At what price does kids clothing become disposable and not worth washing?

I must confess. I have an addiction (and no Dad! not just to gin, tequila, Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars and all thing fattening and unhealthy). I like to shop sales and stock up closets for the next few seasons, especially when it comes to Rito's wardrobe.

We are lucky enough to have a The Children's Place Outlet (yes Outlet, not just the regular store or the online shopping - I think even Swistle would be jealous) in our city, now sometimes the deals still suck but this weekend I scored, and I scored big. It was like the Game 7 Play-Off hat-trick in regulation overtime of shopping scores (I am from hockey country give me a break). 

Yesterday (when LoudGranny had Rito so I could get my haircut) I popped into the store since it is beside my salon and saw racks and racks of kids clothing for prices like $9.99 and then another 30% off. I thought to myself $6.99? Not a bad price for pants I should check it out. Not being the smartest girl in the world I failed to notice the 30 people in line to pay for stuff, and no $6.99 sale generates that kind of craziness. 

I moved to the back of the store and that when I saw it. Five (5!) large racks of clothing in the little boys area for 0.99. Yeah 99 cents.... not joking, and it wasn't the crap stuff either. Since I was going to be late for my haircut and the lines were stupid, I decided to be back at the store for opening the next day (this morning) to beat the crowds. 

So today, LoudGranny and I hit Hell-Mart for cheap laundry detergent and then went to The Palace (what my little cousin calls it, as in "You know that Palace store? They gots good stuff there you know" what a funny guy...) for door opening. We bought Rito a stack of stuff in larger sizes, one of my little girl cousins a few things for her birthday next summer and a whole ton of stuff for a 21 year old cousin who is a single Mom expecting her second boy in a few weeks. 

For Rito: 

3 Pique Polo shirts (red, orange and yellow) 99 cents each 

4 t-shirts (love these so soft! grey,navy, orange and yellow) 99 cents each

4 pairs of flip-flops for next summer (2 green, 2 navy) 2 pairs for a $1.00 

4 pairs of sunglasses (3 navy, one green) 2 for a $1.00

1 pair track pants (camo) $6.99

1 long sleeve layered looking t-shirt (beige with brown stripes) $6.99

4 baseball caps (in two different size ranges navy, green, beige and yellow) 2 for a $1.00

Basics in two size ranges (18 and 24 months) that can be layered with long sleeve onesies for inter yet my kid looks like a little Izod Lacoste ad (25$ including the two "expensive" items) - priceless.

For My Cousins Girl:

2 Tank tops (white and purple) 99 cents each

1 T- shirt (white with a pink layered one under it) 99 cents

1 Fancy tank top (white)  - 99 cents

1 Shrug (purple) 99 cents 

2 pairs of shorts (purple and blue) 99 cents each 

Birthday gift that all coordinates and looks so cute and like I spent a ton ($7 so far) - priceless

For My Cousins new Baby Boy: 

4 Pique Polos (blue, white, orange and yellow) 99 cents each

3 pairs shorts (camo, beige and khaki) 99 cents each

2 t-shirts (cute little graphic ones) 99 cents each

1 t-shirt (grey) 99 cents 

1 matching pair cotton shorts (grey) 99 cents 

2 hats - 2 for a $1.00 

2 pairs of sunglasses - 2 for a $1.00 

Rocking baby gift that looks like I spent a ton ( 13$ total) -priceless. 

Photos of my steals (kinda; it was all this stuff in different colors and some others that are not online)

Underwear Underthere

 Like any yoga uniform wearing mom out there I am obsessed with  Lululemon pants  (honey you read this, wanna buy me a present or many presents?) but realize that the visible panty-line was becoming an issue. When you buy pants specifically designed to make your sagging derriere look nice you shouldn't be putting a big old panty-line picture frame around it. So now comes my issue, and remarkably a solution. 

I hate thong underwear. I hate things shoved up my ass. I hate visible panty-lines. Dilemma much? 

I have tried "seamless" boy cut underwear from many sources  and have never found a truly invisible pair, seamless my arse. Last month I went to laSenza and bought a stack of these hoping that maybe finally I would have a solution to my problem. 

