I took my friends on our annual shopping pilgrimage to the Grove City Outlets today. BigBrother recently had another growth spurt and was sporting both flood-length pants and shirts with sleeves that were somewhat hilarious. I’m thankful that I had enough foresight to purchase some jeans for him on sale during our spring trip so that he had something to wear. At the end of today’s trip, I feel confident in saying that he’s officially set for the season.

Shopping for the boys was, as per usual, a disappointment. Aisle upon aisle of colorful, fun, in-style things for girls and just zilch when it came to selection for boys. It’s navy blue or red. And in big boys, it’s skater stuff or nothing. Thankfully, Gymboree had some great firefighter stuff carried over from last year in some new styles and colors. Children’s Place came through with a few dress shirts and some great thermals — which I find good for layering or wearing alone. Carter’s was a huge disappointment. I tried to steal a shirt from Osh Kosh — totally an accident and I did end up paying for it — but it was only because I decided not to buy an ugly flannel and forgot I had another shirt draped on my arm. It’s just so hard to find clothing for boys. Frustrating!

It was a fun day though, and I introduced Mandy to Primanti Brothers. I also found a few nice things for myself. The day was a success — even if my back does hurt very badly now. The things we do for our children!

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post on Fadra’s post.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

1. Gymboree just released a new line called Fire Truck Chief in both baby boys (3M-5T) and big boys (3-12 years). My good friend Ceece sent me a preview link and word that the line would go live today. I checked it out and, oh dear, I’m in ten different kinds of love. The little boys have some way cute “must haves,” like this suspender shirt and this adorable hat. The big boys’ stuff isn’t as “cutesy,” but it’s way fun as well. I think BigBrother might need this fire helmet fleece hoodie and a hat of his own. In case you were wondering, they already own some fire truck underoos from Gymboree, but not this print. I’ll wait for a week or two to see if prices drop, but not too long. I’m not missing these! (As a hint, I’ll also be watching Crazy 8, owned by Gymboree, to see if they release a similar line soon. And watching RetailMeNot for coupon codes. Of course!)

2. Kohl’s does have a fire truck striped long-sleeved t-shirt. It’s actually rather decent looking, and I’ll be purchasing it in-store if it’s there when we stop tomorrow. I like that it’s black (despite that black fades just as horribly as navy blue) mainly because so many of our firefighter shirts are navy blue.

3. Not quite a shirt, but Zulily has a firefighter uniform costume today. They had fire boots the other day, too. In addition to that fire truck bedding, I really can’t say anything bad about them. They even contacted me to let me know about the fire costume today. Customer service makes me happy. And a repeat customer.

I’m hopeful that some other brands will see that Gymboree jumped aboard the fire truck theme and release their own (uh, better priced?) options sometime in the winter clothing months.

And, no, I would venture to guess that this isn’t the post you expected from me today. I’m too exhausted to address the events of last night and this morning. The good news is that FireDad is currently home, safe and sound, sleeping it off in our bed. The boys are under orders to “keep it down” so “daddy can rest.” They’re actually listening for once.

Thankfully, he can’t read yet, and I am free to tell you about it way before he wakes up on Christmas morning surrounded by magic.

If you’re not familiar with Zulily, you need to be. In short, you get an email every day (just one) with a listing of their newest deals on baby, toddler and kid clothing, clothes for moms, expectant moms and nursing moms, accessories for baby (think bouncers, crib bedding), toddlers (backpacks), kids (read the title of this post) and mom (purses, etc) and the occasional awesome toy. These aren’t your average store brands either. They’re all kind of awesome. I have been stalking their boy clothing for awhile now as most of it is cuter than what I can find in the store for my boy and, quite often, at a comparable or better price. But enough gushing about the process.

TODAY THEY HAVE FIRE TRUCK BEDDING FOR TWIN BEDS. AND IT HAS A GREEN BACKGROUND. OH-EM-GEE!

I about fell off the couch. LittleBrother’s room is green. I have been struggling to find something he likes that fits with his wall color. We could repaint, but not in the middle of winter. I was starting to get desperate. Then I logged onto Zulily after the email this morning. I almost didn’t click on the California Kids category thinking that it was just crib bedding (and that it would still be out of my price range). I am so glad I did.

