Friday junking with the girls!

Today was the day which I had been looking forward to all week- junking with Rebecca and Lily.

We had a mission- school clothes shopping.

We started with the shoe section because it had the potential for the biggest savings and I wanted to make sure that we tried on shoes before the window of shopping joy closed.

We had amazing luck! Rebecca found a pair of never worn red patent leather slip on Ugg shoes for 4.99. A perfect fit and so comfy. Lily was delighted to find a pair of silver sequin sneakers in her size for 3.99. We also found a pair of brand new crocs for Lily for .99 which is great because Sophie keeps eating Lily's.

I had hoped to find some awesome boots for the girls, since a nice pair of knee high black or brown boots are often the perfect accent for any fall of winter ensemble, but no luck.

At this point the shopping window of joy was beginning to close so I let the kids look through all of the toys and books while I looked for clothes that they could try on.

Readers, I found such amazing things for Lily and that little wretch rejected everything. Well, almost everything. She loved the black faux fur coat from Gymboree for 7.99. She flapped her arms and said that she loved it because it made her feel like a penguin. She also picked out a black Puma track suit jacket with white stripes for 1.50. Apparently she wants to dress like marine life. Or a pimp.

Rebecca surprised me by falling in love with a dusty blue corduroy mini-skirt from J.Crew which is covered with Springer Spaniels. We found a super soft Hollister sweater for 4.99 to go with it, as well as a pair of cream colored leggings for .99. Now all we need are some of those brown boots I was telling you about and we have one amazing outfit!

By the time we left, the shopping window was shut and locked, but reader...I pushed my luck.

I was still looking for boots for the girls and I remembered that the mini-mall on the way home has a Stride Rite outlet.

We got to the mall and first went to The Gap Outlet where my children sucked. They rejected everything, even the very cute giraffe print dress that was on sale.

It was clearly time to feed them. Up to the food court we went. "Pizza? Cheeseburger?" I asked. "I want Chinese food!" demanded Lily.

We picked some lo mein and fried dumplings and needed to choose a third item for the lunch special. This is where it all went wrong. There was nothing there which she'd eaten before so I chose the honey chicken.

Lily proceeded to cry angrily, "I hate that! I don't want it! I won't eat it!"

I sat her down, removed the offensive meat from her plate and suggested she try it. She glared at me as she wolfed down several bites of lo mein. Finally she agreed to lick it. She licked, then she bit and then she ate. "I'll eat it, " she said grudgingly, "But I still don't want it on my plate." Disaster averted.

After we all ate and were in better spirits we went in search of boots. On the way I saw a beacon in the horizon and lo, it was a brand new Gymboree Outlet. "Girls, we're stopping here!" I announced.

They groaned but couldn't argue since Gymboree always has a video playing in the back. Thank you Gymboree for having a clue. I found Lily some boring pants because she announced that she would under no circumstances be wearing stripes this season.

She was completely besotted with an orange knit hat with a green stem at the top. Yes internet, I bought Lily the pumpkin hat from the baby section. She loved it.

I tore them away from the Barney video and in we went the the Stride Rite outlet where my prayers were answered. There, shining in row three were the perfect boots. Lily tried them on and declared them acceptable, though she did all of this while pinching her nose because she said, "This store smells." This store smells like the goodness of new shoes you heathen child.

Both children began to beg to leave. I bribed them to go into Marshall's by allowing them a turn on the kiddie ride for fifty cents. Never let it be said that I am not a benevolent dictator.

We went home. The girls scurried to their rooms with their new junk store books in hand and read for an hour. Then they glued things to empty shoe boxes for the next hour. Periodically I put food in front of them. They ate it and I retreated silently to my laundry.

We had all been through something exhausting and emotionally draining. We did not discuss the trauma of the day. Like soldiers, we merely picked up the pieces and carried on.