A Day to Compare!

Pre-Caden, Nick and I spent our days doing whatever and whenever we wanted.  We had no order, just whatever felt right for the day we would do.  I feel like even after Caden came we tried to keep this up.  Granted we had to plan our days better and make sure the diaper bag was fully stocked for our spare of the moment trips, but we were still pretty easy going.  Now Post-Ashton, I think we have completely changed.  I miss who we used to be and hate how much our dynamic has changed.  Caden was used to us randomly driving around for hours, taking in the scenery or putting up with my quest to find a hidden treasure somewhere.  Nick is more of homebody than I am.  He is perfectly fine coming home from work on Friday and not leaving the house till Monday morning for work.  Maybe since I am home all throughout the week, the last thing I want to do is stay at home.  Nick has gotten used to that and even comes up with our own adventures.  Now that Ashton is around, meaningless drives and shopping trips just to get out of the house are all but gone.  Ashton is a good baby but he is not like Caden.  Caden was so easy going and I was truly spoiled by that, I had no idea of any different even when people would point it out to me.  Ashton is not a crying baby but he doesn't like being trapped in.  Whether this be the carseat, the stroller, high chair or me just holding him.  So as you can see that eliminates pretty much any fun since he likes to be on the ground crawling.  We have attempted a few times to go out with him but the trips usually turn so sour that we regret even leaving and get snappy with each other.  However, for a long time I have wanted to go to several stores to finalize my boys' Christmas List and compare prices.  I decided that today was the day.  We went to the mall, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target,

and Toys R Us.  Yes we are crazy, but I loved every minute of it.  We really didn't buy anything but just being out of the house makes me so happy.  This is another reason I am trying to become more comfortable doing things by myself with the boys, so I will not go stir crazy in the house.  We came armed with snacks, toys, and the double stroller.  All of the trip went pretty smoothly considering we were gone all day with both boys.  They started to loose it after lunch so we drove around for awhile so they could sleep and then ended up hanging out in a parking lot until they woke up.  I was able to compare everything I wanted to and then did my second favorite thing at home.  I was able to put my OCD skills to work and come up with a comparison chart of prices.  I then highlighted the cheapest store and then made a list of what I was going to get with yes's, maybe's, and no's.  I have so many papers and charts but I thrive on that type of organization, it made me so happy!!  Today was really a great day and I cherish these family moments.  Random drives and shopping trips are what we do and I hope the boys continue to appreciate this when they are older.  I know I have boys, but I don't have any girls to do this with.  Post and Carry on with the rest of your day.