the underwear drawer

celebration via retail

So the thunderstorm last night turned out to be nothing more than a few scattered drops and some vaguely ominous cloud formations, but nevertheless had the predicted effect of dropping the temperature about 10 degrees, making conditions outdoors compatible with life. Bravo, Mother Nature. Bravo.

To celebrate, Cal and I went to Gymboree in the morning, and in the afternoon, went clothes shopping. That is to say, we went clothes shopping for Cal. I can't even remember the last time I went clothes shopping for myself, though the only thing I seem to buy nowadays are comfy fleece blobs and sad granny cardigans, for the specific purpose of wearing over my scrubs overnight while on call. Since I never wear anything but scrubs to work anyway, and cannot summon the energy on weekends to go beyond the jeans-and-a-t-shirt level of fashion, it seems foolish to go clothes shopping for myself. Unless there's a really, really, REALLY cool t-shirt. Or some new ugly orthotic shoe that I must have because I am a hospital worker, and must look baggy, rumpled, and like I have podiatric problems at all times.

But BABIES, babies are so fun to shop for. For one, there's always a reason to shop. They grow at such a monstrous rate that even if you buy them something new, they outgrow it on the way home from the store. Plus, the seasons change. You can be all set up with a summer wardrobe that fits, and then it starts to get cold and you have NOTHING TO WEAR. And it's not like you can just wear the stuff from last winter either, because, unlike (most of) us, Cal has, like, doubled his weight since last year. Anyway, who wants to be caught in last year's fashion? What will the other babies at the playground think?

Plus, kids clothing is just so darn cute.




I'm not in love with the idea that all little boy's clothing is based on the dual themes of YAY, SPORTS and HOORAY FOR AMERICA, but despite these limitations, you have to admit, it's still pretty cute. Though in the case of the picture above, it's hard to differentiate if it's the clothes that are cute, or the kid himself. Hello, kid! Come home with me! We have cookies and toys and a sippy cup for your milk! Also, your real parents don't love you anymore!

The real conundrum is what size of clothing to buy. If I get him a fall jacket in a size that fits him now, surely it will be too small by the time it is cold enough to wear it. But will he grow fast enough to fit into the next size up? They have little signs that tell you the size by weight, but despite having a reasonably good idea of what Cal weighs (I stepped on the scale with him, and then subtracted my weight--we were supposed to go to the Pediatrician yesterday for a checkup and thus an official height and weight, but ended up having to cancel because of the whole blackout thing) the clothes that are supposed to fit him look HUGE. Like really, ridiculously big. But if I purposely get a size smaller than the size he's supposed to wear--which, by the way, still looks big, but less so--am I just setting myself up to have a bunch of too small sweaters lying around when fall rolls around? Is it possible that he weighs a lot, but is not actually that big, and thus, requires a smaller size than his weight would dictate? Could he be made of lead, or mercury, or some other heavy metal?

I know I could just wait until it actually gets cold before buying the cool weather clothes, and that some of the stuff may even be on sale by then, but I know I will not have time to do it once I start up again with work, whereas I am on vacation now. Which is why I have a shopping bag full of fleece in August.

Currently reading: "Possible Side Effects." Boo. Boooooo.