Living in Central PA is not all sunshine and rainbows, but we make it work. But I miss the big city conveniences, namely shopping. I miss giant Targets that you can get lost in for hours and emerge with clothes, toys, goods, and food all in one Starbucks fueled shopping trip. I miss the Mall of America so much that I tear up a little when I think about it too much. I miss IKEA, and the luxury of buying a bookcase by driving down the road. I miss restaurants and cute little rows of shops with adorable items for purchase. IKEA is one hour and forty five minutes away. “That’s not far!” you say. You’d think that, but one hour and forty-five minutes with Ally is like an eternity. Thank God for puffs.

On our grand IKEA adventure I knew we’d have only a few hours to get meatballs and all the things on our list. Perusing the aisles and showrooms at a leisurely pace was a thing of the past. I did not plan on a FULL. ALLY. BEAR. MELT. DOWN. We got half way through and BAM meltdown.

Ever tried to exit an IKEA quickly? I mean, people- it’s a fire hazard in there.

We re-set Ally in a grassy area outside and let her wander around a department store for a bit and then returned to the scene of the crime.

We learned to start with meatballs. Always start with meatballs. And always Ergo-baby that baby! I had 2 hours of lugging around a 25 pound child and selecting all the things I needed. Ahhhhh much better. 

While I recognize that my days of leisurely strolling through any store are over, I’m glad that if I need to, I can drive to the store I need. Even though it’s a million puffs away.

We settled on a Besta system, and man, this thing is great. We custom designed our own that fit our needs and it looks great! Now to stick those cords in the wall….

You might ask what was wrong with the old thing. First, it wasn’t wide enough so it looked…odd…with our giant TV (that we soon will make even more giant). Second, no doors protected the cable boxes so Ally liked to push the buttons at extremely inopportune times.

Our new system has doors that she someday will be unable to open. Just as soon as we make our way to Home Depot for some security devices. So far, she’s left it alone.