The twin “Wheelin’” bedset is priced at $59.99 on Zulily and, wouldn’t you know, RetailMeNot had a coupon code. That’s less than I paid for BigBrother’s Very Hungry Caterpillar set two years ago from Overstock.com. (Though just barely as I got a fab deal on that one as well.)

Now? I don’t need to replace his fire truck wall art or picture frames or any of that jazz. I was just lamenting yesterday as I got him ready for bed that I would soon have to put away some of those things. Now? No need! LittleBrother gets his fire trucks and I get a great deal. (For those who are wondering, yes, the child loves fire trucks. See also: Where Have All The Fire Trucks Gone?)

I am just so stinking pleased with myself. Pardon me while I pat myself on the back and email a friend to try and work out some new fire truck wall art. (And, yes, for those wondering, I’m normally almost done with Christmas shopping by this point. I’m very behind and starting to feel the panic.)

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[Disclaimer: Zulily links are referral codes.]

I just went on my biannual Big Shopping Spree for the boys’ fall and winter clothing. BigBrother needed an entire wardrobe (sweat pants, long-sleeved t-shirts, sweat shirts, jeans, nice pants, button up shirts and sweaters) in his new size (somewhere between 5T at Old Navy and Osh Kosh, 5 at Carter’s and 4 in shirts but 5 in pants at Children’s Place) as we had absolutely no hand-me-downs this year. LittleBrother needed some new sweat pants to replace the old faded hand-me-downs (navy blue fades so horribly but it’s such a staple in boys’ wardrobes) and some new fun things for this year. Last year’s shopping trip yielded a large number of shirts (and a jacket) featuring fire trucks.

This year’s fire truck count? .5

Yes, I’m only counting the pajamas that I bought at Carters (a variation of the ones I bought last year) as a half a fire truck as no one else will see them. Except maybe on pajama day, on which day they can have the full count as one fire truck. And then back to their half a count.

Old Navy, Carters, Children’s Place, Osh Kosh, Gap, the Vanity Fair outlet and a few other now-forgotten stores had zero shirts featuring our favorite vehicle. I say this with extreme amounts of woe because LittleBrother is going through a phase that BigBrother never went through: he cares about what he wears. And he wants to wear a fire truck shirt every single day. But we only have so many fire truck shirts. (Okay, uhm, we have quite a few in his size from BigBrother’s previous 3T wardrobe), but still. Not a single fire truck shirt to be seen this year.

As an aside, Carters and Osh Kosh did have firefighter inspired rain jackets. However, even at 50% off, they were still kind of above what I’m willing to pay for a specialty jacket. Thankfully, I had already found a great bargain on a rain jacket at Heartstrings on one of our first stops during the Big Shopping Spree. It’s yellow with fish; LittleBrother loves fish, too. BigBrother’s rain jacket from last year still fits — knock on wood. But, you have to admit, this Osh Kosh firefighter rain jacket is way cute.

I have heard rumors of a few at Target, but we don’t have a Target. I’m now glad that I had magical mommy ESP in 2008 and bought one of the firefighter shirts from Old Navy in all sizes through 5T for the boys. I think my friends made fun of me at the time. Who’s laughing now?

In other news, I was deeply pleased with the selection of clothing for boys this year. Some of it was a little ugly as we’re now toying with Big Kid sizes, but I was able to find a nice selection of clothing for both boys. And here’s something crazy: they’re not wearing the same thing in our family picture next month. Complimentary instead!

Have you seen any fire truck shirts this season? Link me!

Every time I have come and gone as of late, I have been buying up the new Kids Collection cards. They are adorable. And I’ve needed them for years. I went in today to grab a birthday card for a friend and also grabbed some Father’s Day cards before I stopped to grab a card for BigBrother’s end-of-school-year present. (See panic yesterday.) I found him the perfect card.

The front reads, “Your style is fun. Your brain is smart. Your smile is big, And so’s your heart…” And on the inside it says, “Our pride in you is off the chart.” Collective “aww” now. It’s perfect. Dr. Seuss and talk of brains and a big heart and fun and pride. It’s everything I needed in a card to celebrate how well he did this year, how much he grew and changed and learned and developed.

The many cards offered are what I’ve been needing for years. There’s been a lack of cards for kids that say anything about missing you. I mean, after all, why would a parent send a card to a child about missing them? Or they were too specific for my situation, never just an “I love you lots,” kind of card. I grabbed one for the Munchkin that talks about pride (to be sent for her upcoming dance recital) and another one that is oh-so-perfect as well.

