Shopaholic

Hello, my name is Christy and I am a........SHOPAHOLIC.  Phew!  That feels so much better.  To get that off of my chest is just so liberating!  (Just being a little dramatic.)  But I do like to shop; not for myself really, but for my kids, my home, my family.  I especially love to shop for my kids.  They are easily the best dressed kids on the block.  I'm pretty good at only buying sale items, and with kids clothes, they come cheap.  But I still spend a lot of money on their clothes. 

I think the biggest reason I buy them so much clothes is I want them to look cute!  We live in a very judgmental society and I don't want my kids to look like I don't take care of them.  I get a little embarrassed if I have to take them to the store after daycare and they have food stains on their clothes.  I know that is really superficial, but whatever, it is what it is. 

The second biggest reason I buy tons of clothes is I hate to do laundry!  I buy enough clothes for the kids so that I don't have to do laundry for two weeks.  I always buy a few staple items, for each kid and coordinating outfits that I can mix and match so they're not wearing the same thing over and over.  This really cuts down on my chore time too because I have to set out a weeks worth of clothes since the hubby gets them ready in the morning.

The third biggest reason I buy tons of clothes for them is because it's fun.  I have two life size dolls that I get to play dress up with.  I hate shopping for clothes for myself because I am really unhappy with how I look right now (working on that one) so it's fun to dress my kids up in cute little outfits and stick bows in their hair, or on his neck in Tyler's case.  Plus, it's really not fair that they make kids clothes so dang cute!  I am drawn to the kid's clothing section like a moth to a flame. 

Gymboree if by far the biggest part of my addiction.  It's so easy to buy a few pieces there to mix and match and have a gazillion outfits for the kids.  I wasn't super impressed with their winter outfits this (last) year, and I'm not totally taken with their spring stuff so far.  They are constantly coming out with new lines, so it's only a matter of time before I go buck wild in there and drop a Benjamin.  I blame my grandfather who got me addicted to Gymboree buy gifting the kids with gift cards of $100 each every Christmas.

Target is my second biggest addiction.  How can you pass up clothes at $5 and under?  The circo line also has a line of mix and match clothes that I can stock up on as well, not to mention that is my go to present for my little cousins because all they care about is ripping open the gift and playing with the box.  No need to clutter their houses with toys that are just going to get lost or broken.

I do a little shopping at H&M, which usually has pretty good deals and Children's Place.  I used to go to Old Navy all the time, but their clothes usually run too small and because they're cheaply made, don't last as long.  I've never found ANYTHING at Baby Gap, but the kids own a few items from their because my cousin Lindsey is also a shopping addict and tends to spend WAY more money that I do on the kid's clothes.  (She only buys them stuff for Christmas and birthdays so it's ok for her to go overboard.)

My husband never says anything to me about my spending habits because I usually don't go overboard often and tend to only buy stuff if it's on sale.  I never use a credit card so it's not like I'm going in to debt because of my little addiction, so I guess it's ok.  I'm just dreading having to buy them new clothes when all they will wear is Hollister, American Eagle, Aeropostale or some other teenage crappy brand.