Fun day of shopping today..... I normally am not much of a shopper and don't usually enjoy it. I have difficulty with the arches in my feet and end up with a lot of leg and foot pain (and knees and back, etc.) I also don't have a lot of money to spend, so that also takes the fun out of it.

        Today was fun because I got to go shopping with my 7yod. It has been quite awhile since just the two of us went shopping together. Even when she was a toddler, she was a lot of fun to shop with. I think it must be in her blood or something. You wouldn't think a toddler barely more than a year old would be so excited about looking at clothing, but she always was. She had to touch every fabric. Now that she is older and we can have conversations, too, it is even more fun.

        One of the things I enjoy about spending time with Sarah is that she is so decidedly feminine. I think anyone who knows her would agree. The way she walks, talks, and observes the world is just so completely feminine. That shouldn't surprise me, I guess, but I find it so fascinating. She has four older brothers (as well as a younger one and also one younger sister.....) and I waited such a long time to see the difference.

        Today, we bought a bunch of household items first. Spent quite a bit, but shouldn't need to buy many of these things again for quite awhile. Then, we shopped for shoes and birthday presents. It took awhile, but we found some sandals for her that she liked. I tried on several pair, but my feet are very wide and I really struggle to find shoes that fit well.....esp at a place like Walmart. It was fun, though, watching her go through the different shoes, picking out ones that she thought I should try on..... listening to her comments on how the shoes looked on my feet. In the end, though, I decided to wait on shoes for me.

        We looked for birthday presents for her brother, Caleb, and her cousin, Ellie, who both have birthdays next month. Again, it was obvious that she is very perceptive of the things her brother likes. I was impressed with her suggestions. What really touched my heart, though, was listening to her choose a present for her cousin. She had received a gift card for Walmart for her own birthday back in March. She saved it this whole time so she could buy a present for her cousin whom she is very close to. I thought  perhaps she was going to spend maybe half or a little less on Ellie, but she had intended on using the entire card ($25) on her cousin. As it turned out, she found more than one present, but was also able to keep a little and even spent a little on herself.

         Later, we went to the self-checkout, thinking this would be easier since we had gift cards and only a few items. It was, of course, NOT easier! First, I could not seem to follow the directions. (Ok, so this has never been one of my strong suits! I always think I can just figure it out!) Just as the cashier started to come over to help me, my 7yo daughter explained to me how it worked. Had she done it before? No, she was reading the directions and watching the picture that explained the process. (And, I'm saying, "Picture? There's a picture?" )  LOL

        As it turned out, even after my daughter got me through the process, the card didn't work so we had to wait until the cashier could work out the problem. Whew! We took our merchandise out to the car for the second time, then went back inside .... (ever spend four hours at the SAME store?!?!?) We headed back again to the garden center this time. She helped me pick out flowers and had to read nearly every tag as she wanted to learn the names of the flowers. She picked out the red and orange marigolds as HER flowers to plant this year. We picked out several annuals and finally headed for home.

        It was precious to see her, when we arrived home, running to hug her younger brother and sister as though she hadn't seen them for weeks. She excitedly explained to Matthew that Mom bought him some Thomas the Tank Engine toothpaste and told Beth that she got a new Dora toothbrush. They were so excited with her that you would've thought those were the best presents ever.

        I'm starting to think that maybe I enjoy shopping more now than I used to.