Front: Always Always Always Always. Inside: Remember You Are Loved.

I found the press release to be interesting. The line of cards was made with input from moms, grandmas and kids after a survey showed that kids don’t always remember how much encouragement their parents give them over the years. FireDad is evidence of that; anytime his mom says, “Do you remember,” his answer is no. There’s no guarantee that cards will make the kids remember but I like the concept.

“This new line of cards and gifts is meant to help parents and grandparents make their encouraging words stick,” notes Sarah Mueller, a card writer who worked on the line. “They provide little reminders that you are rooting for them all the time.”

I’m going to be frequenting Hallmark to grab these cards every now and then. Really, I’d love if someone sent me some! They’re adorable! That said, I had an emotional breakdown in the Father’s Day cards followed by laughing out loud at the birthday cards. Hallmark makes me all sorts of emotional.

All I know is that I’m excited for the last day of school to get here now because I’m ready! Teachers’ presents! Card! Cupcakes! Gift(s) (game & book)! HOORAY!

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[Disclosure: I received nothing for this post. In fact, the amount of money I spent in Hallmark today assures that this post was written of my own free will. Mmm, Hallmark.]

I go through phases like this, where I simply want to change how things look or feel. It’s refreshing! Granted, we needed a new couch but had been waiting until the youngest of our boys was through the teething process. Teething children often wipe runny noses on furniture. It was much easier to toss a slip cover in the washing machine than to try and toss an entire couch in there or scrub it. Scrubbing boogers makes me twitchy anyway.

While FireDad had some definite opinions for our kitchen semi-remodel (no mosaic tiles on the backsplash? pfft.), he gave me full decision making ability in the bedroom. That sounds kinky but you know what I mean. For awhile, I considered the plain, reversible comforter in colors that matched our Red Wall. I wasn’t getting rid of the Red Wall and so I needed to go with things that matched or complemented the color scheme. I looked at paisleys and florals and geometric shapes. I looked at all red, red and white, red and black, black and white, taupe, green and just about every color combination that red can be paired with and not look scary. I couldn’t find anything that I wanted, looked good or was, of course, affordable.

Enter a random trip to Sears. And the sounds of angels singing.

I wasn’t even looking for a bed set that day but it found me. I was walking past it and I had to walk backward to look at it. Stripes. We like stripes. White, aqua, green (GREEN!), purple and, yes, red. The reverse side was green (GREEN!). And the throw pillows were fun as well. I waited until payday and went to buy it at our Sears only to find they were out of our size. I called my parents to have them grab it at their store as I grabbed the throw pillows and sheets. I’m so pleased with our purchase. It has brightened up our room immensely. I don’t know what to hang in the old quilt hanging spot but I’ll figure that out eventually.

I tell you all of this not because I think you’re interested in what our bedroom looks like. I tell you this because Dee sent me a link to the Best Firefighter Bed Set Ever and I am very, very sad that I already spent good money on our new set such a short time ago. I can’t even justify this as a gag gift to make FireDad’s eyes pop out.

I mean, he gave me full decision making ability. I totally should have gone with this.

Of course, FireDad does have a birthday coming up next month. I could get this for him to put on his bunk at the fire station. Right?

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Disclosure: I wasn’t paid to share that bed set with you. I did that out of the goodness of my heart because I wanted to make my readers smile today. And/or make you choke on your coffee because you are laughing so hard. Either or, enjoy your Tuesday!

Well, darn it, I wanted some boots, too.

I don’t think they quite go with any fire uniform but they do look rather smashing, no?

Who wants to go puddle jumping with me?

Because the memories of last year are enough to keep me inside for as long as possible today.*

I don’t like the way that today’s deals make people act, both those in search of the deals and those working at the stores. While I didn’t engage in any pushing, shoving, shouting or other such nastiness last year, I watched it happen. It made me sick to my stomach and really upset me. Those things are not what this season is about for my family. Those are not the reasons that FireDad and I exchanged vows a week before Christmas five years ago. The hope, love and general spirit of the season are things that this family rejoices in, not the overt commercialism.

Not that I don’t love a good deal. I do. In fact, I really, really love a good deal. But not on Black Friday.

Growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was about decorating for Christmas. And leftovers. And Christmas music. And annoying each other since everyone was home from work and school. And more leftovers. And pie! I want that for my household as well. Some may argue that they do those things after they go out and do some early morning shopping. That early morning shopping last year ruined my whole day. I don’t want that.

