Yes, yes, I did it. I woke at 5:07 am after a refreshing 4-1/2 hours of sleep (punctuated by the cries and subsequent wriggling of one golden-haired toddler). I hit the start button on my coffee maker, dressed in the kitchen, and grabbed my keys and travel mug of joe. I was seconds from making my escape when Dex came downstairs with a sobbing, inconsolable girl.

That is how I made my first foray into the wilds of Black Friday with a toddler on my hip.

We arrived at Target just before 6 am. Seeing the full parking lot, I took the first spot I saw, a fair distance from the store. Jules and I hoofed it through the parking lots in the cold wind. The sky was just beginning to show streaks of red and purple as we came up to Target - and saw the long, long, looooong line wrapping around the building.

Ah! But the line was moving and rather swiftly. After a moment of wondering what the hell I was doing in a cold parking lot at dawn, we joined the line and were soon within the hallowed red aisles of Tarzjay. We bypassed the mob at the carts and dashed to the back of the store where, in a stroke of genius, the electronics section is situated next to the toy section. The main aisle was clogged and at a standstill. I snuck around through the DVDs and managed to find the DVD player for Dex. I picked up two more things then decided to head back to the front of the store for a cart.

Yeah. It was a nice idea.

Five minutes and ten feet later, I spied an empty cart sans owner. I asked the people nearby if it belonged to anyone. Nope? Great! In plopped my stuff and Jules and off we went to peruse the rest of the sale.

I was surprised that it all went as smoothly as it did. I got everything I wanted. I even managed to nip into Best Buy and scooped up a little something for someone that I thought for sure would be sold out.

Jules was a trooper. Toward the end, she nuzzled against me and kept murmering, “I tired. Mommy too?” And I would reply, “Yes, mommy is tired too.” I think repeating that to each other was the only thing that kept us awake in the checkout line at Best Buy.

It’s 2:13 pm now. The girls are sound asleep. Time for me to catch up on my sleep.