Shopping at Ross

I absolutely LOVE to shop at Ross. Not a shopper by nature (color and style just aren't my thing), I don't typically like to shop anywhere. Frugal by nature (Spending money just isn't my thing), I love it when I find a place that saves me money. Ross is such a place.

My poor Oliver has grown about six or seven inches in the last two years. It's been nearly two years since I bought him his last robe (camouflage and he loved it). But being 13 and 5'9", the robe comes up to his elbows and barely covers his butt. Every night at bedtime he comes down wearing this ridiculous thing and says, "Mom, I need a new robe." Duh. And the bad mother who hates to shop doesn't get him a new one. Until this weekend.

Like I said, I love Ross. Slightly more than I love the dentist (I actually like going to the dentist) and far less than I love cheesecake. So the obvious choice for robe shopping is Ross.

See, the other reason I hate shopping is - well, it happened this weekend. I walk straight back to the men's section to look for a robe, careful to find the right section and not get trapped somewhere else. I finally find a beautiful navy men's robe, one size fits all, fully lined, originally $75 and marked down to 15, grab it and head for the register. IT'S ALL I'M THERE FOR. Mid-way down the aisle I remember that all the new jeans I bought Oliver 2 months ago are now a couple of inches too short. What would it hurt, having gotten such a good deal, to look for a pair of pants?

Lo and behold, there are boys' size 20 pants marked down to five bucks back in clearance! And they're cargo camouflage, his favorite! So I grab two different pair. He's going to love them! Then I think, fall really is around the corner here. He's going to need a couple of long sleeve t-shirts, cold-blooded as he is. Guess what - there are a gazillion of those in clearance! Yay! Well at this point I'm feeling guilty that the other two children have been left out. Not so much for Mae - I'm always bringing home clothes for her. But as long as I was in boys' clearance, I found long sleeved t-shirts for Than. And walking back to the register, a gorgeous deep brown hooded sweater, with toggle buttons, that would look great on Mae, just leaped out and begged me to take it home.

All that time and money and clothing. Not a bit of guilt. Really fun stuff and the kids loved every bit. The most amusing part was getting it all home, seeing their faces, the joy as they tried it all on, then watching Oliver try on the robe. We know now why it was marked down from 75 to 15. The sash, or tie, is missing. Chris went to his closet and dug out an old paisley tie for Oliver to use. And Oliver's just geeky enough to think that it's really cool. My kid.

Until I write again ...

Flea

P.S. I had another, more fun Ross shopping experience this weekend. This time I got to try on clothes for myself. My mom - the most talented artist I know - took me back to Ross to get something pretty to wear to my cousin's wedding in October. She said it was an early birthday gift, since my birthday's after the wedding (I'll be 40! AHHHHH!!!!). We had a fantastic time trying on suits, then she tried on some darling little dress shoes. I actually came away with two suits, both beautiful. It feels weird, and not a little creepy, to be talking about clothes this way. Especially suits. But it was a wonderful birthday gift and they're gorgeous. I wonder if I can wear a suit to volunteer at Than's school on Thursday ...