Friday, February 29, 2008

Girl's Night Out

My kids are constantly asking for "dates". This is a time alone and out of the house with mom or dad. They each keep a record of the books they read. When they complete 25 books they get a date. But sometimes they just need a break and some time to relax. This is especially true for my older girls whose days are consumed with school work and helping at home. Sometimes, they just want to have an uninterrupted conversation. I can respect that.

This past week I sensed a real need for the two oldest to have a date. They are getting to the age where shopping is fun and they were in need of a few things to finish off the winter. I dug through my stash and found nothing.

I had a Khol's gift card that I had been holding on to for some time and decided to take Hannah shopping. We had the best time thumbing through the winter clearance. I loved hearing her opinions on the clothes and having my own personal fashion show. I wasn't spending any money and felt able to relax a bit. It was so much more rewarding then going shopping for myself!

A few days later Lydia and I went out. First we went to Goodwill to look around. She's an artist and a treasure hunter so Goodwill suits her just fine. We found two adorable dresses and two brand new pairs of shoes just her size. All of this for under $15!!
The Target in our town is across the street from the Goodwill. All the clearance that doesn't sell is donated to Goodwill. Brand new shoes for $3.99!! Then we headed on over to the pet store and spent an hour holding and petting the puppies and examining the beautiful fish. She wants to be a vet someday.

I love knowing them. I love making them smile. I love being their mom. I love teaching my girls that there's a lot of fun to be had without spending a lot of money.

7 comments:

Heather L. said...

What fun! I'm glad some nice things were found!

jennie said...

I can't wait until my girls are old enough to shop with me. Some of my fondest memories growing up are when my mom and sisters went shopping down at the outlet mall. So Fun. I want to be just like you when my girls grow up. :)

mindi said...

What a fantastic idea . . .
I'm going to try to steal my oldest away for an hour or so tomorrow to take photos, just the two of us. Walking around downtown, and just having fun. We'll see how it goes :)

Unknown said...

I think this is a great idea. I only have one child right now, but when I have more I'd like to spend special time with each of them.

S.B.
http://bethriftylikeus.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

Hey, are there any of those shoes left? I'll go today if there are! Loved this post...your girls ARE so sweet. Baylee told me about the blood you made yesterday. I'm so glad you're doing that, especially because I am such NOT a science/hands-on person when it comes to school.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I came to this blog from your food blog and enjoyed browsing!
:)Nice to "meet" you!
Kat

Sarah said...

Sounds like fun.

I'm so happy to hear that your Target donates unsold merchandise. I returned a pair of shoes yesterday and was informed that they would be thrown away b/c they were out of season. When I asked why they don't donate, I got a shrug and told "They throw everything away. You should take a look in the dumpster."

It bothered me so much that I went home and did a little research. It seems that the majority of retailers (Including CVS) just toss stuff as they can write it off for a higher $ amount than if they donated it or sold it to a salvage company.

I'm thinking about doing some dumpster diving & donating...just have to figure out if I could go to jail if I got caught...