Shopping Frenzy

Okay, I'm going to rant a little, so bear with me.

We went to Tulsa for the Fourth of July weekend. Had a great time with DH's family. Great fireworks display. The kids got to spend time with a cousin, an uncle and their grandparents. Well worth the trip.

However, on Friday afternoon, hubby and I went shopping for a couple of hours, and I gotta say, what happened to the price of everything?

We went to an average priced (or so I thought) store to look for a couple of new shirts and some shoes for the boys. Now, I'm cheap anyway, but it was ridiculous how much they wanted for a couple of shirts and some shoes . . . especially for little kids.

I have a hard time spending $20.00 on a shirt for me, but for two active kids, who are still growing, and get EVERYTHING dirty . . . come on.

I want my kids to have nice things, but not at prices I can't afford. And I know I'm not the only parent out there who bought something more expensive than they wanted to pay, justifying the cost by saying it will last a while, it will be for special occasions, etc. Then you get it home and 1.) your children destroy it within a day, 2.) it shrinks to doll size after the first wash, 3.) your kid hits a growth spurt overnight and it won't fit anymore.

My nine-month-old daughter is already wearing eighteen-month clothing because she is soooo long. She grew out of her three and six-month clothes withing a month of getting into each size. Some outfits (expensive gifts) she only got to wear once before they wouldn't fit anymore. I hated having to box those clothes up after only one use, but I had no choice.

That's why it makes me so crazy to pay that much money for children's clothing. They won't be in the clothes that long, and I never feel like I got my money's worth for expensive items.

I'm sure a lot of it is just me, but in this tough economy, I think we need all the help we can get.