Back to school shopping, this shit sucks

So my son is going to kindergarten. And of course, he has grown like a good 6 inches since last fall. His pants look like high water pants, which could be a good thing because of the whole hurricane thing, but for fashion's sake, not so much. He's already going to be the minority in his school as it is, so let's at least have some pants that fit right? Once I kissed Livi good bye, and convinced her that I would indeed come back, I loaded Cole up into the car. First stop was the 7-11 to hit up the ATM because my "awesome" bank has like zero ATM's and you can use the ones there with no charge. Hey, I'm cheap, so what? Those surcharges are outrageous! One can not go into 7-11 and not get a refreshing beverage, so of course I have to get Cole one. Drinks in hand, we were off to the mall.
Shopping with a man is bad enough. Shopping with a 5 year old, now that's something totally different. The first store was actually ok. He was into it, helping me pick out the clothes. Of course he was excited, they had Stars Wars shirts, his new obsession. (He gets that geek side from his father, we all know that.) Almost $100  later, we are on to the next store, with what's starting out to be a pretty bitchin' wardrobe. Okay, okay this wardrobe was heavily influenced by me. He's 5, he knows nothing of fashion and if I let him pick it out, everything would have something to do with Star Wars and I refuse to let him be "that" kid!!
On the way to the next store, I wanted to check out this neat little store that had an eclectic collection of clothes, jewelry and bags. I suppose my first mistake was thinking it wasn't all about him. What ever was I thinking? He was a little grumpy that there were no toys, no cool boy stuff for him. After about, lets say 30 seconds, he started to express his dislike for this store in a typical boy way. 'There's no cool stuff here, it's boring, waahh wahh'. But for the most part we made it through the whole experience unscathed. On to the next store. This store was not as exciting for Cole, but we were still shopping for him and they had a tv in the back so he was down! I was left to pick out the majority of the clothes in peace while he chilled and watched cartoons. Whatever, sometimes it's just easier that way.
Apparently, I didn't learn my lesson with that first store I wanted to look at, and I attempted to look at a shoe store. This is when all hell broke loose. He grabbed the wall and was like 'I'm not going in there! NOOOOO!!! Don't make me do it!' I mean, like I was walking him down death row. It's just a few pairs of heels. Mommy can't always wear flip-flops. So now it's a power struggle. If I cave and don't go into the store, then he's won. If I drag him in the store, then I run the risk of a) embarrassment and b) that he'll knock down a display of ridiculously expensive shoes that I'd only be able to afford if I didn't feed myself or my children for two weeks. Hey, some of those shoes are totally worth it. Just saying.
So what to do? Well, of course I dragged his little ass right into that store. Other people be damned. I am the parent. I made sure to keep his arms close to him while we were in there though. I didn't even look at those delicious shoes. I pulled him to the back of the store, ignoring those evil looks, and then calmly walked back out. Point proven. Now it was time to buy him some shoes, but payless always has great sales and that whole BOGO thing and I'm not about to pay 67 dollars for shoes that he's going to wear for maybe six months. That of course meant leaving the mall, which in his fantic "I'm looking at girly things and it's going to kill me" state, he thought that leaving meant he was going to be in trouble. The fit that ensued was just plain bananas. The yelling and pulling of my arm was just out of hand. I feel like I need to explain that Cole is about the same size (if not bigger) as a 2nd grader. People are looking at me with all kinds of evil and hateful looks. Like they have never seen a temper tantrum. I mean, come on. It happens. Why do people always react like that? Like it's not embarrassing enough to have a child have a break down, but now you've got judging eyes all over you. What am I suppose to do? Give in and give him everything his little heart desires? Excuse my language, but Fuck that, with a capital F. That is the reason so many teenagers today have the terrible attitudes they have. No respect for authority. I will do everything in my power to make sure that's not my kids.
The entire car ride home, because the good Lord knows I wasn't about to bring him into another store, I learned my lesson, was him screaming about how he didn't want to go home. Like I would really bring him anywhere while he was acting like that. I thought that maybe he would tire himself out in the 20 minute ride home, but oh no. I underestimated him. I think the volume actually increased. That shit was crazy. I couldn't get home fast enough.
After getting him home, and spanking his little behind, I of course came downstairs and felt like a total failure. Why? I mean, it was what needed to happen. That behavior is not ok, but I began to let on the guilt about how is it that my child couldn't even behave in the mall? What have I done wrong? What I really want to know is, why is that the first place my head went? That it's all my fault? He's going through a lot right now, and he doesn't know how to express his frustration, his anger and well, he just had a bad day. Couldn't that be it? Why does it have to be this big long reason that is ultimately my fault? I need to give myself a little slack.

So now it's your turn. Was there one time your child lost their minds in public that you totally blame yourself for?