Only bad moms let their babies drink lattes...

I love coffee.
It helps me relax.  I easily convince myself that it's a treat when I'm trying to diet.  Drinking a cup of coffee feels luxurious to me, especially in the afternoon.

I love Target.   
Some people return to the US (after living overseas) and are overwhelmed by the choices at American stores.  They're used to having only 2 cereal choices, so having 35 choices (along with a bit of culture shock) might upset them.  That's not me.  Bring on the choices!  I'll walk up and down the aisle, over and over, while smiling like a goon.  Target gives me lots of choices, along with a relatively clean environment and red decor.  I like that.

The merging of Starbucks and Target is pure genius.
Although I rarely buy anything at Starbucks (it's so expensive), I still think Starbucks at Target is awesome.  I like to know that I could buy something, even if I never actually follow through on it.

Pure genius is expensive. 
We've been back in the USA for about 2 months now and although I had been to Target more than once (and by 'once,' I mean a number closer to fifty), I had yet to purchase a Starbucks coffee during my shopping excursion.  That is, until two days ago.  We moved into our new home three days ago.  We have to buy everything for starting a new life in the USA and a coffee maker had not yet made it into our home. 

Starbucks+Target+young kids=not pure genius
As I entered Target with my two kids that day, my caffeine headache convinced me that purchasing a $4 iced latte was a good idea.  What I did not factor in were the two leeches in my cart.  I had forgotten their water cups in the car, so I was especially vulnerable to their cries of thirst.  Trey, with his sad eyes and insistent use of sign language.  Cosi, with her clenched fists of happiness, hands reached out to partake of my drink.

I am weak.
Any other mother might have firmly stated, "This is a mommy drink.  You can have your water as soon as we return to the car."  I didn't think of that.  Instead, I decided to give them each one quick sip of a fully caffeinated iced latte.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, except my kids aren't sippers.  As soon as their greedy little hands got a hold of my latte, they started sucking like they hadn't had a drink for days.  I tried to carefully pry the cup out of their hands, but those plastic cups are tricky and I didn't want it to bust open all over the cart.  By the time I got the latte back, I had one sip and a cup full of ice.

Caffeinated kids+shopping at Target=lousy
My kids are hard to shop with sans coffee, but add coffee in the mix and it's pretty close to a miserable experience.  Somehow they don't see the importance in mommy buying the correct extension cord.

Lesson learned=save money and make coffee at home
I bought a coffee maker the next day.  I have a child gate on my kitchen entrance.  I can hide in my kitchen and drink my coffee in relative peace.  It's a good life :)