$2.49 Mother's Day

Have I taught my girls well or what?

For those of you who know me well, you are probably aware that I am a super bargain shopper. I can sniff out a sale from miles away. I never buy anything (except food, of course) unless it is on clearance. The Target clearance endcaps are my best friends. And if it says 75% off you can always count on my attention being drawn to the rack for at least the next few moments. I think it drives Kevin crazy. But this frugality serves our family well. And the proof that I have passed this gene on to my children came out today as we were shopping in Dillards.

After successfully purchasing dresses for both Emma and Claire for a grand total of $32.29, we were on our way out of the store when Emma said, "Mom, look! 75% off jewelry!" Of course we rerouted to the jewelry counter. And as we browsed the rejected pieces of jewelry that filled the racks, Emma and Claire went off to the corner and obviously started conspiring about something. Then all of a sudden they started asking in their sneakiest voices, "Mom, do you like this,? How about this,? "This would be pretty on you, Mommy" I figured out pretty fast what they were up to. . .Mother's Day is only a few days away.

At this point I knew that I was going to have to search the racks for the best of the worst, and then do my best to make sure that they understood that THIS was my favorite of all without saying it. . .

It was so much fun to listen to them whisper and giggle as they thought I had no clue what was going through their minds. Their conversation. . ."$14.00??? That's a lot of money. . ."$5.00?? How about that?. . ."Mom do you like this one?". . .All the while I was looking for something that was both "me" and cheap at the same time. And there it was - a plain silver chain with a little tiny charm on it. . .Perfect.

So, I played the game along with them. They said that they wanted to buy something for someone very special. I said I thought they would like this, and showed them the necklace I had found. "Mom, can we use your credit card?" "You mean you don't have any money?" "Not with us." "Okay, but you are gonna owe me." "We know!"

So off to the counter we went to pay. And as I was instructed not to look, they slipped their treasure to the sales clerk. I gave the clerk a smile and she nodded as if she understood what was going on. She quickly hid the necklace in a box and took the credit card from Emma. Emma and Claire are really giggling at this point. Then the best news of the day came. . .The clerk announced to Emma and Claire, "That will be $2.49. Their eyes grew huge! "$2.49! What a deal!!!!! At which point they both looked at each other and in the middle of the jewelry department started giving each other high fives!!

My girls. . . yes, they are definitely mine! After watching this story unfold, that $2.49 necklace is going to be a great Mother's Day treasure. And this "someone very special" is going to love acting completely surprised on Sunday when I get to open it up. I hope I get to hear those giggles lots more.