Mama loves a good deal

So this weekend is tax free "back to school" shopping here in Oklahoma and as of 10:30am today I was already done shopping - woohoo! I am SO excited to have found some really sweet deals this year thanks to mail coupons, online coupon codes, free shipping, and paying no sales tax. I got each child their entire fall/winter wardrobes and a pair of shoes each and was under budget!

And can I just say that Kohl's saved my sanity with the convenience of online shopping that included free shipping, no tax, 20% off my entire order, and $10 Kohl's Cash for every $50 I spent. Woohoo!!!

Old Navy got our business for their $10 jeans sale. I love how their jeans have the adjustable inner waistband for my thin waist, long legged kids. And I lucked out finding a pair of embroidered jeans and a romper for Anna and some cool camouflage cargo pants for Ian on clearance. And with a coupon for $10 off of $50, all the better.

God sent an angel to watch over us today. Not only did Anna drop her Pappy in the store but Ian left his motorcycle toy under one of the clothes racks when got distracted by, you guessed it, a girl! I had loaded both kids into the car and had to tote them back in to search for the items. We quickly found both and both kids were happy...and Mama was SO relieved! Thank you God!

Our venture to Stride Rite was just that...an adventure. Although it was only a ten minute trip into the store - at max - it was interesting. They had their long-awaited "buy one, get one 1/2 off" sale so I was there when the doors opened today. I was floored to hear the saleswoman tell me that Anna is a size 6-1/2 and Ian is a size 10 after measuring them both. What? I know SR measures a bit big (which I like because then the kids get an entire school year and well into summer of wear out of each pair of shoes) but Ian....a size 10. Wow! He was thrilled to get to pick out his own shoes. The first pair he loved, he didn't like once he tried them on. Second try was also a really cool pair of shoes but they didn't have his size. So his third choice was a hit with him (...and with me because they were already on sale and then we got them half off the sale price). I'm so thankful he didn't pick out the horrible Star Wars shoes with Darth Vader on them or something. Instead he chose a really cool blue and green pair of shoes that he claims make him run really fast and the "suction cups" on the bottom make him bounce really high. He loved the shoes so much he not only wore them out of the store but wouldn't take them off the rest of the day. I had to pry them off of him for nap and even that didn't last long. He took them to bed with him and came out wearing just his little underwear and the shoes!

Now Anna's first experience at Stride Rite was much more....dramatic...than I remember Ian's first time. As soon as we approached the wall of shoes and a woman started towards us she let loose with the screaming and water works. And it didn't stop until she was securely belted back into her stroller with Ian next to her and some goldfish crackers in her hands. Poor thing was tired and scared. But, we found some super cute white and pink tennis shoes that seem really solid. I sure hope they are because this girl goes through shoes in literally a matter of a week or two. She is ROUGH on her shoes!

So here are the kids posing with their new shoes on. I can't believe I actually "school shopped" for BOTH kids this year. Anna was just a newborn last year. And now she's an active toddler. And Ian, well he is 3-1/2 going on 18 some days. Ha!