decorating with panties

 As I tried to manage my truck of a double stroller through the small aisles of lounge wear and skinny tanks at our favorite clothing store  I stopped briefly to look at the workout pants hanging in front of me. Both girls were neatly tucked in the stroller.

When I turned back around, the canopies had been pulled up on both the front and back seats and the girls had decorated them with panties. Yes, the surprisingly frilly panties were now all over our stroller. And they were reaching for more! Dear heavens!  I quickly threw them  back on the display table (you should always wash your panties before wearing them ladies, and this is why).  We went along our merry way unsuccessful at purchasing workout clothes for me and ventured over to the baby and kid sections of the store.

After we'd made our purchase (Easter dresses, check!) we swiftly exited the store because Audrey had to go potty. Froggy, our portable potty seat,  still lives in the van for this very purpose. I buckle Allie into her seat and go back to fold down the stroller and realize there were two items that we did not purchase in the bottom. (Heavy sigh). 1 pair of chic child's sunglasses we had intended to buy and 1 boy blue onesie that we certainly did not. We don't do blue in this house. At least not yet. I call Audrey's attention to the fact that we had "shoplifted" these items and asked her if she'd put them in the stroller on purpose. I had seen her "shopping" earlier, pulling shirts and shorts from display tables and coordinating outfits  from within her seat. (I have created a monster, but a very fashionable one). After being told to stop, she did. One shirt must have slipped in without anyone noticing.

Oh I so wanted to just return the pink sunglasses and blue shirt the the next day. Allie was already buckled in and it was beyond lunch time. I  took the items out of the stroller in order to fold it down and set them momentarily in our bags of purchased items.

And Audrey, from her Froggy seat says, "No Mommy I don't want them in that bag! That's the store's stuff. We need to take it back now." (Audrey previously had an experience with taking a little stuffed puppy from the same store last year . We had a long talk about how we have to pay for what we take from stores. I made her go with me when we returned it. )

In my heart of hearts as soon as I saw the little blue shirt and pink sunglasses I knew we were going to walk back into that store. I ignored my empty stomach and aching legs and loaded them back in the stroller.  One of the managers, who knows us quite well, thanked us for bringing the items back.

I was so proud of Audrey this day. And myself, well, I was reminded to double check the stroller before leaving any store.

Thank heavens we didn't accidently steal any panties!






Sarah