come ON kathy!

we're out of food. unless you enjoy eating lots of rice, dry cereal and canned veggies - we're out of food. i didn't want to make the trip to wal-mart, but it was inevitable. uggh. i thought that monday, mid-day, would be a safe bet for a low traffic wal-mart. but apparently unless loralai and i go after her 2a.m. feeding, there is NEVER a low traffic day at wal-mart. but we were doing good. great even. loralai was in the front carrier and snoozing away. and then...we made it to the front of the store and i wanted to cry. out of the 20+ registers, there were only 8 open. why? someone PLEASE tell me why this is? is it just to make us hopeful that one day checking out at wal-mart will be stress free? are the other 12 registers just for looks - just to say 'hey you shopper. just immmaaagggine if i was open. life would be so much smoother right now.'

instead, i stare at the register lights not turned on and i curse the wal-mart manager.

but still. still i thought we were doing good. loralai was still snoozing and hanging in there. and then it happened. blink. blink. i see her butterfly eyelashes start to flutter and then open. dang it. i knew i was in for it. but i had to stick it out b/c i wasn't going to eat black beans and cheese for lunch again this week. (delicious, huh?) so i begin the bounce sway thing that all desperate moms do when they know their baby is nearing a break down. and it's working - sort of. loralai's eyes flash here and there taking in all the crazy colors and stimulation that consumes wal-mart. and FINALLY after 30 minutes of line waiting (i am NOT kidding) i make it to the register.

and do you know what? it gets worse. kathy - my check out lady says "awwee, what a cute baby." my response, "uh huh. thanks," as i look at loralai who's looking more and more distressed. and i realize something - it's going to take more than 20 minutes for kathy to check us out. why? b/c she is carefully and strategically placing items in bags based on their food category. all canned items together. all veggies together. all meat together...you get the picture. and b/c she didn't post a sign stating her check out strategy, i didn't organize my cart as such and therefore her picking through my groceries to organize was taking a year. all i could think was - ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?! so very lovingly i say to kathy, "i don't mean to rush you, but if you don't hurry, she's going to have a melt down." kathy just looked up at me. not a glare. not a concession. just a look. well what the heck does that mean? apparently it meant 'back up off my strategy little mama. I AM the check out lady. not you.' so i wait patiently. and i just stare at her as loralai begins to wail.

well, i told her so.

have a good day wal-mart.

next time i'm sending todd in by himself. either that or i'm really going to go in the middle of the night...and i'm steering clear of all OCD cashiers.

...so that you know, once back in the car loralai ended up calming down a bit and then ate for an eternity when we got home. i think she was a little stressed ;)