Sunday Shopping Experience

Sweet Cheeks decided to take it upon herself and grow. Because of this she was having difficulty fitting into the clothes currently inhabiting her closet and dresser. This necessitated a major shopping excursion. Ever shop with a 14 year old?

SC: "No! I do not want to go to Kohl's...I don't like their clothes...it's all so 'Goth'!"
Me: "Well, Sweet Cheeks, I have an additional 30% discount coupon. We are going to go there first to pick you up the basics"

We get to Kohl's and found a few layering tees and some cute "unmentionables".

Me: "Do you want to go look at the shoes before we head to the mall?"
SC: "No."

On to the mall. We were very fortunate to hit pay dirt and a pretty good sale at Aeropostale. Sweet Cheeks found a great pair of jeans and a blouse at 70% off...plus all their tees were 50% off. We got some excellent deals. Our mall experience is off to a grand start.

Ooooh. Free strawberry smoothie sample. Yummy!

Next stop: the shoe store. Oh, the agony! It has been officially determined that I like "old lady shoes". Sweet Cheeks, to her credit, however, was really trying to be cost conscious. Over the course of the next hour our conversation pretty much went like this:

Me: "Hey, Sweet Cheeks...how about these?"
SC: *Insert look of horror* then "I like these, but they're too expensive."
Me: "Will you wear them? I refuse to buy a pair of shoes that you are not going to wear. We've been down that path before. That's when shoes are 'expensive'! Ooooh, how about these?"
SC: *Insert look of horror*

After finally selecting a black pair of Converse style shoes, our next mission is to find the perfect Easter dress.

Macy's: Lots of prom dresses but their Jr. dresses were, how to put this, a tad flashy and immodest.

Uh oh...I got sidetracked by Coldwater Creek. After a quick looksee, I leave, disappointed, thinking to myself that the buyer, for the local store, must like "old lady styles" (I'll stick to their on line catalogue.)

Passing by the food court we swung through in our quest for free samples. There are 2 Japenese places and one Cajun restaurant that are known to give away mouthwatering tidbits of their most popular dishes. We scored with some "tangerine chicken".

Dillard's: Disappointing. No selection to speak of. We took note of several "bohemian" style skirts and blouses, which were actually pretty cute but not Sweet Cheeks "style".

Me: "How about we go back to Kohl's? We never did look at the dresses there?"
SC: *insert heavy sigh* "Well, okay."

Back at Kohl's we found a wonderful selection of dresses. After narrowing it down to 2 choices, Sweet Cheeks chose a lovely yellow/orange/pink floral pattern sundress with a brown tie. We selected a cute brown, cropped, short sleeved sweater to go with it to make it church appropriate. We checked out after a little more browsing around the store.

On our way home, Sweet Cheeks revealed the following:

SC: "I'm so glad we spent the afternoon together. It was nice to have some Mommy/Daughter time"
Me: *insert big smile and a generous dose of gratitude*

Then:

SC: "I think I'd like to go back to Kohl's. I saw the perfect pair of shoes while there"
Me: *Heavy sigh*

Parting note for my darling daughter: Sweet Cheeks, I truly treasured our time together, too. Please realize that the above, although accurate, was written for humor's sake. I most especially appreciated being able to discuss a variety "heavy topics" with you. You are a delightful young lady who is beautiful inside and out! We do need to make time for each other more often. I love you very much!