"CODE YELLOW!"

Please, someone tell me that you relate to this. Or at least tell me that I'm not a horrible mother. Bad, maybe. Crazy, very possible, but please... not horrible. So, here's the story:

It's Spring Recess, which means that my kids have school off. Yesterday, we played and went to a movie. Today, however, I had to run a few errands. Easter is rapidly approaching and I needed a few last things. So Parker, Macy and I venture off to run to a few stores leaving Summer and Aubrey home watching the Disney Channel. Perfect!

So, we filled up the tank with gas (which seriously hurt my bank account), made a Costco run (complete with treats on the way out) and then went to Target. As we are getting ready to leave Target, we decide to look at some shoes. Now, anyone who knows Macy at all knows that she is not one to sit still. So, she is trying on shoes and having a grand old time. Parker wants me to look at something, so I leave Macy on the cart (it's one of those 2-seater carts) with instructions to sit still and i walk over to Parker while he shows me a pair of shoes. When i return about 20 seconds later, Macy is nowhere to be seen. "Macy", I begin calling. She's probably trying on more shoes. "Macy", i keep calling, searching every shoe isle. Nowhere. Okay, she has wandered off... typical. So I enlist Parker's help and now we are both looking for her around the shoe isle. "Macy"! At this point, it has only been about 1 minute, but i see an employee and decide to enlist her help as well. Another set of eyes couldn't hurt.

Me (calmly): "Um, excuse me... could you just help me look for my little girl? She was just here a second ago and has just wandered off."

Her (frantically): runs to the next nearest Target employee and grabs her walkie-talkie and proceeds to proclaim for all employees and nearby shoppers to hear, "CODE YELLOW... I repeat CODE YELLOW! We have a Code Yellow in shoes. All available employees to shoes!"

Within about 3.2 seconds (seriously - it was that fast) there are about 12-14 employees now searching for my child. How embarrassing! They start asking me questions like 'How old is she?', 'What color is her hair?' and 'What is she wearing? Before i could finish the interrogation, here comes a superviser guy telling me to follow him to Guest Services. But just then someone exclaims "WE GOT HER!" So they reluctantly hand her over to me (with their judging eyes, I'm sure), watching for my reaction. Am i going to beat her? Hug her? Cry with joy? (Actually it was none of the above). So, the crowd dispersed and i was left with my little run-away. We had a little talk where i gave her the "you have to listen to mommy and stay in the cart" speech. Which, incidentally, is the same one I give just about every (bleepity-bleep) time I shop with this girl. And don't even get me started on the seat belts in shopping carts - I gave up on those long ago! So, where was she? Hiding in lingerie, about 5 feet from the shoe department. She even heard me calling her name and just didn't respond. Tell me, what am I supposed to do with that?

So, how horrible of a mother am I? C'mon, give it to me straight up... I can take it. Let me have it. I'm sure I deserve it!

So, there was my joyful afternoon of running errands and losing my child. And after all of that I forgot to buy the Easter ham! I really am losing it! But I have to say that while I think that Target over-reacted (or maybe I just under-reacted), i was EXTREMELY impressed with the way they handled the situation. They were on it like a fly on, well, you know. Had it been a real emergency, they would've been prepared. I'm just glad they didn't go straight to lock-down mode. Now, THAT would've been embarrassing! Moral of the story: Think twice before asking an employee for help. Or the obvious... don't take your eyes off of your children in the first place.

On a lighter note, here are some cute pictures of the kids eating their favorite lunch of Top Ramen. We've had it at least 3 times this week! Mmmm, sloppy good!