The bottle said "travel size", but it was a 3.6 ounce bottle, when the airline regulations specifically require the all liquids be kept in three ounce containers. The woman stared intently at the shampoo in her hand, engaged in mental combat as to whether or not the bottle would be acceptable. She eventually declared that three-point-six ounces was not three ounces, and put the bottle back in its crate, continuing her search for a one suitable for travel. Behind her, she could hear her daughters marveling at a Tinkerbell bath kit that they just had to have, as if their little heads would spin off into another dimension if they didn't march it right down to the check-out counter and buy it this instant. So, doing as any mother stressed out from a long shopping trip would -- she tried her best to ignore them and let her husband handle it. However, their continuous begging showed no signs of stopping, and the woman was practically pulling out fistfuls of hair to keep herself from getting so frustrated that she caused a scene in the middle of the store.

She turned around to face her family. First her husband, wearing his ridiculous red hat (that she'd tried sneaking into the garbage on more than one occasion, but somehow always found its way back to the top of his head), and then to her two daughters (who were dressed identically, despite a sharp age difference). She sighed and shook her head. She needed an aspirin, and was seriously considering just popping over to the pharmacy two aisles over and begging until they gave her something. Her family was a circus and she felt like the monkey, sitting there and scratching its head. The star of this circus, was Tinkerbell, who was a master at stealing away the attention from the conundrum of the three ounce bottle. After telling the girls more times than she had breath for that they needed shampoo for the trip more than they needed a Tinkerbell bath kit, her husband took pity on the dejected children, and put the basket in the cart.

Aggravated at her husband's blatant disregard for her authority and her inability to find a three ounce bottle, she gave up on her search. As the ecstatic children practically grew wings and flew the basket to the check-out counter, her husband turned to her with a look of compassion. She smiled softly, as if to justify the decision. They both knew that they had made their children happy, and to them, that is what really mattered. There would be other days to search for a bottle that held exactly three ounces of liquid.

When they got home, the girls looked at their mother with wide eyes and excited smiles, begging her to open the bath kit. They couldn't wait any longer for the Tinkerbell-y surprises that lay waiting inside. Tired from a long day of shopping, the woman obliged. She unwrapped the clear plastic covering on the basket, and pulled out the first of the goodies: a Tinkerbell themed three ounce shampoo bottle.