wfmw - leverage (and zombies!)

I had to return the honey extractor this morning and since I was already making the drive I decided to make a shop hop of it. There were three shops I wanted to visit - two that I'd been to years ago, and one that came highly recommended.

The shop I hadn't been to before was a disappointment, especially since they'd moved and I was looking for them on the wrong end of town. It wasn't worth driving back across town to find them. I don't know if the shop was more impressive at their old location, or if the person who told me I should stop there saw something I didn't.

I hadn't been to Mindy's Needlepoint Factory since the days when I only had two kids. She'd moved, too, but just to another shop in the same block. That shop is like an Aladdin's cave of colorful threads and buttons -- and she doesn't scowl at you for bringing children along. (We did have one terrifying moment when a wall of flosses beside my oldest son moved. Turns out it was a door and the employee coming through it felt really bad for bumping my child. We were just relieved that it was her and not him who made the wall open up!)

And Something to Crow About was even better than I remembered. Shop samples on every available surface, and I think I wanted to make them all.

So, how do I shop hop with four kids? Bribery. Teenage Daughter had already asked if we could stop at Voodoo Donut, since we were going to be in the right city. The boys wanted cherry filled donuts shaped like voodoo dolls -- and they also wanted to stop at the Living Dead store to look at the zombie stuff.

If they behave themselves while I do what I want (or need) to get done, I'll go out of my way to do something special they want to do.

Today, it was looking for zombies.