While I said, last year, that I’d cave and go back out this year if The Store That Has Everything From Power Wheels to Eggnog had $88 Power Wheels again (they did), FireDad and I discussed that there’s no world in which a four year old and a two year old need a tricycle, a bicycle AND a Power Wheels in one sitting. The former two are arriving from Santa. The latter would be overkill. And so, once again, no Power Wheels. The world didn’t end after that decision or after I woke up well after the shopping kicked off this morning. My children will continue to live life, without a Power Wheels, and all will be well.

And so, Black Friday shoppers, enjoy your sale prices. You won’t have to push, shove or otherwise assault me in order to get your deals. To those that also hate confrontation but are braving it all the same, I send you my best. I’ll stay home, warm in my pajamas, and enjoy the fact that I am neither cold nor rushed and not even upset about a missed deal. Because there’s always more pie.

* = I do have to go to the bank today and I have to shoot the basketball game tonight so I do have to leave the house but hope to avoid any insanity.

Today, however, I need to rant about the cost of pajamas. I hate buying pajamas. In fact, in the summer months when it’s hot and I’m too cheap to run the air conditioning, the boys sleep in their underwear and a t-shirt. I find paying upwards of $20.00 for pajamas, clothing that they only sleep in and that the rest of the public simply doesn’t see, to be rather ridiculous. I usually hit up discount stores or big sales (remember when I went out on Black Friday last year?) for deals on pajamas. Less than $10 is an acceptable price for me to pay. In fact, one store I visit specifically for this reason often prices their pajamas for $5.99 and that makes me a very happy Shopping Mama. In fact, I recently bought an extra size of Lightning McQueen pajamas at that price so LittleBrother can have a new pair next year at that same glorious price. (Give me a sale and I’ll buy twice as much.)

As much as I hate spending the big bucks on pajamas, I recently broke my rule. If you’re the mom of a boy, you may have noticed the huge selection of firefighter themed pajamas this year. Almost every store I shop at, either online or in brick-and-mortar version, is sporting a pair. Old Navy ($14.50), Crazy8 ($16.50) and Gap ($22.50), just to name a few, all offer very cute firefighter themed pajamas. But all at prices that I’m, quite honestly, not willing to spend since no one but FireDad and very few select people (grandparents, the babysitter) will ever see. I mean, the Gap pajamas are more expensive than the Easter suit that I bought for BigBrother this year. Unless he’s wearing those things to church, school and everything in between, I think not.

But, you see, one of my close friends went shopping with me on the Semi-Annual Big Shopping Trip. She likes me to spend my money. (As I like her to spend hers!) We were in the Carter’s Outlet and she said, “Have you seen the firefighter pajamas?” She dragged me by my ear (slight exaggeration), pulled one off the rack and I died inside. I couldn’t not buy them. I had to purchase them. There was never any debate. Thankfully, due to my savvy-shopping, I was under budget and, therefore, I could afford to splurge on what are, quite honestly, the coolest firefighter jammies on the planet. I paid $12 a pair but, as you can see below, I couldn’t avoid it. It simply had to be done. The money had to be spent.

See?

As I said, no other option was available but, “Purchase. Immediately.”

I would link you to these wonderful pajamas so that you could purchase them yourselves (you know, since there’s no other option) but Carter’s doesn’t have a large availability online and these were Outlet jammies. I can only urge you to beat feet to the store and pray that they have your child’s size still available. (As a side note, they also have a navy blue and orange firefighter rain jacket in store right now as well. I’m sorry. I also had to purchase that one.)

I write all of this to say: if you are a marketer, researching what to make for boys pajamas, defaulting to fire trucks or firefighter gear will almost guarantee that I, a very choosy Shopping Mom, will buy said pajamas. Whatever the price. That said, please don’t or I’m going to have to start sending my kids to school in pajamas. Is it appropriate to get official pictures taken in pajamas? It is, isn’t it? Lie to me.

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While my boys now have a mostly full fall-and-winter wardrobe, complete with pajamas that are too expensive for my taste, I am searching for one thing: a solid (non-plaid), red button up shirt in size 4T or big kid’s size 4. BigBrother needs it for Christmas and everyone is all plaid-ed out this year. If you see one, please let me know. Thanks!

