Back To School Shopping

Lately I feel like my kids are constantly "wanting" something.  If we go to a store, I must hear a bazillion times . . . "Can I have . . . "  or "Oooh, I want . . ."  I'm sick of it!  I constantly respond "NO!" Or "Sure, use your own money."  And while they never use their money to buy the junk they think they want . . . they never stop asking either.

I came up with an idea, which I hope will help them realize how we have to make choices with how we spend our money.  Prioritize what we spend money on.  Instead of taking them shopping and me paying, I decided to give them a set amount of money and a list of things they had to buy with it.  

I am pretty sure the lesson went completely over Alexa's head.  She LOVES shopping and has already spent all of her money.  She bought things that were pretty to her.  She bought her sneakers, a few clothes, and this ridiculous, impractical pair of wedges.  She saw them in a catalog.  I have heard about them for weeks.  She bought them today.  Her life is complete.  As she's strutting around the store in them, Andrew turns to me appalled, "You're going to let her buy those?!!!"  "Yes.  Because she used her birthday money.  That's what birthday money is for."


Andrew . . . it'll take us WEEKS to get everything on his list.  WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He bought a pair of shoes today and convinced me to buy him socks.  He still needs another pair of shoes, shorts, and shirts.  He tried on like 5 million shorts and none of them were quite right.  They have to be the right color khaki.  The right price.  They have to feel right.  OMG- as I'm writing this I realize . . . I'm shopping with myself.  Gosh almighty, I am annoying to shop with!    After 3 stores he's tired.  His legs hurt.  He just wants to go home and lay on the couch.  He ran 4.5 miles this morning.  He's starting to lose his vision.  Where are the chairs?  Why can't we be done?  Why won't Dad take Alexa shopping?  He likes shopping, Alexa likes shopping.  They can like it together.  (Andrew can get by a fast ball and survive without a peep. Take him shopping and he whines like a small child.)  Anyway- he has agonized over this budget trying to figure out how to get everything he needs.  It's so stressful.
The next time I take him, I'll bring snacks and reward him so we hopefully get him some shorts, because otherwise that kid's gonna be in trouble when it comes time to go to school!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wedded Bliss . . . Ten Years Later

Image
Yep.  Doug and I have been married TEN years!!!!  Can you believe that?  Well- not quite ten years, yet.  On Thursday- April 7- it'll be TEN years!!!!  And I am pretty sure we still love each other. I know I still love Doug and quite honestly- how could he not love me?  I am never a pill and always a delight.  In honor of our almost anniversary- I am including a copy of the email I sent my mother raving about him, after our first date- with hardly no editing and only a few comments in parenthesis.  Enjoy: Mom!!!! (I loved exclamation points way back then, too)   I went out tonight with a guy from school.  He's a teacher.  (let me clarify that I was also a teacher).   He's not married (thank goodness) and he's SUPER nice.  He's an Agriculture Education teacher- think Future Farmer's of America (uhhh- ok?!!)  But, anyway, he sat with me at the football game the other night, and tonight after cheerleading practice (I was the cheerleading coach my first year te
Read more

A True Artiste

A True Artiste Alexa has been working to improve the artistic presentation of her temper tantrums the last several days.   She must be like her Aunt Kelly and won’t stop working until her art is exactly the way wants it and completely perfect.   And lucky for her, she feels like she has had many opportunities to perfect her craft: the door wouldn’t stay open, I opened the bag, her friend touched her, her teacher had to go to the restroom, etc.   A month ago, she liked to pitch herself backwards when she pitched her fits.   However, she discovered that that method is painful.   So then she altered, and would pitch herself forward, it took her a few tries to figure out, she has to make sure she can’t throw her head forward too, because then she crashes it on the floor and that too, hurts.   Here are some samples of what she’s currently trying out.   (I would turn my speakers down- as you don’t want to hear the accompanying sound effects.) I am thinking of helping her out and utilizing
Read more

Let Me Count the 13 Ways . . .

Today is mine and Doug's 13th anniversary. As we were sitting at dinner I was thinking, "Man is this night a LOT different than this night 13 years ago." Here are 13 ways my life is different than 13 years ago. 1. My muscle tone- particularly around the midsection. 2.  My hair which has more grey, but yet it is still so much better!  ("wisdom" and vanity cause me to spend ridiculous amounts of money on hair products- more than I spend on clothes) 3. I fed a small person ravioli's, while they wiggled and jostled next to me in the booth, and dropped forks with spaghetti sauce on my pants- tonight. 4.  I am relearning elementary school math.  I think I've got the hang of fractions now. 5. I know Disney Channel characters.  I am able to tell what show either of my children is watching- from another room, just by the voices of the characters 6. My friends are now made at my kids extra curricular events, not at work, not at the gym, not doing a hobby.
Read more