The Thanksgiving Anti-Nap

Usually, on Thanksgiving, I eat, I nap, I chill.

But this year a friend convinced me to shake things up a bit. She had something much more exciting planned...

Yes, I actually went Black Friday Shopping. (Dun dun duuuunnnn!)

Don't worry... the earth is still orbiting the sun in the same direction it always has.

For those of you who know me, you know that I do not particularly enjoy shopping. I pretty much have what my family calls a "short shopping span." I shop with a goal in mind, hit the store where I can find that particular item, and am done.

The shopping gene skipped me.

However, I am capable of shopping for slightly longer periods if I am shopping with friends (or family). Because then it's not really shopping... it's spending time with my friends and getting a chore out of the way at the same time. (Yes, I just called shopping a chore!) The fact that I'm with someone makes it much more fun.

So there I was Thanksgiving night... actually wandering through the masses. We started about 10pm, although many stores had opened hours earlier. We did think it was a little ridiculous that a few places were open at 7pm or even 4pm!!! Anything to make an extra buck I guess.

At first, it felt a little foreign. But before long, I was actually having fun shopping. (Yes... the words "fun" and "shopping" just collided in a sentence by me.) We hit the mall, we hit a couple strip malls, we hit other stores. The majority of my Christmas shopping was completed that night. Oh... and let me say that when 6am found us winding down our shopping at a local Einstein's, I was still energized.

Will I do it again?

Absolutely! ...as long as my friend is there to make it fun again.

Playdate with Destiny

It finally happened. My little boy had his first playdate!

Yesterday, we celebrated Memorial Day with Little Dude's best friend Lily and her mom at the zoo. Lily's mom and I had spent the last couple of weeks talking on the phone and letting Lily and Little Dude talk on the phone to each other (he had the biggest grin on his face during their brief phone conversations). Finally, we were able to find a day to get everyone together!

Little Dude was so excited about his playdate that he woke up at 4:30am asking, "Is the zoo open yet?" To which Daddy (I was barely conscious) replied, "No, go back to sleep." About 5:00am we heard a little voice at the edge of our bed, "Is the zoo open now?" "Not yet." Daddy was awake at this time (he's an early riser) and told our son to go ahead and lay down on our bed with me. After half hour of tiny feet messaging my spine like gentle, little jackhammers, I heard the same question: "Is the zoo open?" This went on every 15 minutes like a crazy alarm clock. "Is Lily at the zoo yet?"

Finally, we got to the zoo and waited out front for our guests to arrive. Little Dude watched the parking lot like a hawk. He inspected every car that drove through the park lot: "No, that's not Lily." He watched every kid that walked past: "Is Lily here yet?" He paced the sidewalk: "When's Lily going to get here?"

Finally, he spotted Lily. They ran to each other and hugged. It was as cute as a Disney movie!

A few days ago, we bought Little Dude red and pink Power Rangers, and he brought them to the zoo so he and Lily could play with them. (After all, their friendship started with playing Power Rangers at school!) He immediately gave the pink one to Lily. How sweet! What girl would ever want a bouquet of flowers when there are Power Ranger action figures to be had?

I was glad to finally meet Lily's mom face-to-face. I hope she liked us as much as we liked her. She's quite a few years young than I am so I was a little nervous that she would think I was too old to hang out with all day. But we had a good time chatting. Plus, it was mostly about getting our kids together.

The whole "playdate" thing is almost like co-dating with your kids. This is a whole new world of "dating" for me. (Playdates, romantic dates, couple dates, and then playdates again. Where does it end?) At least it went well. The kids had a great time.

Little Dude beckoned his friend over to the strange blue frog with a "Ribbit. Ribbit!"

The kids raced each other to different exhibits to see who could get there first. Then they tried to stay in front of each other and proclaim themselves "leader." Finally, we told them they could share and both be leaders. This led to some seriously cute hand-holding as they walked around. Lily's mom said, "Now they're really going to be BFFs at school!"

Just before they decided to be goofy, they were holding hands.

At least they have silliness in common!

Little Dude took his BFF to his favorite place in the zoo... the camel rides!

Then she took him to her favorite spot... the water park!

They stuck by each other's side from ape to zebra. And we all stayed a lot longer than we thought they would last. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

After we said our goodbyes and got in the car, a little voice in the backseat said, "I miss Lily." Then he drifted off to sleep.

Perfect playdate!