Counting Change...

Yesterday I was in a rush at the grocery store. Since I was at Albertson's I knew I was already doomed the second I walked in the door. (Their reputation around here is this: sllloooowwwww.) I grabbed my two bottles of soda and surveyed my check out options. Shock! There were minimal lines at three checkstands. Quickly I chose the quickest and most competent looking cashier.

I should've known better.

The elderly lady checking out in the front of the line was mulling over whether $2.21 was a fair price for a bag of tomatoes. She had the cashier weigh the bag and give her the price (with and without the Albertson's club card.) Granny pondered the price and sighed...eventually giving in. She dramatically pulled out her change purse and started dropping random change on the counter leaving the checker to count it out for her. When there wasn't enough she slowly pulled out her purse again and threw more change on the counter.

I'm usually a pretty patient person at the grocery store. Checker's have to deal with alot of bad behavior, but unfortunately I was getting irritated by this point. I was willing to stick it out though because there was only one other person in front of me who only had a case of beer.

Oops!

The girl in front of me fumbled through her wallet for her ID for the beer. After she retrieved it the checker scanned her beer and asked her if she had her Albertson's card.

The girl gave a look of utter confusion..."Ah, What?"

"Your Albertson's Card."

"Oh...hold on."

She pulls out her cell phone and calls her friend using her best dumb OC accent.

"Um...yeah...I'm at Albertson's. What's your Albertson's Card number? Yeah...they need your card number. I don't know...what is it?" Repeat.

Internally I scream. I grabbed my bottles and the checker graciously pointed to checkstand #5...no waiting there.

I was in and out of checkstand #5 in less than 1 minute. As I exited the store the girl was still on her cell phone trying to get her friends card number. (For those of you who don't know....you just put in your phone number. That's it.)

Kudos to the checker for not losing it: I would have. But seriously people? What happened to the art of counting out your own change? Or the miraculous art of having the information before you approach the counter? Or even common sense?

Yikes.

--Laurel

Baker Oddities

Both Billy and I've been down with Strep throat this week...it's been alot of fun. Being sequestered to my bed, I was forced to view my family from a distance and discovered some oddities about our family.

Here are some Baker originals:

--Our three youngest children will only eat applesauce with a straw. Yes, you heard me right...a straw. Travis will cry if you try to give him a spoon. We can all thank Tamila for that one.

--Aaron and Travis prefer their milk with crushed ice...they will not touch it otherwise. (And to think my mom was perturbed about that when I was younger! Ha! Who's winning now Mom? :)

--All four of our kids will sit through endless reruns of The Brady Bunch and Home Improvement. Funny thing is...Billy and I rarely watched Home Improvement when it was on. I have no idea how they got addicted to that one.

--We don't eat dinner on Sunday nights...we eat popcorn with cheese and apples. That's balanced, right?

--We live a mile from the beach, drive the coast several times a day, but only set foot on it once or twice a year.

--One of our kids is a nudist (I'll let you guess!)who loves to sing Motley Crue lyrics and the Brady Bunch theme as he runs around the house stark naked. (Yes, I am worried about his precious soul!) Another throws up immediately at the thought of a vegetable (no joke) and is a germ freak. Our second child is our canary in the mine: Broken bone? First to break it. Bug bites? first to get bitten. Stitches? Yep, she wins. Maybe she'll be a doctor someday. Our oldest is not quite as entertaining...but if you need someone to consult with about the current political situation in Ghana he's your man.

Those are just a few of our oddities...what are some of yours?

--Laurel

Here you go...

Finally, the picture everyone has been waiting for. Travis Baker in his cowboy boots. Note the mask...this is a new accessory added for the fall. (In reality its a stretchy book cover that Tamila converted into a mask.)

--Laurel

The Return

You all can rest easy now...Travis has returned to his favorite shoe of choice: cowboy boots. For awhile there, I know many of you were concerned that he had shed his tradmark footwear in favor of flip-flops. Not so. With the advent of the school year he has rediscovered his first love. He trotted off to his meet and greet at the preschool this morning wearing his trademark uniform of cowboy boots and shorts.

Life has returned to normal and I couldn't be happier!

--Laurel

3 Down 1 to go...

Well...the inevitable happened. Summer has ended and school is back in session. At this precise moment Travis and I are pretty much staring at each other wondering what to do. Okay, fine the reality is this: Travis is entertaining himself quietly on the couch while I prepare to reacquaint myself with something called "housework".

I could wax nostalgic about how sad I am that the house is quiet, but that would be a partial lie. I won't miss the bickering, the TV blaring Nick in the background and the constant whining. I'll be able to go the grocery store without spending my time denying outrageous food requests with every turn of the cart. Rides in the car will find me with my music cranked up and no interruptions. The computer will be mine without a fight between the hours of 9 am-12 pm. My house will stay clean for three hours longer than it does in the summertime (I say three because Travis will only be in preschool for three hours a day.)

What makes me sad? The fact that my kid's don't need me to hold their hand anymore. Austin bailed out of the car this morning with a wave. Tamila did about the same. Aaron skipped all the way to school singing about how excited he was to go. When it comes to Travis's turn on Monday, I'm sure he'll shoot through the door of his preschool and never look back. Their independence makes me proud and a bit sad. It does make me wonder though, are they really that excited to be back in school or were they ready for summer to be over too? Hmm...

--Laurel