Whatcha been up to SAJ, you ask? Well….I went to IKEA today and bought Baby Bug a little wooden table with two matching chairs. I’ve been hankering to buy her something like this since before she was born. I used to sit around with my pregnant belly and day dream about a little girl playing with her tea set or coloring on a little table with two chairs… Silly silly pregnant lady that I was. I had so much free time.

However, I thought tables and chairs (the wooden kind) would cost me an arm and a leg. At least over a hundred dollars. I thought I would have to save up or find an old broken down colored-on one at a garage sale and paint it. I had no idea that you can buy these things for $20 at IKEA! New and clean for $19.99! IKEA rocks my poor broke pocket book.

First it was the clean simple white high chair for under twenty bucks and now this nifty table! This is great since I’m in debt all the time these days. All my money goes on toys and clothes and silly stuff for my kid!! I never even buy myself clothes any more.

I remember thinking that when I became a mom I wouldn’t let myself turn into a frump but I was so wrong. I hate shopping for myself now. I want to. I’d love to have some nice new trendy things. But shopping with a kid for clothes is horrible! Have you ever tried on clothes with a very curious toddler in a changing room full of dust bunnies and walls that can be crawled under? It’s just way more headache than it’s worth. I think if I want to have new clothes and be stylish, I’m going to have to break out the sewing machine and invent my own creations out of old t-shirts and my box of vintage fabric. I just can’t shop any more. At least not right now. You can only let your kid eat cheerios off the floor so many times before you start to feel like you must be the most horrible mother in the world.

But I sure can shop for baby stuff. Toys! Clothes! I live to see Baby Bug get excited about new things. My money just flies right out of my wallet like bats out of a cave at twilight.

Baby Bug loves her new table. Unfortunately, she thinks it’s a jungle gym and not a table. She’s very excited about climbing up on the chairs right now. I know it’s going to be a problem. I’m probably going to have to hide the chairs somewhere (where, I do not know). We’ll see.

Thankfully, I also bought some new wooden blocks when I was at IKEA (See what I mean with the flying money?) and she seems to be temporarily distracted by them. She holds them up to us one by one and grunts out these really long sentences of very earnest sounds. She’s really really really trying to tell us something that is super important to her but I don’t have a clue what it is. I just smile and nod and soak up her happiness.

She makes being broke and frumpy not so bad.