For all my whining (or whinging, as the Aussies would say) regarding Walmart, I actually found exactly what I was looking for in a dress for Grace. There was even a selection of more-than-acceptable dresses in toddler sizes.

All hail Walmart!!

You wouldn't think Walmart would outdo Penney's, let alone Macy's, but there you have it. I bought Grace two dresses, roughly the same style. Both were regular cotton (not cotton knit), which means I will have to yank them out of the dryer as soon as it finishes, but I can handle that. One is navy blue with a white sunflower print all over it, and has a dropped waist and a ruffled skirt. The other is white with small red flowers all over it and has an empire waist and a ruffled hem. Both are sort of bandanna-print, if you know what I mean. However, neither came with bloomers since they're for toddlers, but I can easily find coordinating shorts or bloomers to stick underneath.

There were also two other styles I wouldn't have objected to. One was a faux two-piece outfit, a dress with a matching shrug, only it was all one piece. That one was sort of a Valentine's Day theme, which was my only objection to it. The other dress they had was a polo-shirt style with a pleated skirt, but it had Care Bears on it, and I try to stay away from character clothing, unless the price is right.

So now Grace has dresses, and I feel much better about life. I wasn't all that worried, mind you, but I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of going online to get some dresses for her. The cheapest I found nice dresses were at Children's Place for $15 each, which is sort of pricey for something she doesn't HAVE to have. Then of course, you've got to pay shipping, and most of the time I have to pay Washington state sales tax also. It gets pricey.

Here's something y'all may find amusing, although I certainly do not....

A couple days ago, I was sitting on the couch, stitching and watching tv, when the doorbell rang. I was surprised by it because it's so rare that someone comes to the door. I opened it to find a black guy in his 40s, possibly 50s, which immediately tipped him off as a salesman because we don't have many black people in our neighborhood. It's a shame -- this whole area is fairly segregated. Oh well.

So this guy looks at me as I open the door and says, "Hi! Is your mom or dad home??"

I'm pretty sure I glared at him as I replied, "I am the adult."

Now y'all who are older are probably saying, "Oooo I would love for someone to think I was young!!" Being mistaken for say, 30, when you're really 40 or 50 would be nice. Being mistaken for a child who still lives with her parents is not nice. I will be 28 in just a couple of weeks; it's not fun to look like I'm 15.

I get stares sometimes when I'm out and about because people assume I'm an unwed teenaged mother.

Even my new friend AS was surprised to find out that I'm actually three years older than her.

I think it's my baby face. My cheekbones never did emerge like they do on most women. I always wanted to know why I look so young and what I can do to look at least closer to my age. I just think I have a young face.

The nice thing is it will take me a long while to age. My father is almost 61 and I wouldn't guess him to be more than 45 or so if I didn't know him. Well, now he has this beard that's completely white, so that gives him away, but he's been white-haired since his late 20s. When he's clean-shaven, he looks like he's in his 40s.

I wouldn't mind looking so young if people took me seriously. I am an adult; I am a wife and mother. As long as people treat me as such, and not as a child, then I don't care how young I look.