Shopping Buddy

Today was a good day. We had a nice morning together having breakfast and snuggling on the couch to watch cartoons for a bit. C left to attend church and the girls and I made chocolate pudding, just because. I made an effort to let the girls do as much of the measuring and pouring and stirring as I possibly could. I saved the cooking part for myself, since I did not want burned pudding! They both had fun, did not fight over the various tasks and for the first time A asked for more. What I mean is that she has not been so interested in cooking with me and would watch for a minute and wander away leaving me and E to finish up. This time she held in longer and asked to make something else with me. We did not get around to it today, but I will remember to ask her more often to cook with me. Maybe letting her do more was the trick!

When C got home, we spent some time out in the backyard getting the pool emptied and ready for the winter. I fertilized the shrubs and trees in the back and C caulked the threshold to the backdoor. A came out and played in the flood of water we drained out of the pool (the chlorine was down to zero, so no harm to the grass). E stayed inside most of the time, playing in her own little world with a stuffed Neopet penguin toy she got from her friend M the other day.

When we were done with being outside, I got some lunch and started getting ready to go to the outlet mall for some shopping. C was playing with E and A was wandering around saying she did not know what to do. I pulled her aside and invited her to come along with me to the mall to help me find a dress for this party C and I are going to this week. She wasn't so sure until I promised we could look in the toy store, if she promised to be a good trooper and not whine while I shopped. She agreed and I finished getting ready to go.

When I was almost ready, E came into the bathroom crying that she did not want A to go. A was very sweet to her and hugged her and promised she would be back soon. E said she was going to miss her too much. I'm not sure what A said to her but she convinced her it would be ok for her to stay here with Daddy. A and I headed out on our shopping trip. We walked from one end of the mall to the other and worked our way back. I found a very nice dress, with A making suggestions and approving the choice, and even got a rhinestone necklace on clearance for 3 bucks. In the toy store, she found a Breyer horse to buy with her money and I got a crystal growing kit for us to do sometime. We had dinner together in the food court and she even let me check one more store for some fall clothing. It was probably the most pleasant shopping trip with one of my kids that I have ever had.

While we were gone, C and E played outside, rollerskating and running around with one of the neighbor kids. When we got home, E seemed to have forgotten her sadness and was happy to see what we had got. She did get a bit upset when she saw the jacket A had got. She has a ton of clothes and just doesn't get why A gets new stuff every season. I do buy her new stuff, but she loves wearing her sister's hand me downs. The frugal mom in me has a hard time with buying new stuff for someone who's closet is overflowing, but she does deserves clothing of her own. Her style is turning out to be very different than A's, so I see a lot more new stuff for E as they grow. I'll probably start donating A's stuff as she outgrows it instead of saving all of it for E, as E doesn't wear the same kinds of clothes as A. And I think a lot more thrift store visits are in our future to afford to clothe the both of them each season. It was so much easier when they just wore what you picked out for them!