Baby shopping adventures

Saturday morning Hubby and I headed off to Des Moines to buy the "last" of our baby supplies. We were fully aware that this could be the last time we would shop - just the two of us. We arrived at BabiesRUs, made some returns/exchanges, and then began the fun process of deciding what we needed/wanted.

I had these visions of buying adorable baby outfits. What I have discovered is that there are only so many gender neutral outfits, and I have all of them already. So I was unable to purchase any more clothing other than tiny white socks and some tiny pairs of pants. I guess I will just have to go on a shopping spree post-baby and satisfy the baby-clothes hungry monster within me.

After completing our baby purchases at BRU, we headed off to a miserable Target that had almost nothing. We bought what we could and grumbled at the rest. Then we were off to the mall. The mall was also a waste of a trip. We left with no baby things and sore feet. The furniture store was our next stop. Would you believe there are not that many white dressers to choose from? We found one we mostly liked and got the information so we could order over the phone if we definitely wanted it. Rumor has it they are getting some more in today so hubby is going to research other options and then order the one we looked at. Of course our shopping trip was not to be completed here. No no. We went to yet another mall. The guy at Sears was the most unhelpful salesperson I have EVER met in my life. His exact words were "I don't know, you'll have to look on the internet". Um, yes, but I want to buy one now, so.... We left with money burning holes in our pockets. Again, we left this mall with no baby things. A few more stores left us with similarly empty hands and full pockets.

All in all, the day was a bust except for our BabiesRUs experience.

What I did learn is that my feet have grown ever so slightly since I last wore my shoes. I have been a staunch sandal wearing person for many many months now. For some reason on Saturday I thought I would break this trend. Bad idea. By the end of the day my feet hurt so badly I was moving much slower than socially acceptable.

With my sore aching feet, my lack of baby clothes filled sacks, and my overwhelmed expression, hubby did exactly the perfect thing. He took me out for a wonderful dinner. We sat quietly in the bustling restaurant and munched happily on mozzarella sticks while we waited for our food.

Life is probably going to change significantly in about a month. Gone will be the days of marathon shopping trips and quiet leisurely meals. Instead they will be replaced by quick trips to the store and frozen pizzas. Instead of just jumping out of our car and strolling into the mall, we will spend many minutes in parking lots pulling out strollers and unfolding them, snapping carseats in place, and grabbing diaper bags full of supplies. Sports bar and grill restaurants will whiz past our window as we search the horizon for the golden arches of McDonald's. People everywhere preach and preach that we "better enjoy it now because it is going to change soon!". But instead of those words causing fear and dread, Hubby and I have a little different take on things. See, our life has been largely the same for 5+ years. And while we don't know what exactly what our future holds, we truly mean it when we say "That's okay. We're ready." We're ready to open our hearts and home to the little one that we have loved before we ever saw his or her face.