The Budget Conscious Princess...

Aubrey Kate recently requested a lunch box for school.  Chris and I agreed and told her we would get her one.  Her backpack is kinda small.  Squeezing in a lunch and a change of clothes was a tight fit.  

Most of her little classmates have both, too.  

So there's that.

And really, isn't it all about what everyone else has?

(No.  No, it's not.  But she's four.)

Anyway, Nana bought her the lunchbox.  A Princess lunchbox.  

It might have been the happiest day of Aubrey Kate's whole life.

She's played with it every single minute of every single day since.  

Friday, she RUDELY announced she wanted a new backpack.  It was something along these lines, "Well, I don't like my old backpack.  I want one with Princesses on it."  

Insert sassy, rude and disrespectful tone.

So let's say we had a discussion about that.

After said discussion, I suggested she could earn the money for a new backpack.  Since she already has a backpack that is in near new condition and has her NAME ON IT, she really didn't need a new backpack.  BUT, if she wanted one, we could go through her clothes and toys to see what she would be willing to sell at the consignment shop.  IF she got enough money for a new backpack, she could get one.

She enthusiastically agreed to the plan.

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast and set about the task of cleaning out her clothes.  Went through all her dresses, her winter clothes and some of her summer clothes she doesn't wear.

The only exception are the clothes our friends have given us as hand-me-downs.  Those I hand down.   And honestly, that's most of what we currently own.  For both kids.  AK just happens to have a good many things I bought for her last year or even two years ago.  

Things like pants.

I know better than that now.  Since she has taken a solemn vow to never, ever, ever wear pants.  

Ever.

To her credit, she was especially helpful getting all of her clothes pulled and organized.  Rhys was happy to undo what we were doing.  But eventually, he found a dress he put on as a skirt and blissfully left us alone.

Somewhere, Chris is reading this and cringing.  Oh the joys of having an older sister we adore!

When we dropped the clothes off at the consignment store, Aubrey Kate spotted a pair of Princess flip flops.  

Sigh.

Of course, she wanted them.  I told her IF she got enough money for the backpack and the flip-flops, she could have them.  But if not, she'd have to pick.

Once the clothes were done, she had almost exactly enough to get the backpack.  NOT both.

She chose the flip flops.  

Grrrrrrrrr....

But she agreed, if she got the flip flops, she would have to use her old backpack.  You know, the one without Princesses.  

Alas, the flip-flops were not exactly as she expected.  They were tight and didn't stay on her foot the way she likes.  We tried them on at the store but when she got home and tried to walk around with them on, it was another story.  She stuck with her choice though and insisted she wanted to keep them.

Until this morning.

Somehow, logic had sunk in overnight and she decided she did want to return the flip-flops and get the backpack.

So today, we went back out shopping.  

First, we went to the other consignment store in town to drop off what the first store sent back.  While there, we looked through their shoes hunting for a pair of tennis shoes.  Those are super hard to find second hand.  Kids destroy them.  

Just past the shoe section was an entire wall of...

...BACKPACKS!

Not just any backpacks but PRINCESS BACKPACKS!!!

Instead of buying a new one for $16, we got a "new to us" one for $5.50.

SCORE.

She LOVES it.  And it's actually a better fit.  The new-new one was a little too big.  This one is exactly the right size.  It's in really good condition.  I had no idea they sold those but you can bet I won't forget!  

We also found a pair of pink sparkly slippers in a size too big.  Those were also $5.50 and no lie, sparkly slippers are near impossible to find.  New or otherwise.  So now when the pair Aunt Meredith and Uncle Brantley gave her for her birthday are too small...WE HAVE A BACKUP.  

Really, sometimes I am amazed at how awesome I am at this mom thing.  

We did take the flip-flops back.  I made her give them to the cashier.  She refused to say she wanted to return these, please, but for the most part, she doesn't speak to strangers.  The introvert comes out in her and she shuts down.  I was proud she carried the bag and put it on the counter.  

Truth be told, we could have bought her both.  We're not quite that poor.  But it was an important lesson.  One I need to learn myself.  

And let's be real.  I likely reacted so poorly to a request for a new Princess backpack because I just might not be ready to let go of the current one.  

Or the adorable little baby who wore it first almost two years ago.  

We ended the day with a treat of Skittles and an exclamation from Pumpkin:

"I loved spending the afternoon with you, Momma!  Thanks for taking me shopping!"

Totally.Worth.It.