Let’s get nostalgic for a moment before I show you what I’m wearing to the “cocktail attire” event. (Perhaps it will inspire all you BlogHer goers!) And by nostalgic, I mean with pictures, of course! In preparation for the event, classmates have been scanning pictures from years gone by. I’ll share… very few here. Just one, taken one year, one month and seven days ago.

Now that we’ve had the trip down memory lane, let’s take a look at now. When the invitation came and read “cocktail attire,” my first thought was, “What am I going to WEAR?!” I mean, isn’t that every female’s thought when it comes to a class reunion? I have more hips than I did my junior year thanks to my lovely children. So, slinky and clingy was out. Plus, it’s July. (It’s randomly cold this year so long would have been okay in the end but, well, who would have thought that?) I searched for months and months before finding the dress and the best kept secret on the Internetz this side of etsy. (Though etsy comes into play later.)

I found BHFO Outlet on ebay by a complete fluke of internet clicking. I immediately fell in love with their easy to search format (by size, by color, by whatever you so desire). I originally searched for green but began to branch out. I bid on two other dresses before winning this (New With Tags/NWT) Maggy London dress. (That’s right. Maggy London. Dresses I had coveted elsewhere as they are very flattering to my figure but way out of my price range.) This little number came to live with me… shipping included… for under $40.00! I’m serious. The shipping for the dresses is $8.99 which is a little ridiculous but I kept that in mind with my bidding. I desperately wanted this dress and when I won, I about jumped for joy. It’s just below my knee, lined, chiffon-y, satin around the collar, nice waist, cute cleavage detail, satin buttons at the neck on the back which has the same (back?) cleavage detail and… perfect.

See?

(Oh no! It shows one of my tattoos! My grandmother will be displeased.)

Speaking of my grandmother, I called her immediately after I won and said, “Grandma! I got a dress for the reunion! But I can’t wear a necklace. Help!” We discussed things and colors and jewelry type things. We decided on silver shoes, silver bracelets and silver earrings. But I didn’t have silver earrings that I wasn’t bored with… so I turned to etsy. I found the perfect pair at SimplyShell. Silver plus some added beads that match the color of the dress perfectly. See?

And I had shoes from my friend’s wedding (when I was horrifically pregnant with BigBrother…).

I haven’t decided whether or not I’m wearing my glasses yet. I hate contacts anymore. I did buy some new eyeshadow. And the pictures are featuring my slightly shorter haircut, now with no gray! (To be fair, I’ve had gray since I graduated at eighteen years of age. It’s no surprise that I dye my hair to cover said gray. I just hadn’t done so in quite some time.) Really, with this dress, I feel fabulous. See?

(Can I have some bonus points for a clean house?)

To be honest, I don’t know what FireDad is wearing just yet. He has suggested a Speedo, socks and sandals. I think we’ll figure it out before we get there. Or, I hope we will.

There aren’t a lot of us attending the event, causing those in charge to have to move it to a new location. I’m super impressed with how the two ladies in charge pulled everything together. I’m excited to see those who are coming. I think five or six of the women are pregnant. (Not me. Done!) I haven’t seen any of those in attendance since sometime during the summer after we graduated. (Well, except for my high school into college ex-boyfriend… but… uh, different story.)

Thanks to the internet, I’ve reconnected with quite a few of them, especially thanks to Facebook in the past few months. I think, without that connection, I’d be a bit more nervous. I’d be wondering, “Is this going to be dramatic like high school?” I sincerely doubt it. I’ve gotten to read the things that these people write, view their pictures and talk with them in various ways over the past few months (some, a few years). They’ve all grown and changed and developed lives of their own, just like I have done over here in Ohio. They’re living their lives the best they know how, just like us. They’re good people. I’m excited to see them. (Granted, I’m not the slightest bit sad that my high school nemesis won’t be in attendance but I would have been nice even if she was on the list. I just would have kvetched at FireDad on the way home.)

Hypothetical kvetching aside, I had a blast planning for the reunion. I’m hoping I have as much fun with some old friends as I did shopping. If not, at least I have a stellar dress that I can wear to other events. And some snazzy earrings to boot.

Win.

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[Note: We are at camp, likely without internet access, through July 25th. I will most likely be unable to reply to any comments or email until that time. Do not take offense. I'm not ignoring you. Just enjoying some (much needed) quiet time with my family.]