Shopping... my attitude !

Shopping has never been my forte in childhood. My mom, who was and is still a fervent shopaholic used to take me on her wild shopping sprees and spend hours in selecting one saree...while I used to actually wait biting my nails.,getting bored to death..but couldnt muster the courage to tell her that. Mommy, are u listening ??

As i grew up , I wasnt completely akin to shopping , but slowly started doing it on my own.Well, one can say its laziness which dominated me partly from scaring myself away from the retail malls. Added to this , when I got married , I only realised that my husband is an extension to my mom ....their moonsigns, their way of life..and needless to say , the shopaholic thing too. Whew ! From the frying pan into the fire ! Hehehe.

Post-marriage ,my husband has always been enthusiastic about my makeover.Did I tell you that i was this typical south indian orthodox girl ,whose wardrobe only consisted of the traditional salwars. As soon as we got married, my husband decided an extreme makeover in my entire look. He was the one to get my first pair of jeans too. Slowly and gradually , I evolved into the modern avataar.

Post-maternity , I had a terrible time in fitting myself into all those jeans.I slowly convinced myself that I would never get back to them and was contemplating on my wardrobe charity too. Huh !! But , as relentless as i was ...and so were the kids, I slowly came back to my normal weight range . However , i had to admit that ,by the time i took interest in the retail therapy, I got too busy with my kiddos and shopping relentlessly for them.

Shopping for kids is an entirely different arena. It involves lots of choices,lots of do's and dont's and lots of your time too. The word "budget" is always misspelt !! "Over-budget" seems to be our middle name. We just seem to have no tab of our expenses when it comes to the case of kids. You just go window shopping and return home with hordes of shopping bags...only for kids !! This has occurred umpteen number of times with us.

I would generally classify kids shopping into the following categories :

-> Food :
The most important and an inevitable expense:- Shopping for baby & toddler food. When i first visited the department stores in singapore , when Tej was a baby, I had a jolt of a shocker when i mentally noted all the baby foods available :-starting with formula milk, baby purees, baby nibbling biscuits , cereals , snacks...the list is endless !! Some mommies would suggest doing everything fresh at home, so as to ensure the best for their babies. However, there were these amazing bottle foods i fed for both my babies...from Heinz and Gerber.Trust me,they are both healthy and definitely time-saving. Of course,as kids grow ,so do their food habits.Their tastes evolve, the junk food (all the sugary stuff,all the fried things... ) slowly creep into their taste buds , and frustratingly, they would find them much better than the actual "Taste-less,healthy" diet ..to name a few, veggies ,milk et al. However, its the basic challenge every mom faces in her daily life to ensure that the kids get the proper diet .Come on, once in a while...their sugary tantrums are acceptable. The rest ?? You are the better judge !

-> Diapers :
Another important item which always seems to be on our shopping list !! Diapers. Definitely, as i told you earlier , i cannot imagine a day without them. It's just not worth it until the baby is ready with his tell-tale signs of toilet training! And the brand i use ? Huggies !! And accompanying the diapers are always the diaper cream (to avoid that ooh-so bad diaper rash )& the wet-wipes. You need to be a parent to actually understand how many tons of wipes you actually use for ur kid from his infancy through his toddlerhood.While the figures are mind-staggering...its another must-have in your diaper bag !

-> Clothes :
I would always have this complaint of not getting to shop all the lacy and pretty pink stuff....having both sons. However , as mentioned earlier, my husband being a shopaholic he is ...and not to mention, the sharp dress-sense inbuilt within him...we ensure that the kids are always in their smartest outfits. Its actually surprising for us to see our kids wardrobe presently teeming with tees and shorts and pants.,in denims,cottons,sports wear...u name it !! My younger one, who has just turned 2..is already so dress-conscious...wouldnt wear shorts while my older one is wearing his pants . This generation kids , i tell you!! They are so self-decisive...that clothes are the first issue you have to give in to them. The rest of the things follow !! hehe.

-> Toys :

I know , this has to top the list . But ,you don't need to actually shop for them.Once you have kids, people forget that you can also accept gifts....only the kids get them !! hehe... Presently, our home is just dumped up with zillion of toys of all variety.Stuffed dolls adorning the kids beds, tons of toddler books pouring out of the shelves , craziest puzzles creeping out of the bins, the toy-room is just a crazy maze full of utter chaos.But of course, i make it a point to the kids to clean-up the entire chaos by the end of the day ..or else , its going to drive me nuts !

-> The latest gadgets :

You must be wondering about what latest gadgets to shop for the kids ! As the new millennium kids, these little wonder-people have all the knowledge about the latest gizmos too. There are varieties of educational toys, all being software-programmed ! With just a click or a tap , the latest toy-gizmos (as i call them) spring into life and provide a very good source of edu-fun for the "Little Einsteins" . Of course,not to mention , the various DVDs , educational CDs and the Leapfrog systems have slowly become a major part of our life. Since its only for their better, i welcomed them with open arms ...no, with an open mind !

Well, so ...after reading this ...you must have had a fair idea as to why our middle name has been changed to "over-budget" ...hehe... Hmm...well, everything has its own fair share of pros with the child development.So , nothing can be avoided.After all, what has money got to do if we dont spend it on our little ones ?? Isnt it , mommies and daddies ??? I know, its a 100 % YES .

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