The Queen's Rambles

Our local grocery store has purple carts. Not fully purple–they are mostly silver, but the plastic edges are purple. They also have purple car carts. Do you know how unusual purple is in the shopping cart world?

VERY VERY.

That’s how unusual.

Target, Staples, and TJ Maxx are red; Toys R Us is blue; the other grocery store is black.

So what happens if we go to any of these places?

Elsa screams. And screams and SCREAMS.

“Purple cart!!! PURPLE CART!!! Elsa ride purple cart!”

I’ve spent many a 20 minute chunk of time in Target, pretending I don’t hear the banshee wailing in my face as I rush through the aisles to get the basics and get the hell out.

Yesterday I couldn’t even get her strapped into the blue Toys R Us cart. She’s big, strong, and fiercely independent. She laid in middle of the floor screaming “purple cart, purple cart!” even after I told her she could pick out any cart she could see. We tried to talk into the store, but she kept running out. She started pulling things off the shelf. It was your basic 2 1/2 year old tantrum, and it was exhausting. It wasn’t as emotionally draining as Erik’s fits used to be because I know she’ll grow out of it, but it was still no fun.

Do you think a purple cart cover would help the situation? That’s the only thing I can come up with. Not like I can steal a purple cart from Giant and tote it around in my van. I have plenty of purple fabric if I can just find a simple pattern online. I hate dealing with shopping cart covers (we have a pink one), but maybe it would work? I don’t know.

What else?

Can someone tell me what to buy Erik for Christmas. He got a DS for his birthday so I’ll get him some games. I also got him a couple of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle things because he wanted them a few weeks ago, but he seems to have forgotten all about TMNT now. Dandy. I won’t be getting him any LEGOS. He got a bunch of sets for his birthday and they are all still sitting on his desk, unopened. The good news is he’s so uninterested in them he won’t even open them, which means I can re-gift them with a clear conscious.

I got Elsa a My Little Pony train so I picked out a green Pony for Erik. They both love to watch the show, so I was hoping if he had his own they wouldn’t fight over hers. Seemed fair to me. Elsa is super easy to shop for. She loves to play with toys. I’m getting her a play kitchen as her main gift and she’ll get some dolls and such to round out the experience. My mom is getting her a dress up trunk set, so that will be perfect as well.

Erik. . . that boy is so hard to shop for. He doesn’t like toys. He only likes games, but they seem so anticlimactic to me. He really wants his own computer, especially because our desktop died so now my laptop is the only computer in the house. I guess we could get him a KindleFire or other tablet that’s a little more affordable. He only wants to play FB style games on it. I don’t know. . .I’m just not that comfortable buying him something so delicate and expensive.

I’m all ears, if you have a great idea. He has several type of bikes, scooters, pogo sticks. . . Doesn’t play with any of them. The only toy he consistently plays with is the umbrella. Do you know where I’d like to shove that umbrella?

He thinks that he can’t tell anyone what his Santa wish is, which is frustrating. He has something in mind, but I can’t figure it out. Last year it was a pair of fleece, camo sweat pants. Strange, strange child.

Also, he is obsessed with his Chinese Zodiac sign. There’s a Chinese boy in his class and I think his parents must not be native English speakers because they’ve taught him that 2005 was the year of the cock. I’m trying to tell Erik that rooster is a nicer word, but he doesn’t believe me. I just loving hearing “Hey Grandma, do you love that I’m a cock?” a hundred times a day.

Oddly enough, Erik and Mike are both cocks *snicker* and Elsa and I are both tigers.

I had a dream last night. I can’t remember anything about it, except I was watching the Best TV Show Ever. It was a cross between Chuck and Grimm and now I’m really sad that it doesn’t actually exist.

I didn’t pick up any new shows this season. We started Revolution, but the girl was way too annoying. Did I miss any great shows this season? I even like shows that have been cancelled if they are wrapped up in some way (Terriers springs to mind).

I guess I better go cook dinner. I lead a life of excitement!