I'll Save $276!

My son, T., wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up. I do believe, however, that he may just become a fashion designer. He like clothes....waaaaaay too much.

He has a tendency to pick out his sister's clothing when it's time to get ready for school. He also is very particular when it comes time to purchase new items for his wardrobe.

And he's only six.

Today the new Lands' End Kids catalog arrived in the mail. The younger Schmitty kids usually attack me at the front door as I empty the mailbox. They love to open my junk mail and search for mock credit cards. Much to T.'s disappointment, as well as my own, there were only bills and that summer clothing catalog.

"Here T., why don't you circle the things you like in here?" I said, as I handed him a red pen.

"Okay! Can I get some new stuff?" He asked.

"We'll see what you come up with and what you might need for the summer, okay?" I replied.

He set to work as I viewed some email.

"All done!" He shouted, not fifteen minutes later.

"Great! Show me what you circled."

I should have said, "Show me what you DIDN'T circle." For every pair of pants, shorts, or swim trunks he chose, there was a coordinating shirt or rash guard, a hat, and a pair of shoes to go along with it. He even picked matching beach towels for some of his ensembles.

I wanted him to see how crazy expensive his wish list was, so I turned on my desk calculator. I began adding up the pages of red, circled items.

The total came to $1510.50. Wow.

"Um, T.? I think you went a bit overboard. Do you really need twelve rash guards?"

"Sure. They match the bathing suits I want."

"But we can't even fit rash guards over your head, remember? They get stuck."

I have no idea why but it's the same thing with turtlenecks. His head doesn't LOOK that big, but he just can't wear them.

"Oh yea. But some of them are tie-dye. I love tie-dye. But they do hurt coming off. Okay, cross those off my list."

I subtracted the price of the twelve rash guards.

$1234.50.

"Cool mom! It says 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -5! But that zero should be a 6!"

Yeah cool T. and there's free shipping too!