Wal-Mart scavenger hunt

Yesterday I felt the need for a Wal-Mart run. I try and avoid going on a weekly basis and wait until I have several items of need before venturing forth into the "money sucking" store. After all, one can not go into Wally World and get 1 or 2 items without "needing" 25 0r 30 more. I figure if I have 10 or so things that I'm out of I'm much less likely to go on a spending bender. I will be sooo happy when the new Target opens up next month. It is just up the road from this Wal-Mart so now I won't have to drive all the way to the southern end of Sioux Falls when I need to get something Circo. I'd like to point out that I do 98% of my food shopping at a grocery store, usually Hy-Vee so it's not like I'm forced to go shopping at Wal-Mart or Target, I just like paying a little less for the non-food items like soap and cleaning supplies.

Anyway, the reason for my trip was to find a container of some sort for Carolyn to take juice to school. Wal-Mart does sell really cheap boxes of juice that I do buy on a regular basis but they always seem to be out of them when I do stop there and now I have to provide snacks for both Carolyn and Matthew on a daily basis so it is getting a little expensive to do pre-packaged snacks and juice. I figured if I bought a big container of juice and filled a small bottle and then bought a big box of crackers and filled little bags I could save money and the environment. Little did I know that later in the day Carolyn would come home with a wet backpack. Why was it wet? She decided to save her box of juice for later and put it back in the backpack (after she had opened it of course) along with the animal cookies she didn't want to eat. It didn't take very long to hose out the mess inside the backpack but the binder full of papers was another story. Now I know why I had the urge to find a spill proof container.

I decided to do Wal-Mart after Carolyn went to school so I would only have to deal with 1 kid. The upside was it is easier to keep track of 1 vs 2 but the downside is afternoon is nap time and I needed to get in and out before the fatigue meltdown occurred. Andrew decided that he wanted to look at the pretty flowers they had over in the lawn and garden area so we looked and went in that door instead of the main entrance. Normally this would not be a big deal except this Wal-Mart is in the process of remodeling. I found out as we were leaving that the very nice greeter hands you a map of the store so you can find your way around. There is no greeter when you go in through the lawn and garden entrance. I have not been in the Wal-Mart since the end of July when I bought school supplies so I was totally and completely lost. Andrew was following me and soon discovered a Hannah Montana guitar toy that he liked playing with so I gambled and gave him the toy and put him in the cart. Thank you Hannah Montana, he stayed put and didn't complain the whole time. I looked at my list and off I wandered. Everything was in different places and in the process of being moved so the diapers were in one location but the diaper wipes were in a completely different area. It took FOREVER to get around. I had to walk up and down different aisles hoping I was in the right area and could find the item I was looking for. I'm very glad I made a list or I would have walked out and gotten home and then realized that I had not purchased item "X" and now I need item "X" so I have to go back and get item "X". I'm sure that when everything is finally done the store will be a better place to shop but right now I'd rather sit in traffic and get stuck behind a stinky truck than go back and shop there. As for the Hannah Montana guitar toy, I distracted Andrew and lovingly placed it on a shelf for another lucky person to find. Oddly enough the one item I came for, the container for juice they did not have. They had a few leftover lunch boxes but now days lunchboxes or lunch packs do not come with thermoses so all you get is an overpriced insulated bag or backpack or whatever shape they are in. They did have some crayon shaped containers but they were bulky and I don't think Carolyn could have unscrewed the lid and poured the juice out without making a huge mess. I tried a few other places today with no luck. I'm hoping to find something before the end of the week. Wal-Mart was out of the juice boxes and I only have a few left in my pantry. I guess the worst case senerio is I send Capri Sun and hope Carolyn figures out how to get the straw in the pouch. I hope Wal-Mart gets things figured out by next month.