{ children and trash cans }

Children are ExPeNsIvE!!! And I'm not talking about the usual going through 3 trillion diapers in one month, or the excessive amount of cereal it takes to feed a 6 year old, or the obnoxious amount of fruit snacks we purchase that have the capability of feeding the entire African Nation.

Oh no... I'm talking about the little things that our children do that seem to cost more than a dollar amount. It costs us our Sanity. It's the oatmeal/ DVD player engagement, the baseball/TV encounter or the marker/wall affair.But being a piano teacher, I did feel a small sense of pride when I saw the up-side-down bass clef sign in the midst of my daughter's work of art:

Here is a PERFECT story to further illustrate My Point.

Once upon a time my son needed new pants. As we all know, children grow faster than my rear during pregnancy. And being of the male nature, there were holes in the knees of the ones that DID fit. So we make a special trip to an outlet store and I purchase 2 high quality (but majorly discounted) jeans. So, being proud of my savings-of-the-day, we went home. The next day, he chose to wear the ones that came with the snazzy belt. As we are walking out the door to go to school, he has to run to the bathroom. And as we all know AGAIN, when a 6 year old needs to pee, they aren't kidding and it has do be done NOW. My son seems to think that playing, no, make that ANYTHING is more important than the occasional run to the restroom. You may have seen it before with your children. I call it The Potty Dance. It's the running up and down the hall, the physical hold (ew, I know) and the sitting and bouncing (or rocking) from side to side. And then when he finally decides that he can't hold it any longer, he runs to the bathroom (dancing as he pulls down his pants) and goes. But he's held it for sooo long that it doesn't make it into the water at first. It Bursts out all over the back of the toilet, the wall, the shower curtain, floor or anything else with in aiming distance. I don't think he'd do well in the army 'cuz I'm pretty sure you don't get points for friendly fire. And we all know now that he can't aim under pressure.

Back to the story. So as he fumbles with his belt, the thought crosses my mind "You should probably take that off for school, just in case". But he barely made it so I told myself he'll be fine- ignoring The Voice Of Warning. Take a moment to snicker.

He gets home from school in a different pair of pants, but I can't deal with it at that moment- I have to teach piano. So after I finish, I call the school to see if they're open, but they're not and it's a Friday so I must wait until Monday to try again. I ask my son what happened (knowing full well he had an accident- this would not be the first time) and where he left his new pants. To my HORROR he told me this: "I threw them in the trash can." Of course you did. Monday comes. I comb the school, retracing his Friday steps, hoping that he got a little confused and meant to say he threw them in the ART ROOM. Yeah. Right. No pants. And believe me, I was almost tempted to go dumpster diving, but the trash was picked up on Saturday.

Brand new, never been worn before pants.

And then he lost his coat at school, but we found it a week and a half later. Luckily I told him, after the pants incident, that I refused to buy him a replacement for anything else he lost at school. This time I heeded The Voice Of Warning.

So that is why I love it when I find an amazing deal! It fills me with a sense of PRIDE and ACCOMPLISHMENT and I feel that I must share it with the whole and entire world. So here is my bargain basement deal of the day:How much would you guess that I purchased these fabulous [originally $40] shoes for?

{Click the link on the right to submit your guess}

And to tie in my "shoe" theme, I must also share another fabulous find.
These shoes were originally $50. I purchased them for $16.99 [a savings of 75%]. Woo-hoo!

Okay, so I have one more bargain basement deal. Which means I must change my "shoe" theme to a "leather" theme. I purchased this leather vintage trench coat for a mere $10. Yes, you read that right, I did not forget a zero somewhere.

I must confess that I love playing this game. I also love it when I get in a "Those are so cute! I got mine for $40! Isn't that an amazing deal? How mush did yours cost?" conversation where I can smirk and say: "$17". It's a moment straight out of the movie "The Perfect Man" (yes, I did watch it- I didn't want to, they MADE me watch it- they placed me in a dark room, gagged me and tied me to a chair) where Hillary Duff goes to school in an outfit I can't quite figure out and got into a who-got-their-boots-cheaper-war. She won with a got-them-out-of-a-dumpster sneak-attack! And you will never catch me saying this about Hillary Duff again, but that's my kinda girl! [The free boots part and not the dumpster-diving part.]
Soooo.......

FACT:

It is completely possible to be trendy and frugal-ish at the exact same time.
All while raising kids.
{Just make sure you never send your 6 year old to school wearing a belt.}