CJ & The Clementine

This past week my mom was ill and since she takes care of CJ, usually I'm out of a babysitter when this happens. But last week my sister, Cat, stayed with us and watched him while I went to work. She used to live with us but now she lives back at home because it's closer to school. She attends night classes for dental assisting and works part time Fri- Sun. More on stories of her adventures w/ CJ later. But Friday I had to stay home with him. Not that I mind, at all. :-)
He and I went to a local grocery market before picking up WC from preschool. He sat in the shopping cart that was shaped like a car and had steering wheel. He was fairly quiet the whole time- so I didnt pay as much attention to what he was doing as I should have been. When I got to the checkout counter I discovered in the car with him: two plastic cups, a roll of aluminum foil, a jar of pickles, a bag of marshmallows and in his hand one small orange. I give the cashier these items and tell her that I didnt need those. But he's not giving up the orange. Fine, I will purchase the small orange- it cant cost that much. But she needs the code off the sticker that's on the orange in order to ring it. Between me & two bag boys we finally manage to see the numbers. But a problem- one we cant get it away to weigh it but that becomes a non-issue when the numbers ring up for Clementine at $9.99. Now, i'm not paying $10 for one tiny orange- he'd just have to scream. The cashier calls the manager over to void out the $9.99. And she says that they come in a crate for that much. They dont have the Clementines sold individually. But she's so amused by CJ & his devotion to this small orange that she lets us just have it.
Then in between the grocery and the preschool he manages to poke a hole in the orange with his thumb and squeaze juice out all over himself. Luckily I carry a beach towel in the car and can dry him up- doesnt help the stickiness. He clings tight to his blanket & thumb punctured orange while we go in the preschool. And the story has to be told to several people.
On the way home I'm contemplating what to do once we get there. I dont want him taking in the orange and squeazing the juice out inside the house. But it had been raining and ground outside wet. The decision was made to let them play outside in the wet yard. He carried that Clementine around for the longest but finally placed it on the ground while he picked dandelions. With his back turned I quietly slipped the orange in my jacket pocket. Then ushered them inside and straight to the bathtub.