Chiq Boutique

Check Out My Latest Whatchamacallit

What do you think is it?   You might think — probably it’s one of those high tech gadgets.

While some might go on and on about how cool their ipods, iphones, or imacs are,  the thing that I really want to sing my praises to is not that sophisticated.  I just love it so much and use it all the time.  It’s a large, blue, flexible, plastic container that I got for five dollars at Target.  How homey and unexciting! (Yes, I suppose I need to go out more.)

Whenever I grip its two handles,  I feel at peace with myself. (You might say –What a load of crap!)  I know I sound pathetic, but it’s true.  In my mind I have this unspoken thought –I’m glad I bought this thing. It’s money well-spent.  I use it as a laundry basket.  And I never leave it unattended at the public  laundry room of our apartment.  It’s the best looking laundry basket that I’ve seen so far. Someone might steal it. My husband tells me in exasperation, “Who’s going to steal a laundry basket?!” You never know.

I use it as a bathtub for my two year old little girl.    She likes to splash and play with bubbles.  Now she can do it without having to use  the regular tub that needs too much water. 

It was an ice bucket for cold drinks when my son had a birthday party.

When I’m not using it, my children pile their toys in it and take it whereever they want to play.

Sometimes it’s a basket for carrying groceries out of the car to our apartment in the fourth floor.

It can be a train.  My baby would take my hand and  say,  ”Mami, too too.”  It means that she wants to play Choo choo train.  I put her inside and pull the thing around the living room while singing “All aboard the choo choo train. All aboard. All aboard.”

It’s also a boat. Baby girl points to it and say, “Mami, Meemoe.”  In she goes again while I get down on my tummy and start swimming on the floor.  I become a shark who wants to eat her up. (She calls all big fishes Meemoe, after Nemo the cartoon character.)

When baby’s being a bug and I want to make her disappear,  I turn it upside down and put it over her head. She transforms into a hermit crab and goes around the room saying, “Mami, whey aah you? Whey aah you, mami?” (Mommy, where are you? Where are you, mommy?)

Come June 17 our landlord will fix the waterpipes. There’ll be no water for a week from 9AM-5PM.  This fills me with dread.  We used to get into loud shouting matches with our previous landlord over unannounced water service interruptions.  It wouldn’t be so bad if my husband doesn’t need a ton of water to take a bath.  I need to prepare for this one. I need containers for storing water.  Wait, I already have one.