Amazing plastic shopping carts

If you are not a parent of a toddler, I wonder if you could appreciate those big, plastic, and nearly always grubby car-transformed shopping carts at Fred Meyer. I used to think they were hidious. Now that I have a toddler that hates sitting in a traditional shopping cart, I love them. While I haven't started shopping at Fred Meyer solely on the fact that they have these amazing shopping carts (yet!), I surely do appreciate them when I am there (and I plan to desperately beg the stores I regularly shop at to get some as well).

What was once an arduous trip to the store with multiple meltdowns and unwanted games of chase down the aisles, is now an Indy 500 car race on a track filled with canned goods, fresh fruits and tortilla chips. My kid will sit in one of those cars the entire time, completely entertained by her driving skills, the seat belt she can buckle herself and the door to the left (sometimes held together with duct tape - Rays Food Place). In fact, trying to get her out of the darned thing at the end of the shopping trip can sometimes lead to a meltdown itself, but at least my shopping is done. I can handle a tantrum in the car.

 So here we were in the Freddie's shopping center after a trip to the ice cream shop. We eyed a nearby "racecar" and put Bailes in it as we enjoyed our ice cream. Rather than having to repeatedly ask her to stay in her chair at the table, she happily ate her ice cream and drove around Bailey World in her little red car, conveniently parked right next to Mommy and Daddy at the table. It was a nice moment. And all it would take was a few wet wipes to clean up the melted ice cream and grub from the cart.

Eventually, she had a meltdown, in between Fred Meyer and Goodwill, but it had more to do with naptime than any shopping cart. That's another story for another day.

Cereal Consumption, Belated Birthdays and Grandparent Greetings

Our Maiden Voyage

 Ever since Jeff and I have gotten into road biking, we have been trying to determine the best way for us to take Bailey along with us. Bike trailer or bike seat. We determined that there were advantages and disadvantages to both, and that both could be a bit costly. So, when we found a bike seat at a garage sale for $7.00, we thought we would give it a shot.

So, here's Jeff and the Bug, on our maiden voyage bike trip...a 12 mile jaunt around our neighborhood and throughout the country roads between our house and town. We set off and Bailey was completely silent. Not like, "Wow! Mom! Bike ride!" Completely silent. I asked her questions for 45 minutes while biking and she didn't say a word. So strange for a kid who generally won't stop either attracting attention or asking questions. But I didn't care. I was so overjoyed with pride (my kid is riding on her daddy's bike!) and excitement about the fact that we had found a fun activity to do together, that I wanted to call my mom while I was on my bike to tell her about it.

So, we went again last night, hoping to spark more conversation, smiles and good memories. She chatted a bit, made a few comments, and then started whining, saying that daddy's dupa (butt) was hitting her knees. Seriously? The 2nd trip out and already, Bailey didn't like it? Ugh! We'll raise daddy's seat a bit so her knees aren't so cramped and give it another try. I sure hope it works, as it was a lot of fun...well, minus the whining part.

13.25 pounds of blueberry goodness

 This past Saturday, we made a last minute trip to Portland. My friends from my summer in Yellowstone National Park in 1998 were going to be traveling through (they live in South Carolina) and we decided to meet them there. We met Jen and John at Sandercock's blueberry farm just east of Sandy, Oregon and picked 13.25 pounds of lovely goodness. Bailey was totally engaged in picking blueberries in her little kiddo bucket...for a total of 23 minutes. After that, she wanted to run around in the grass field. So, Jeff and I took turns hanging with her and picking blueberries. We love them and plan to eat them fresh, frozen, and canned. Yum!