was something to write home about but Mommy won. We pull into the parking lot at Williams (sort of like Central Perk from Friends) because Mommy needs a cup of coffee and to my surprise I hear giggles from the back seat. They have just figured out where we are and apparently my 3 year old having the same name as the restaurant finds this is pretty amusing. We wait in line, order and find a seat. To my amazement both kids eat all of their bagels in peace and are not fighting. After 45 minutes we are off to Zehrs to get groceries for our Christmas dinner with friends. Who knew that selecting bagels could be hazardous to your health. I practically had to beat up a lady and her kids just to get them out of the way. After a few more items we head for the check outs where I found out that if your kids talk to the cashier you may get something for free. Merry Christmas to me but what was I thinking????