When I got home from work today, E was a bit sour.  I don't think he slept well last night-- and I don't think the kids cut him any slack today.  He was apparently not in the mood for... I don't know what, but he sure wasn't in the mood, whatever it was.  Ladybug was napping, so I grabbed shoes for Baby Duck and headed out to give E some time to regroup.  We drove around a bit and settled on hitting the mall.  Baby Duck was a bit antsy to get out to the carousel (which I had already told her I was going to let her ride), but she did a remarkable job shopping with me for quite a while.  We spent most of our time just browsing at JCPenney, starting with the little girls' section.  It was pretty fun to watch her point out all the things she liked or what she thought would look cute on her little sister.  At one point I was checking out an adorable pair of brown suede loafers in her size that were on sale, but she told me very sweetly, "Mom, those just aren't really my style."  That's all I needed to know; I put them down right away.  The sales lady right beside us got a good laugh out of that one.  We moved on to the grownup girls' department where she spent a lot of time pointing out anything she thought I might be able to wear to work.  She also got a big kick out of a Mr. Potato Head tee shirt in the juniors' section that pictured him with his ears unattached above a quote stating, "I can't hear you!"  I got a big kick out of finding two pairs of pants and a shirt for a total of $11 because I am a fantastic bargain shopper.

CL