A birthday party at Build-A-Bear in the mall today.

I don't go to the mall very often, maybe twice a year.

But I got the day of the party wrong, so we went yesterday and again today. If I remember, I'll blog about how pregnancy erases my short-term memory, disrupts my organization skills and short-circuits my decision making. Last week was a particularly disastrous week for me in all three of those crucial areas. And I'll go into details just as soon as I get over the strong emotions associated with those catastrophes.

Since I went to the mall at the end of July to get my iPod repaired and in March to restock my Chanel perfume supply, I'm running over my annual average. But, at least yesterday I replaced my make-up, so I won't need to make a trip for that. I replace my make-up on an annual basis, even though it's recommended to replace it every three months. I don't use it often enough to justify that. Actually, I keep my make-up in the car, so my lipstick melted, uh, completely in the final throes of summer.

I buy only three items: mascara, eye and lip color. I jotted down the shades but the counter girl had only the lip color in stock. The eye color was discontinued and she was out of the mascara. So, I opted for a similar eye color which I don't think is blue enough. The mascara is probably ok but might be too dark. Obviously, I haven't tried anything on yet to know for sure.

Jeff goes to the mall even less than I do. But he went a couple of weekends ago to have the geniuses at the Apple store replace the power supply in my iMac G5, a known problem which did manifest itself.

I brought Tim along to the party too with the intention of paying for him myself. He's never been to Build-A-Bear. Kenny's been once. Neither of them are very familiar with the mall, as you might expect. 'Though Kenny was with me yesterday and had gone with his father weeks before when my desktop was repaired.

A few parents were quick to excuse themselves after dropping off their children at the party. One mother said to me, trying to sound conscientious, "Gee, I'm not comfortable leaving him here but I really want to slip out and do some shopping." From the looks of her, I didn't get the impression that squeezing a shopping trip into her regular routine was much of a challenge. Another mother said, "I'm going out to get a drink," implying that I should watch her daughter while she dashed out to knock back a double mocha something-or-other. Of course, the kids were safe; some parents had stationed themselves at the front entrance of the store to make sure that no one wandered out. But, don't you want to watch your children enjoy themselves at a party? I guess the thrill of my kids hasn't worn off on me yet.

Tim enjoyed the process of putting together a stuffed bear, especially the fluffing part. Outfits weren't part of the party, to my surprise, so I treated my kids to something. Tim picked Buzz Lightyear without hesitation. He was that for Halloween. To complement, Kenny chose Woody. And I included the cowboy boots too.

You probably know how expensive the place is. The boots were $7, the outfits were $15 a piece and the bear was $14. Actually, at the outlets, I can get a couple of kids' outfits for $15 when they are on sale. And unlike human clothes in NJ, these novelties incurred state sales tax.

There's no food at Build-A-Bear, so we met in the food court near the carousel for cake. And we had free rides until 4pm. I was tempted to take them to the Disney store to browse but I didn't. Yesterday, Kenny and I walked right past it and he pointed out to me the merchandise on a thoroughfare vendor's cart positioned right in front of the Disney store but failed to notice the Disney store itself. I suppose I want to keep it that way for as long as possible.

Tim is much more brand-conscious than Kenny, probably because he started watching TV at an earlier age. Still, I was taken aback when a party-goer said to me, "Like my boots? They're uggs." Now, I do know what uggs are. Don't ask how because I can't say with certainty. It's possible that I've seen them in a catalog because we receive some high-end catalogs at home, don't know why, and I flip through occasionally while sitting with my kids as they do their daily homework.

Read our first experience at Build-A-Bear in this post.