Wonder of wonders, no more visible panty-lines, and nothing shoved up my ass. At the time they were on a super special of 5 for 25$ and I bought 2 thongs in the same material as a last ditch effort to hide the lines. Although a thong up my ass looks much like a 747 landing in the Grand Canyon, I admit this material is comfortable and seems to make Dad! happy. And yes the regular cut underwear is virtually invisible under my pants too.

For us humble Canadians they ship for free with orders over 69$ (who comes up with that number, 69$ free shipping at a lingerie store? dirty buggers), so you don't have to dig through the mess of piles in the store (you all know what I am talking about).

Now if they could just make a bra that fits a woman (not a jiggle-boobed teenager)  I would be set.

EDIT: 

I went to the website, where there is a crazy ass sale and then googled some coupon codes. So if you want stuff you get free shipping if the total is over 69$ BUT if you add VISA2007B as a coupon code you get an ADDITIONAL 15% off. It adds up fast since I bought more underwear (5 pairs), a lightweight robe, a pair of Yoga pants, a pair of cargo pants and a nice t-shirt (total with free shipping and coupon code used 89$) BARGAIN!!!!!

Friday Feast! Moroccan Meatballs - Bulk Cooking

Moroccan Meatball Stew
Originally uploaded by SleepyNita

I thought I would start a new feature on my blog for us busy Moms and everyone else I know. Every Friday I am going to (try to) post a recipie that I like to make for my little family. Sometimes it will be plain old good food, other times it will be something you can cook in bulk and freeze for those crazier days, sometimes they are one pan meals (seriously who needs to drown in dishes too?); and once in a while it will be something that is super good that you can make on the cheap-cheap (gawd I love a bargin, even in the kitchen)!!!!!!! Or today, it fits all the categories! I will tag it under Friday feast for now, that way you can always hit that tag and see all the related posts.

Todays Recipie is something you can batch cook the main ingredient (which I totally suggest because any other way is a pain for this) and can be turned into two different meals for the family!


Basic Recipie - Moroccan Meatballs

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp crushed dried chillies
2 lbs lean ground beef
4 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup currants (little raisins)
1 large egg
2/3 cup fine bread crumbs
salt and pepper to tast.

Combine all ingredients, (and I actually prebake the meatbals in the oven so it cuts down on cooking times later on) make meatballs and freeze. For 2 of us I freeze 16 - 18 meatballs in each ziploc bag and this makes a decent batch of food leaving enough for leftovers for ManToy to take to work.

Make some Tomato, Meatball and Rice Stew

Thaw a portion of the meatballs and cook (or warm up in a pan of you precook like I do)

1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cup beef broth
1 28 ounce time of diced tomatoes - use juice and all!
1/2 cup long grain rice (no instant Uncle Bens crap here girls!)
1 Tbsp liquid honey
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Optional but tastey: 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint

Saute onion in small amount of oil until it is soft. Add beef broth and tomatoes (with all the juice in the can) to the onions and bring to a boil. Add rice, honey salt and pepper. Cook , covered for about 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Add the meatballs back ito the pan, add lemon juice (and optional mint) and stir well. Cook for 3 minutes until evenly hot. Serve.

Make some Moroccan Meatball Pitas or Wraps

I like to put the meatballis into a wrap with some sauteed peppers and onion, topped off with a little plain yoghurt. Makes a tastey lunch or a fast dinner!

The Nitty Gritty
I managed to score 10 lbs of lean ground beef for 10$ at a local grocery store on a super good special. With a bargin like this dinner worked out to about 4$ a night (including the rice, tomatoes, lemons and currants needed) and I could make about 16 dinners worth of meatballs for the freezer fom that 10$ of beef. Each batch I made fed the two adults and the baby (take the currants out for the little ones teeth) and leftovers for someone to take to work the next day.

P.S. Don't mind the photo, my presentation sucks since my 22 pound Sous Chef (LittleMan) was hanging off my leg the whole time.