Target

Maybe Target has been around for a long time but I didn't discover how vital it is to my daily life until I became a mom 8 years ago. You can buy anything and I do mean anything there. You can furnish and decorate your entire home. You can clothe and feed your entire family. You can medicate, entertain and educate your entire family all at Target. And you can do all this shopping while your kid is strapped into the cart while munching on a free cookie. Yup, they feed your kid while you shop. It's a great place to kill a couple hours on a rainy day. It's an even better escape when you have been cooped up all day with cranky kids. The minute the hubby comes home, grab your keys and head to Target to hide out. There are downsides I have discovered about this all-purpose Mecca. First, you will drop way more money than you planned or budgeted for on things you never know you needed desperately until you saw them. Second, your kids will find items they cannot live without in every aisle. My 8 year old claims she needs a filing cabinet, steering wheel, and lawn furniture, just to name a few items. And, as my kids inform me, "you don't have to pay for it, Mom. Just put it on your credit card". They get their financial and banking skills from me. There is rehab for just about every vice - sex, food, alcohol, gambling, drugs, etc. I see my husband checking me in for a stint of Target-ism rehab. He'll make me cut up my card and do a 12-step program that probably makes me stay out of a Target store for more than 3 days in a row. Then, he'll make me wander the aisles, cartless, without making a single purchase. I'll break down in tears every time I see someone in a red polo shirt. But, until he stages an intervention, I am off to buy some pool toys. No, we do not own a pool. So what?