Review: Skidders

T Junior fell on the entry way about a week before Christmas. I didn't see it.

But I heard it.

SLAP. Skin smacking linoleum. Except he had on his fleece feetie pajamas, so instantly I knew he fell on his face.

The next sound. Silence. Even scarier than crying.

I made it across the room in about 2 seconds. His mouth was open, contorted, but no sound escaped. I sat on the floor cradling my 19-month-old son. Finally, the screaming started.

I rocked him in my lap as Mr. T came running from upstairs. "What happened?"

"He fell." I held my son closer, and kept my voice calm, "Where does it hurt, honey? Where does it hurt? Tell Mommy. Where does it hurt?"

But I could already see the red mark forming on his chipmunk cheek.

We were lucky that day, though. T Junior was fine. It was just the slap of surprise that stung him.

No more feetie pajamas on the linoleum floor.

A week later, we were in California visiting my family. We made a quick shopping trip to nearby Nevada City on Christmas Eve, and a cute kids boutique caught our attention. Inside, we found our solution: Skidders, sock with a rubber and nub sole on the bottom. We got the dino pair.

We use them as slippers now for inside only. (It's ironic that we call them slippers when he doesn't slip in them.) He can wear them over socks or just have his bare feet inside. It doesn't matter. I just feel better when he has them on.

The only thing I don't like is that the sock part can get snagged on the little rubber nubs when T Junior sits with his feet under him. But really I'm fine with that. As long as my kid's safe!

The shoes retail for about $17. But, guess what? I found a cute red and white pair for $7 today at TJ Maxx. So keep your eyes open, people!

Signs

It's called foreshadowing.

So when I heard a sad, "Maaaamaaaa," over the baby monitor at 6:45 a.m., just as I was about to put on my running shoes, I should've known. T Junior typically gets up around 8:30. It was a sign.

I should've planned on getting nothing done right then. But no. I just plowed through the day like everything was normal when it wasn't. The kid took a nap at 9:30 for crying out loud.

We had to go to Target. If we didn't, we'd be out of hand soap and bread -- necessities. Besides, I wanted to get some things to help T Junior. He has a cold and is producing as much slime as those dinosaurs that ate Newman in Jurassic Park.

Before we left for the store, I stuffed my coat pockets with tissues. They definitely came in handy, but I was glad I also had a package of Kleenex in my purse (Wow! I'm actually prepared for something).

It took me a long time to gather all the items I needed to buy because we stopped every 30 seconds (seriously) to wipe T Junior's gushing nose and watering eyes. Garage to check-out line took about an hour and a half.

The cashier bagged $80-worth of Dial, fruit bars, bread, vitamins and the last two boxes of Vicks Plug-In refills as I slid my debit card and punched in my code. I was loading bags into the cart when she said it.

"Your card's declined."

I gasped. "What?"

"Your card was declined."

But she didn't need to tell me twice because I knew why. It's FEBRUARY. My card expired in 01/10. Mr. T has been bugging me to put my new one in my purse, but I didn't. I forgot. I could picture it still tucked in the white bank envelope on my kitchen counter.

Embarrassed, I explained that I would have to give all of the bags back to her as I had no way of paying. I don't carry a credit card, and I didn't notice the checkbook under the dirty baby socks in my purse until I'd calmed down a bit and was huddled safely in my Odyssey. I wanted to cry.

Poor T Junior. I'm so embarrassed. Poor T Junior. What a waste of time. Poor T Junior.

I drove home like that.

But after getting home and having some lunch, I felt better. We felt better. I still needed those things, though, and the thought of having to make a trip to Target during the work week exhausted me. "Let's just get it over with," I said to my living room.

T Junior was a good sport as I buckled him in his carseat again. Off we went.

To a different Target.