Sunday, January 21, 2007

Retail therapy


Sam has come to Lakewood!!



Ok, so we finally all get out of the house around 3pm and took a family trip to our brand new Wal-Mart,only to find out it does not open until Monday!! We were feeling quite stupid and a little embarassed as we thought we were the only people to show up, but then there were others who drove up and were all set to go in the store, when I said "They don't open until Monday!" Apparently,the general public did not get this message. Michael was visibly upset and even started crying-he wanted so bad to spend his newly given allowance that he had worked all week for! Not ones to just go home-we opted to go to Target and give them some of our money. We went into the store and decided to not get a cart and plop Nicholas in;giving him zero chance to practice taking direction from us. To my amazement,Nicholas followed our commands like a good little soldier-trying to play with toys still in boxes,and basically just enjoying himself. He looked just like any other toddler in a toy store-running up to toys within his reach and exploring the lights and sounds that they made. Michael got some good practice at managing money,and staying within his budget. He learned the hard lesson that things can be expensive and you cannot always get everything you see. He learned to look at prices, and make the decision of whether to save money or buy something else. I was amazed that Nick was very tolerant and patient while Michael browsed up and down each aisle for about an hour. That is why I referred to this as "retail therapy"-both of them will need to learn this as a life skill. Nick was practicing how to act in public,follow directions,and move through a crowd of people without going into hysterics. Michael finally decided on a bag of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups,and we headed to the check-out. Michael was anxious as how to know how much money his item cost without having to speak to the cashier. We told him it would show up on the register,and not to worry,he would know. When it came time to hand over the money,he got a little nervous and I had to tell him what to put on the counter. I also told him to hold his hand out for his change,and he did that although I dont think he even looked at the cashier the whole time! We will need to practice up on these little social skills in the future-he has a habit of completely clamming up around even people he knows. Nick on the other hand had a great time following lines,and feeling the floor tiles. Ahhh,my odd little children!

No comments: