I'm feeling a little excited, a little proud of myself, and a little ashamed that these feeling come at the expense of my 9 year old daughter.
Her school offers pre-packaged school supplies, for about $40.00. This is such a convenient option, but she didn't want me to do it, probably because everything wasn't PINK when it arrived!
But I got an idea!
Today I took her to Target, told her (and my 11 year old son, Cole) to each get a shopping cart, and I gave them each a $40.00 Target gift card and their school shopping list, told them where the school supplies were and sent them off, while I walked around the nearby aisles with my 3 year old.
I instantly heard whining as I walked past. "I can't find", "Where is", etc. Lesson #2 Learned (It's a huge, pain in the back, time consuming task!)
Lesson #1 was being responsible for your gift card - and I'm happy to say, and a little surprised, that they both held onto them!
I had also instructed them to keep track of how much they were spending, because mom would not come to the rescue if they went over the amount on their gift card!
And then we went to checkout! My daughter's basket was full, FULL! She was bragging how she had money left over for a lunch box, and I explained to her that we would buy her a lunch box, and that any $ she had left over on her card she could use to supplement her school supplies as they run low later in the year.
The cashier was about 1/4 of the way through when she hit $30 - no joke!! I warned my daughter then to STOP the cashier, and felt helpless for my daughter as she stood there not knowing what to say to the cashier. I knew I had to stand my ground. Danielle had an additional $20 in allowances saved up, for her 6 Flags Season Pass in October. We agreed that she would use that money, and she purchased an additional $20.00 worth of supplies - still leaving almost half of her list unpurchased.
I stood my ground here (thankfully, I don't know when I became so strong), and told her that next week when she receives her allowance she can come back and buy some more of her needed supplies. She nodded as tears rolled down her face. The cashier, who had been very sweet although we occupied a ton of time in her line, congratulated me on being so firm! I laughed because trust me, I am not FIRM!
Lesson #3 - Learned! I was starting to feel a little like Nanny McPhee, except that I wasn't getting any prettier!
Cole then began the checkout process, placing the items he knew he did not already have at home on the belt. $15.72 was all he spent. I glanced through his bag and we discussed that he had chosen Rose Art products over Crayola, plain black composition books over colored ones, etc.
Lesson #4 - Learned! How to be a smart shopper! I explained to my daughter that she had enough money to buy SOME of the cute school supplies, but you can't buy them ALL! At least, not if you want to go to Six Flags!
I was very proud of my Mommy skills today!
Even as my 3 year old took off his shorts and threw them across the store as we walked out!
