Why You Should Never Go To The Mall When You Are Bored...

My family decided to go to the mall yesterday... as a family. This meant my parents, my two siblings, a niece and a nephew, one of my kids, the Farm Boy, and me. I have NO idea what kind of wild hair instigated this family outing, but there you are.

Ordinarily, coordinating who would go to which area wouldn't be a big deal, but I forgot my phone. And the Farm Boy's phone died 2 minutes after we arrived, as he had forgotten to charge it the night before. Okay. Still no big deal. Seriously, what did we do before cell phones???

But here's what went down:

1. Parents went to the food court, then a store, and then said they'd be leaving after that.
2. Sibling #1 and niece went shopping for prom jewelry.
3. Sibling #2 and nephew went to the play area.
4. Daughter #1 wanted new jeans. Farm Boy and I sat in American Eagle waiting while she tried on 8 pairs of jeans.
5. I bought two pairs of jeans for Daughter #1.
6. As the three of us were walking back to find everyone else, Daughter #1 and I see a clothing store with a 70% off sale. Conversation followed thusly:

Daughter #1: "Ooh! I still have a gift card for that store. Let's go there."
Me: [noting the eye-rolling coming from the Farm Boy] "Honey, why don't you go to a boy store for about 20 minutes and then meet us back in front of the Starbucks. Is that okay?"
Farm Boy: "Okay."

7. Fast-forward 20 minutes... I am purchasing 2 pairs of pants, a few shirts, and a couple of spring sweaters (I LURVE sales and am a retailer's dream). I'm not quite through with my choices, but Daughter #1 and I have already been in the fitting rooms, and we're on the downward slope to final decisions. It has been 25 minutes since we've seen the Farm Boy.
8. Farm Boy walks in the store. I'm feeling a little guilty about buying MORE clothes, plus knowing that we've gone over our agreed upon 20 minutes.
9. But then I notice something in his hands.
10. It looks like a warranty-service-receipt packet... you know, the kind you get when you buy major items??? Conversation followed thusly:

Me: [knowing about a big sale on plasma TVs in the same mall] "What did you do?!?!?"
Farm Boy: "You told me to keep myself busy for about 20 minutes."
Me: "But that means you spent about..."
Farm Boy: "Yes. Yes I did."
Me: "Well, then I'm not going to feel so guilty about what I'm buying. [eyeing a cute pair of cropped jeans] Oh! And I'm going to get these too. [eyeing a cute halter and sweater set] Oh! And these too!"

I think you get the picture. The moral of the story is:

Malls + Boredom= less money in your checking account. And maybe your savings account, too.

And now the Farm Boy has his gigantic plasma TV, and he's pretty happy. It's not as big as I am tall (see -r-'s description of H's)... but let's just say I couldn't hug the TV if I tried, because my arms aren't that long.