Registering and Baby Shower

I forgot to mention in my last blog that I have now registered for all of my baby shower gifts. My mom and I went last Tuesday to Toys R Us for our first stop. I had previously done A LOT of research comparing items and prices at the local stores. I had read reviews on everything and tried to make a list of each store I wanted to register at and which items to pick or not pick. At first, I wasn't sure about Toys R Us. I had only been there a few times to pick out presents for my little cousins, and although I remembered there being baby clothes, I wasn't sure what else there was. In addition to that, I knew that Babies R Us existed, but we don't have a separate Babies R Us store anywhere near here. So, I browsed Toys R Us first just to see what they had and I was quite impressed!

They not only had a cute selection of baby boy clothes, but they also had all of the wipes, diapers, and toiletries, along with cribs and strollers and bottles and bouncers. They had everything you could imagine, and a much larger selection than most other stores around here. So, we went to the customer service counter to get signed up for the registry. The girl there was very informative and helpful. She gave me a booklet that had a complete list of recommended items to register for along with instructions for registering if I needed them. The process was quick and easy and she showed me how to use the scanner and sent me on my way. We found all that we wanted and more and left happily. I still wanted to go to Target and WalMart (the only two other places that are reasonable to register at in my town), but it didn't really work out to go that night.

Two nights later, I wanted to make some more headway on registering, and this time my mom wasn't available but Jesse was. The reason I hadn't gone with him the first time was because I knew he wouldn't be so into it. My mom gets excited about all of the little items and cute outfits, while Jesse seems bored and just wants to go. I had already talked to him about it before and he said that he does want our baby to have nice things, but he trusts me to pick them out. In addition to that, he has no clue what most things are even for or what we would need, whereas I've had more experience dealing with babies. This night, however, he was home and my mom wasn't, so he agreed to go with me to Target. I'm glad that I got to experience it with him once (aside from when we registered for our wedding), but all-in-all he seemed more eager to go and that made me feel rushed. In truth, he was just REALLY hungry, which I understood, but it did take away from the experience a bit. Yet, the customer service staff was overall helpful, and they said that they normally give gift bags to registrants, but were all out. These gift bags have diapers and wipes and other sample items in them, which I think is pretty cool. They said that I could check in the next time I was in the store and could get a bag then. The only problem I've ever had with Target is that their selection changes so frequently that items you register for often go out of stock. Furthermore, it's simply just harder to find what you are looking for. But it's not so bad that I wouldn't go there. And, on an extra good note, both of these stores gave me little cards to insert in my invitations with my registry information on them.

Finally, last Saturday my mom and I decided to tackle the last store and get the final things on my list. We were already pretty tired from a whole day of previous shopping and WalMart isn't the easiest store to get in and out of with the parking and store layout (everything you want being in the very back of the store). We walked up to the customer service counter, though, and asked to register. They told us that they no longer did it in that department and sent me to the electronics department (way at the back of the store, of course). When I got there, the girl was expecting me (since she had already been called when they verified where I should go to register). So, she set me up on the computer where I filled out all of my information. As soon as I was done, she started looking around for the handheld scanner for me to peruse the store with. She couldn't find it and was unsure where it would be since the department change was a fairly new one. So, she called another department and asked them if they still had the scanners. They didn't, so she asked another employee who had walked up in the meanwhile. He didn't have a clue either. Then another employee walks up and she asks her. This woman didn't know either, so she gets on the phone and calls around. Still no answer. She thought that the registering may have to be done online now, but thought that perhaps another store might have the scanners that we can use, so she calls them to find out. This would mean another 20 minute drive to register in the next town, which we had already come from, but if it worked then it worked. However, they said they didn't have any scanners either. Finally, a last employee walks up and they ask her. She immediately responds that all registering is now done online. I had already been on all of the websites so I understood that you could sign up and even edit your register from there, but I didn't understand how a store would NOT all you to scan the item directly off of the shelf. How would I know that the item online was what I really wanted or not, or if it would even be in the store when someone came to buy it for me? She told me that I could narrow the selection online to be "in store only," but this didn't answer the question of items that were listed as "availability may vary between store locations". I walked away completely dismayed. The concept of registering online, but NOT being allowed to register in that same store was absolutely stupid to me, especially coming from such a HUGE corporation like WalMart. However, in a last-ditch effort, my mom and I walked back to the baby department with our list of items that I was prepared to register for. At this point, I just wanted to make sure they were realy in the store and really what I wanted. Then I would go back online and add them if needed be.

