Black Friday.

So this was my first real experience with Black Friday (other than picking up a few needed items once or twice) and I did it alone with a two-year-old! Heh.

First let me start off by saying what an angel baby Kaden was. (Mommy and all of our line neighbors thank you for being such a good boy!) We headed off to RC Willey to get a reclining couch and recliner living room set (doorbuster, only 9 available... I got the last one). We rushed off without breakfast and I grabbed two Nutri-grain bars and a sippy cup of milk on the way out the door. The store was so cramped (they opened at 8 and I got there at 8:07) that cars were parallel parked out almost to the street and J105 radio station was there and even Larry Gebert from Channel 7! (I got a terribly blurry pic that I'll post momentarily).

Where's Larry? :)

So instead of following everyone else's lead and rushing the store like a madwoman, I approached the nearest stock boy and asked if they still had any of the doorbuster microfiber reclining sofa sets left. He said, "Let's go check. We have to hurry." and he proceeded to RUN to the living room section (Run.) while I bounced along after him with my too-heavy parka-clad kid on my hip. We got there and he pushed an idling man out of the way to grab the last ticket and announced, "We got it!" Me: "Yay. Er... thanks." After he gets me all set up (yes, we want it treated and delivered), he points me to the checkout line. Holy. Shit.


The checkout "line" went all the way around the entire outer perimeter of the store and almost doubled back on its self at the front. This may not be news to those who often brave Black Friday sales, but this was a first for me. Feeling Kaden's weight on my hip and staring at the unmoving line, I first pondered crying, then just leaving. But it was a REALLY good deal. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And about half-way through the waiting process, the lady standing behind me said, "Ok, you just have to go get a stroller from the front of the store. Your arms are starting to hurt ME. I'll hold your spot in line." We laughed and I agreed. With shaking arms, I towed Kaden and my starving, pregnant, fatigued self over to the strollers and loaded him up.

I stole a balloon for my kid. It turned out to be a great idea.

Here's the coolest part. The strollers are shaped like little cars, so Kaden spent a good 20 minutes examining the wheels, headlights, steering wheel and seat before he was ready for the next activity. I kept ahead of him by thinking of fun things to look at, talk about, and play with (thank God for that little pad of paper and pencil I keep in my purse and the lady with the candy who came around twice). Sparing you the boring details, we sat in line for over an hour and a half before we made it to the checkout. The guy there took care of it in minutes and then brightened my day by asking, "And did you want the DVD player and the movie Up for 10 dollars more?" Me, stunned: "Is that an option?" "Yeah, if you spend over $499 you get this DVD player and the new Pixar movie "Up" for 10 bucks." Me: "Right on! Of course I want them." It should be noted that I JUST looked at the movie two days ago but it retails for $21.99 and because I hadn't actually seen it yet, I didn't want to risk it being crappy for 22 bucks.

Kaden, "I want to go home."

We decided after that line we'd better head home, but Walmart had a few more deals I wanted to look at. I got there and basically everything was gone that I wanted of the doorbuster deals, so we decided to call it a day and went home for a snack. I was only a few bites into my snack, though, when I discovered Home Depot's washer and dryer sales. By golly we need those! So I packed Kaden back up and we spent another hour looking at washers and dryers and finally picking one out for several hundred bucks less than I intended to spend. Good news. :)

Kaden, bless his heart, fell asleep as soon as he got back in the car and stayed asleep after we got home so I took him upstairs and tucked him in. Now I plan to have a bit more apple cider and read the paper while my monkey finishes his nap.

How did everyone else do today?