I just saved myself from a costly mistake and wanted to relate this story to anyone doing any cyber shopping.

I placed an online order with LTD Commodities about 1 week ago. Their prices were good and they had some unusual items. The order total did not include shipping. The site stated that shipping and handling would be added at the time of shipping. I went ahead and processed the order.

Later, when checking the order status, I noticed that several small items were on back order and would be shipped later. I was concerned that I would have to pay shipping twice, so I contacted the company. After waiting on hold for about 12 minutes, I talked to a friendly and polite gentleman, who told me that shipping for each item is figured separately. So, a photo album that I had ordered that cost $6.00 would have a shipping charge of $5.33 and a handling charge of $.40.

Now, the shipping cost is per item that I had ordered. So each individual salt and pepper shaker set, each jewelry set and each candle has a separate shipping and handling charge.

So the S/H would make the cost of each item, that I thought I was getting a good deal on, almost double. Needless to say, I canceled my order. I realized that my “good deal” was not such a good deal.

So, the bottom line is: Check Out The Shipping Cost.

I looked back to ask him about his day and noticed his pants for the first time. They looked very stange. One leg had a long puckered line with frayed edges. The line went from mid-calf to mid-thigh. There was also a line left to right across his knee. It looked kind of stiff like a piece of cardboard was on the underside of the pants.

I asked him what happened to his pants. He said they had a little hole. I said, “A little hole?”. He said that it started out as a little hole and he messed with it and it got bigger. He said that he pulled on it and it got like that. Now at this time his pants were not gapping open. They had been fixed somehow. He said that his grandma (who works at the church where he goes to preschool) fixed his pants. I asked him how. He said, “With Duck Tape.”

Now, I know advertisers for duct tape try to make you believe that duct tape is good for almost everything, but I don’t even think they have thought of using it for clothing repairs.

But soon after, my son came up to my door, and he was crying about his leg and asked me if he could have a Hershey Kiss. I asked him if that would make him feel better. He said, “Yes!”. So I told him that he could have one. Then he asked if he could have 2 Kisses. I said yes. He then asked if he could have 3.

I felt like I was at an auction. He just kept raising up the bid.

Then he explained that his sister had already given him 2 Kisses. So he had to ask for more than 2 or he would not get another one.

Well, he won the bid and got 2 more Kisses.

Well, he acted like he was mortally wounded. He couldn’t walk. He needed the ice pack. He needed to be held. He was crying his eyes out until his sister came up and gave him a Hershey’s Kiss. I think this was her idea of restitution. Then his crying stopped and he looked like the cat that ate the canary.

It is amazing that a Kiss can make a boo-boo all better.

Now this overhang is pretty tall and I am pretty short.  I went back inside the school to get a ladder.  When I came back out someone had parked right in the spot that I needed to place the ladder.  He came out shortly and moved his car and then he came back to help.  He climbed up the ladder and using a long-handled feather duster, tried to get the toboggan down.  By this time, we had drawn a few spectators. The toboggan was in the gutter and it was very hard to get it out.  As he tried to get it out, the big fluffy end of the feather duster came off and was stuck in the gutter also.  Finally, we had to get a coat hanger to remove the toboggan and the feather duster.

But all’s well that ends well.  We have the toboggan back safe and sound.  Now my son will not have to go through the winter with cold ears.

“Yeah, that badger is a raccoon!”

His comment was very politically correct so that neither I (his mom) nor his big brother came off looking bad. This way both of us seemed to be right and no one could be offended.

So maybe he will grow up to be a politician someday, or a used car salesman.

“I like meat.”

It is true that this child does eat more meat than my other kids. He even likes bologna and cheese sandwiches, without the bread. He just sandwiches bologna between two slices of cheese.

The man obviously heard that little voice, because he turned back around to me and said that he would throw in some chicken and fish. I told him no thank you and he left, but my son was disappointed that I didn’t get any meat from the pickup truck, because he likes meat and pickup trucks. Therefore, he thinks that he would really like meat from a pickup truck.

Well, I think that I should just stop answering the door.

So you never know who is watching, sometimes “Big Brother” and sometimes “little brother”.

Just the other day someone came to the door collecting money for some charity.  I was not really interested and I had no cash.  I had just told them that I had no cash and they were turning away with nothing, when I hear a voice behind pipe up with “I have some money.”  My son was apparently trying to be helpful.  So what do you do?  They left my house with a little donation from my son,  who, of course, wanted to be reimbursed for his good deed.

Well, that’s about all I have for today.  Please come back and check out my blog for more unpredictable kids stories.