The two (mostly) happiest places on Earth

DISNEYLAND: Eli made it through an entire day at Disneyland without a single bathroom incident-what a potty power champ! We took the day, braved the rain and met my cousins (twelve of them!) aunts and uncles at the happiest place on Earth. And only one child, Mr. Sammy the Wimmer, was temporarily lost the whole day. So it was definitely a huge success.

COSTCO: Like most people who hail from the great "This is the place," we are devoted and loyal Costco fans. I am particularly so because it is the only place that my husband enjoys to shop. However, I was wondering if anyone has been irked by the enforcement over the past year of the entrance "card flashing?" Really, it's not that big of a deal; anyone who has ever shopped at Costco knows that it is just standard protocol. Silly, perhaps...unnecessary, yes- since they neither permit you to purchase anything without it, nor do they allow you out of the warhehouse without a receipt to confirm your purchase. And for a while, the employees "guarding" the entrance were either casually engaged in something else or just didn't care if you didn't wish to dig through your purse to find your wallet in order to pull out your card and prove your legitimate membership.

So I have only been mildly annoyed by the recent crackdown in card flashing at the Costco until Monday night. Sidenote: It will shock no one that Eli's primary goal in life is to make it through the parking lot-where he knows full well he MUST hold someone's hand- to the sidewalk so that he can then proceed to run away as far and as fast as humanly possible. I don't know why this fact of life sometimes escapes me, but it does. So as soon as we made it to the sidewalk on our way into Costco the other night, Eli was already inside and on his way to visit the wash and the cold, which is to say the washing machines on display and the refrigerated section. So Adam and I both started to rush inside in an attempt to reclaim our fleeing son, paying little attention to the card guard. He seriously stuck is hand out and said, "Excuse me, can I see your card?" After a brief glance of incredulity passed between us, we silently agreed that Adam would chase the kid and I would pacify the guard. "I got it. Can he go get our kid?" I said laughing.

So apparently the card flashing is pretty important. I suppose once Eli busted his way into the Costco, like anything else inside, we needed a membership card to get him out. Makes perfect sense.


PS Am I a bad mother for throwing away all of the art drawings that Eli creates if he tears them to shreds once I display them on the fridge? I was particularly excited about this piece because it rather resembles a Jackson Pollock, don't you think? But this is what he does to every piece of artwork he ever creates; apparently he is not a modern art lover. I try...I really do.