I had been really careful to double-check everything on my list and make sure that all of the items were listed as available in the store. However, out of the first 10 things on my list, only 1 was really in the store. In fact, as I continued to go down the list, only a couple were really in the store, and even one item that I had looked for online that was listed as "online only" was sitting right before me on the shelf! I was so annoyed. How could I possibly register for anything from WalMart online knowing that the mass majority of things on my list would be impossible to find. Being that WalMart is also the closest of the three stores to my church and home, I figured that it'd be the first place that most people would go. If they got there and couldn't find anything, they'd likely either buy me something that wasn't on my list or just give up. And, in all honesty, most people don't buy items online or even days or weeks before your shower. Instead, they go about an hour before the party starts and pick up whatever they can find easily. I didn't want to put something on my list there and miss out on getting it completely because it wasn't able to be found. So, even though most of the items would be a few dollars more (or maybe even not be found there at all) at other stores, I decided to just go back online and add the last items to my registries at Target and Toys R Us.

After getting home, I happened to read an email that I get from a pregnancy site. This particular one is updates on forums that people post in on different topics and I saw that someone was talking about registering for gifts. In the responses, most everyone agreed that Toys R Us was absolutely awesome with their support and easy of use, and someone even mentioned that WalMart was no longer doing their in-store registry. This person happened to live in Florida 3,000 miles away from me. So i'm assuming it's a brand new nation-wide change. And, have I mentioned that it's a stupid change?! Lol. Stinkin' store!

So, if you are getting ready to register for your gifts (or for those of you who will be in the upcoming months) hopefully my experience will help you.

And, as a last note, since all of this was leading up to my upcoming baby shower, I don't think I've mentioned what my plans are for the party. My mom is putting everything together, but since we've thrown SO MANY parties for other people before (and since we both have a lot of creative talent), she told me just to let her know what i want and she'll do it. So, I've decided on a "Frogs, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails" theme. That's what little boys are made of, according to the old nursery rhyme. (Although other variations say "snakes, snails..." or "snips and snails...") I want to have a backyard BBQ/summer picnic style kind of shower. I am hoping to have it at my house in my backyard if it's complete by then. We're working really hard to get a patio, fence, and grass put in, but it may not be done in 5 weeks. It'd be nice, though, because not many people have seen my new house even though we bought it a year ago, and I'll have the nursery all finished by then which would be cool for people to see. If I can't have it there, then I'll opt for my aunt's backyard, which has a beautiful garden and covered deck. I'm hoping to do either a BBQ or serve ice cream sundaes. And, instead of a traditional cake, I want a dirt cake. For those who don't know, this can be served in any kind of container (although I'll probably get a big pail). You crush up Oreos, and i think there's cream cheese and some other stuff. And then you bury gummy worms all throughout it.

And the invitations and party favors will be in the frogs, snails, and puppy theme. I've already drawn up a design for the invitation, but it's not quite done yet. I'll post a picture when I can.

Finally, my mom and I found some bright teal and lime green and white paper lanterns which can be hung around the covered patio, and we also saw some candles in painted pails which can be used for centerpieces. I have lots of cool ideas for other centerpieces where you make flowers out of baby socks or ice cream sundaes out of washcloths or onesies.

And, I've found some really sweet poems about why God made and loves little boys. I'm not sure which one I'll use in either the favors or invites, but here is one example:

God made the world out of His dreams,

Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,

Prairies and plains and wooded land,

Then paused and thought, "I need someone to stand

On top of mountains, to conquer the seas,

Explore the plains and climb the trees.

Someone to start out small and to grow,

Sturdy, strong as a tree..." And so,

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,

To explore and conquer, to romp and run.

With dirty faces and banged up chins,

With courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He'd begun

He surely said, "A job well done."

(Author unknown)