Target for under $100? And "The Ham Book'

Yesterday Pat sent me to Target for q-tips.  Ha!

Please tell me, has anyone ever made it out of Target with a receipt under $5?  $10?  Or left with just q-tips in their cart? Not possible.  I dare you to attempt a trip and only come back with the item(s) on your list or make it out under $100.  The fact that I had my two-year-old in tow didn't help the case either.  "Bubbles?  Cookies?  Baaaalllll!"

We managed to make it through the store with minimal extras purchased. I walked right past the dollar aisle (I know that trap - it's just $1, but when you buy 5 packs of glow sticks, three packs of stickers etc. it adds up), didn't even look in the womens clothes section, and avoided the end-caps at all costs.

I stuck just to the essentials.  I mean, sippy cups, banana pouches, organic bug spray, inflatable pool toys - ALL essentials in my book.  Not sure if Pat would agree but he's the fool that sent me to Target for q-tips in the first place.  He had to know what was in store?

Colin was pretty well behaved.  He pounded a snack trap filled with goldfish crackers, washed it down with a juice box (cleanup, aisle 4) and I only had to tell him to be quiet four(ish) times.

"Quiet?  Like church?"

"Yes, like church" 

"CHUUUUURRRRRCH" (over and over at the top of his lungs)

At that point, I may or may not have bribed him with a trip to the ice cream shop. 

We rounded the last corner, and reached the home stretch!  Since I still had to make it through the food and personal hygiene aisles (thrilling for a toddler), we went slightly out of order and walked down the book aisle. 

I told Colin he could pick out any book he wanted.  His eyes lit up, and he scanned the shelves.  Then, a huge smile spread across his face and he exclaimed "The HAM Book! Ham, Ham, Ham!"

Side note: Colin pronounces "ham" like "ahhh" with an "h":  "haaaaahhhhhhm"  No long Cleveland "A" for this kid.

So I grabbed a copy of "Green Eggs and Ham" and handed it to Colin.  And off he went...babbling away. 

"Ehhh, eggs, and HAM.  By Doctor Seuss!"

He knew almost the entire book, by memory. 

"Try it, Try it"

I've never read it to him.  Never.  I can't even remember if I'd ever read the book myself (this was remedied yesterday, as now I've read the book 20+ times, and it's long, 63 pages to be exact).

"A train! A train!"

Colin reads a lot at day-care.  In the mornings when I drop him off there is always a story being told.  During circle time they read, sing, and count (sometimes in Spanish).  His teachers say he's the first kid on the carpet when they call out that it's reading time.  He sits right up front, ready to (very)enthusiastically participate! 

One of the great things about day-care is that I know he's not in front of a tv all day.  They explore through books, music, and art.  And they apparently read "Green Eggs and Ham" a lot! 

Colin was so proud of himself for knowing the words.  You could just tell he was thrilled that he found a book that they read in school and was able to share it with me.  He was beaming (and let's fact it, so was I).

In fact I was so distracted and proud of his reading skills, that I went to the checkout line without buying...you guessed it!  Q-tips. 

Luckily I discovered my omission before I got the entire cart unpacked, or worse, before I walked back into the door at home. 

Mission complete. 

We made it out of Target spending less than $100 ($95 to be exact)!  Victory, right?

Sort of.  If you count the $6 we spent at Mitchell's Ice Cream afterwords, I suppose the '$100 Target Curse' struck again. 

Those were some pretty expensive q-tips.