Kids and furniture stores do not mix!

For those of you thinking, "Sure, I can take my kids to a furniture store --no problem"... Here are my words of advice:

DO NOT DO IT!

No matter how good your children are, or how much faith you may have in them to "be on their best behavior"... I strongly recommend do not to try it.

This was our experience from yesterday:

Jason and I had a very good idea of what we were looking for before we left our house(two matching recliners, smaller in size, color needing to match existing couch). Since we felt comfortable with knowing ahead of time what we were looking for, we figured we could be in and out of the furniture store in no time. So, it shouldn't be a problem to take the kids. He-he, think again.

We split up immediately upon entering the furniture store - Jason went one direction with the kids, and I went the other to search for the recliners. Within ten minutes, I was 100% sure in my choice of recliners; Jason and I agreed to switch roles, I was now on "kid-patrol" and Jason began taking care of the payment/pick-up arrangements.

I gotta tell ya, by this time, both Jackson and Jessica were getting pretty antsy --needing constant reminders to "walk, don't run"!

So, I did what any mother would do - made the "older one" walk next to me and the "younger one" hold my hand.

Sounds pretty safe, right? Wrong.

It came time again for me to need to use my hands to hike up my "constantly slipping down" pants again.
(fyi- as most of you know, I absolutely despise maternity pants and refuse to wear them; so instead, I am using a rubber-band to hold up the one and only pair of jeans that still somewhat fit me. Sounds wierd I know, but in my mind, still a better option than maternity pants).

So, I let go of Jessica's hand for maybe a total of 30 seconds to fix myself up. Within that time, Jessica finds an interesting looking glass vase sitting on a back-less shelf that just so happens to be exactly her height... need I say more?

After the sound of the crashing vase echoed through the entire store, I looked in shock at the shattered vase on the ground with the little culprit standing next to it repeating the phrase, "uh-oh, no-no." I then looked up to meet eyes with about four angry employees, a handful of curious customers, a concerned father, and a shocked brother. I was so embarrassed.

The only thing holding me together, helping me fight back the urge to cry and yell at my daughter at the same time, was the price tag I noticed hanging from one of the pieces of broken glass.

$24.99. Thank GOD!

Although I was still very disgusted about the whole situation, seeing that price gave me an instant feeling of relief. As I approached the checkout desk, holding my daughter in one arm and the price tag in the other, I could see the worried look on Jason's face. When he saw the 24.99, he seemed to have the same feeling of relief I did. According to the employee behind the desk, we got "lucky." I guess the store is filled with numerous $200-$300 vases. Jessica picked a "good one" - according to him. I was not in any mood for joking around with this guy, so I forced a tiny grin and told Jason the kids and I would meet him in the car.

Lesson learned: kids and furniture stores do not mix!