Who Said Money Doesn't Buy Love?...

I have a hard time not spoiling my child.  I think that it's because she is my only child and she completely rules my world.  Easter is coming up and I am doing my best not to buy her all of Wal-mart, but after her birthday I made a promise that I would never do that again.  Her birthday was the worst for present shopping! It was my child's 4th birthday and the only thing my child wanted was a Sunset Shimmer Pony.  I would ask if she wanted anything else, and she would say "No, I only want Sunset Shimmer." She asked for Sunset Shimmer for months. That was the only thing she asked for, Sunset Shimmer.

Something you should probably know about me is that I am a HUGE procrastinator especially when it comes to birthdays and holidays. I have loved having a toddler because in past years she did not care what she got for her birthday, so I would be able to run to wal-mart and pick up a doll or something at midnight the day before her birthday, and she would be happy (I literally just heard a mom gasping and saying "She is your only daughter! You didn't plan for her 4th birthday immediately after her 3rd birthday?!"....Yeah, yeah, don't judge. I'm new at this).

So now that you know this about me, guess when I started looking for Sunset Shimmer? Yup, I started the day before her birthday (mom of the year right there folks!). This was a mistake because I found out that the pony my child wanted was apparently either the most popular pony in the world, or China didn't even make it because it was no where to be found.

I thought that it would be so easy to find this pony because the My Little Pony movie was so popular and I was certain every store would have it. Boy was I wrong. I first went to Wal-mart because that was an obvious choice. I figured I'd be in and out in 5 minutes, I'd get my daughter's new pony and birthday candles for the cake I was making and be done. I went straight to the My Little Pony section and started my search. I glanced through and did not immediately find it, so I took a closer look. I suddenly started to panic a little because the more I looked the more I could not find it. I looked at all of the location tags and finally found the spot Sunset Shimmer was supposed to be! Phew! So they do make it! But then I noticed that the shelf was empty! Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING! So I started looking behind all of the other ponies to see if one was misplaced. Nothing. Now I start going up an down the isles to see if a child was playing with it and put it somewhere else. Nothing. I started panicking because this was the only toy my child wanted and I was going to let her down.

While I was panicking I realized that I needed to make a choice. This is where the hard part falls upon the parent. As a parent who could not find the present my child wanted, I had to choose either to teach my child tough love and that sometimes she does not get what she asks for,

OR I could over compensate and buy her the entire store of Wal-mart hoping that she forgets what she asked for.

Let's just say I went with the second idea. I looked all over the place for this Sunset Shimmer pony and I could not find anything! Then I thought "What about Wal-greens?! They always have the things I need when Wal-Mart doesn't have them" So I went to Wal-greens. Nothing. Not a single Sunset Shimmer.

My anxiety increased and I went to back to Wal-mart, back to Wal-greens, Wal-mart in other cities, Smiths, even Best Buy. At every store my guilt and anxiety kept increasing. I didn't want to deprive my child of what she wanted because I  procrastinated. I love my child more than anything in the world so I had to get her that stupid pony. As I looked down every isle in each of these stores, I was like a predator on the loose and I was going to eat anyone who got in my way. I AM MOM HEAR ME RAWR!!! 

As I went down every isle in every store, I could not find this pony. I was devistated, how could I let down my only daughter?! She only wanted one thing. ONE THING! And I failed! So to compensate for my guilt I bought a new toy from every store and practically every isle I went down. I bought her: 2 mystery ponies (the ones that are in a bag but you don't know what you're getting. I got this in hopes that one was a sunset shimmer....they were not), a flying fairy, a movie, 2 games, 7 puzzles, a princess toy shelf with princess toy boxes, a ton of candy, a stuffed animal, a barbie, a ball, and some more things that she honestly did not need. Chris saw all of these things and was just flabbergasted, but when he saw how distraught I was, he understood that I was going crazy. 

I searched all night until all of the stores closed and I could no longer keep my eyes open. The day of my child's birth came, and still no pony. I was making her birthday cake, and I suddenly remembered that I forgot about the candles (another mom of the year moment)! What is a birthday cake without candles?! So I ran to the store and I grabbed the candles and then on a gut instinct I wandered over to the toy section and you would not believe it. Standing all alone in on it's own perfectly lit tiny shelf was a freaking Sunset Shimmer pony!

It was like the heavens opened and God poured his love on me at that very moment (this might sound sacrilegious, but I was honestly feeling this blessed over a toy) Right then and there I grabbed the toy and hugged it shouting "Thank you! Thank you so much!!!" I did not see the man standing next to me, but when I turned around I noticed that he had a look in his eye that said he was considering calling the crazy people to come and take me away in a straight jacket. All I said was "I'm just super excited!" and off I ran to the register. I raced home as fast as I could and nearly barreled through my front door I was so excited! I finally found it! Luckily we didn't give Kiara her presents yet so I just threw it in the present bag and I hurriedly rushed it to Kiara. 

I was so excited and I could not wait to see Kiara's reaction. I knew that she was going to hug that pony and jump for pure joy. Even before she unwrapped her present I could hear her audible screams of happiness. I was literally shaking with excitement at this point. 

Kiara had the bag and started pulling out all of her new toys. She pulled out the fairy, and was happy. She pulled out the movie and was thrilled. She pulled out the barbie and was super excited! Finally, with my heart racing, she grabbed Sunset Shimmer and pulled it out, and tossed it to the side as she grabbed back into the bag and pulled out the puzzles and jumped for joy. 

This wasn't even close to my reaction

Right then and there my insides died. Everything seemed to crumble around me. I think a tear rolled down my face at that moment. I grabbed the pony and I handed it to Kiara and in a tearful voice said "Aren't you excited that you got Sunset Shimmer?" Kiara took it out of my hands and right then I thought she was going to be like "Yes, mother! I love that you went through so much just to find me this wonderful pony that I will cherish for the rest of my life!" But instead she just said "Yes" and put it off to the side again to inspect the puzzles she originally pulled out of the bag. 

Well I felt like a fool. So right then and there I decided that I would never do that again. Then Easter came. I actually did my shopping yesterday and Easter is still another 2 days away so I'm getting better at this procrastination thing :) But all my child wants is a basket full of candy and eggs. You would have been proud of me. I spent over an hour in Wal-mart and started with a million things, but I only left the store with 3 different boxes of Cadburry Eggs (I never had one but Chris swears by them) a HUGE egg filled with M&M's and Skittles, a stuffed animal, Frozen chapstick and mirror, Whopper Robin Eggs, and a big bag of War head jelly beans. Yeah...I can't help it, she's my only daughter, it's a mommy sickness that I hope never leaves. But if she grows up a spoiled brat then I will take full responsibility by blaming Chris ;)  It's okay because I figure the more candy she has, the more I can steal without her noticing....see perfect plan right there! ;)