Bargain Shopping

I had a $50 gift card and a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $50 or more from a popular department store and so, over the weekend, I ventured out to the mall without my children because my options on that fateful afternoon were to either leave home for a few hours by myself or go insane, completely and irreversibly. I think I chose the better option. :)

Pleased with my "free" purchases, I came home with a pair of jeans for Dylan, a 3 pack of boys' size 8 briefs (his 4T's just weren't fitting any more...hmmmm, wonder why?), a pair of slippers for Caitlyn, new socks for Meghan, and a new pair of jeans for myself. (Two sizes smaller than the ones I wore to the mall! Yay me!) Altogether, the total sum came to $53, which, after subtracting the $10 discount, left me $7 remaining on the gift card. Not bad!

While my upbeat mood was still prime for shopping, I thought I'd try my luck at the Goodwill store near my mom's house. I brought her along with me to help counteract the intense feelings of guilt I experienced at leaving my poor neglected children at home with their Daddy all afternoon. :)

We could not believe our great finds! After much searching (basically through every rack in the children's area) we had a cart loaded with the most adorable outfits. I was actually a little nervous as we finally made our way to the checkout counter, because I hadn't been paying any attention at all to how much I might be spending. I needn't have worried: the grand total for my purchases came to a mere $59! Unlike the department store earlier, however, at which I had purchased five items for nearly the same amount of money, included in this amount were...

Are you ready for this?

...eight skirts, one dress, and five shirts for Caitlyn; four shirts and one skirt for Meghan; one darling pair of corduroy pants for Kristen; one pair of dress slacks and a hoodie for Dylan; one shirt for Darren; and 2 children's books!

And, as a side note: these clothes are really cute! I was so appalled at the limited (very limited) selection of "cute" girl clothes available at the mall. Disgusted, really, was more like what I felt at the inappropriate clothing brazenly displayed in the little girls' department. What ever happened to modesty? I was watching Molly: An American Girl on the Homefront with my girls on the night before my shopping excursion and we just fell in love with the beautiful, feminine clothing worn by the graceful heroine. Even I was inspired to find more dignified apparel! How lovely were the ladies of the 1940's!

And how lovely is my Caitlyn Grace, proudly modeling one of her beautiful new outfits. Would you ever guess her favorite color is pink? :)