wild hats

My mom gave these cute animal hats to the kids.

(ignore the big spot on his shirt from a misguided blob of applesauce)

She purchased them at A.C. Moore for a dollar and said that there were a few other animals to choose from. I think they would make cute party favors for an animal themed party, or maybe a non-candy item for an Easter basket.

They are made of that craft foam material, but have held up since Wednesday, which is pretty good for something Katie has her hands on.

Thanks Mom, and happy Saturday to you all!

Keeping warm

With the snow and ice we have had this weekend, Joey has asked "Mom, bungle me up so I can go outside and play!" many times. So I "bungled" him up, nice and cozy, many times. As I watched him play in the snow, and slip into the wonderful world a four-year-old's imagination can take him, I thought about everything he had to keep him warm:

• Snow pants - $2 from Salvation Army.
• Coat - given to me by my sister (somehow with three boys of her own she had a coat to spare)
• Boots - hand-me-down from my friend Katie.
• Hat - Adam's (Joey has a rather large head)
• Mittens - the ones I bought for Katie at Marshalls for $4 (he does have his own pair that I got for about a dollar at JCP with my $10 coupon, but those make it difficult for him to make snowballs.)

Joey is able to have fun this winter for just a few dollars. I am thankful to have friends, family, and second hand stores to provide these snow clothes reruns.

And I am thankful that although I wish I could have taken a full snowy day photo shoot, the kids stood still long enough for me to take at least one picture.




And I am thankful that there are no fashion police in my backyard to comment on Katie's lovely outfit.

Marshalls makes me happy

I am not a shopper. I bargain-hunt, and I do lots of shopping to get the best bang for my buck, but I am not a shopper, and especially not a clothes shopper. When I am at the mall, I go to the stores I need to go to, and am fine with skipping the rest. Trying on clothes is annoying (especially with two children), finding something unique and pretty that doesn't go halfway to my bellybutton is sometimes impossible, and clearance racks seem a bit bare lately.

But then, there's Marshall's: my favorite place to shop. Period. And my Marshalls is also a HomeGoods, so it is a double-whammy favorite. I was there today to do a little shopping for Adam, and I did find a little something, but I can't say what it was because he reads here from time to time. But the shopping didn't stop there...

A quick scan of the kids shoes clearance resulted in some sneakers for Katie for $10. I know that isn't a fabulous deal, but I can't find them cheaper at Payless or Wal-Mart, and Katie is outgrowing her sneakers just about every two months.

Then I went through the ladies clearance rack and found gobs of cute things, but only bought this adorable number for $7!! I think I will wear it for Christmas at my in-laws. I also found an adorable green suede short trench coat, but that was not $7, so on the rack it stayed.

Then it was back to the toys, where I found for $6.99, the very same Thomas motorized engine I bought at Target for $9.99. So I bought one, and will return my other to Target. Katie is currently intrigued with the motorized trains. It's not a very girlie present, but there will be more trains to keep the two kids happy when having fun at the train table.

I told myself I was not going to go into the HomeGoods section, because basically I would be setting myself up for a session of serious coveting of the worst sort, but somehow (???) I wound up there. I was just going to look for King size shams, but I got distracted with the duvets on clearance. The screams in my head of "Run away! Run away!"were too loud to ignore, so I quickly left, only to scan the baby decor for a moment. Sigh... (where I found some cute wooden giraffes and monkeys with pegs that will go great in the kids bathroom, but now is not the time to be spending money on the kids bathroom!)

So I dashed for the check out, and I believe I left with a content heart. I got a stocking stuffer for Adam, a new blouse, a present for Katie, as well as sneakers and mittens for Katie all for $36.

Happy.

And I hope all your final Christmas preparations will be happy too.

(I still have 4 or 5 gifts to get - is everyone else done?)