As is most often the case around this time of year, I find it difficult to get excited about shopping for kids' clothes for back-to-school. My kids are both required to wear a two-tone uniform and that leaves very little room to make a fashion statement. Last month, I decided to got to the mall to do some clothes shopping but, when I walked into the new Kids' Room at Sears, I was NOT happy.

With the Sears gift card I received as part of the Sears Back-To-School blogger campaign, I was hoping to nab some great deals on end-of-season clearance items and maybe a new pair of runners but instead I was greeted by racks upon racks of... SNOWSUITS! Are you kidding me? Winter gear in the early weeks of August? Oh, no, no, no. I will let no one interfere with me enjoying summer vacation. So I pushed on past the... (ick, I have to type it again)... snowsuits and made my way to the clearance section. While there were some great discounts to be had, it didn't seem like there was anything left in my daughter's size. 

We headed over to the (*snore*) uniform section and passed up on it, mainly because I was looking for uniform pants with an elastic band. Buttoned pants often don't fit my daughter even if they come with an adjustable waistband. Plus, she prefers the more relaxed yoga-style pants. Also, it was hard to find uniform pieces that weren't made of polyester. I prefer to go with 100% cotton whenever possible. Right nearby there stood a rack of vests. My daughter couldn't resist so I gave in and picked up a reversible vest. She was also drawn to all of the cute little dresses, which I found quite adorable though not nearly as practical. The girl has a closet full of dresses already.

Next, we checked out the latest fall fashion and, while there were some really stylish outfits, most of them were made with polyester. In the end, we settled on a warm-looking hoodie by Levis which looked quite durable. We later went back to pick up a new Smurfette t-shirt and I'll fill you in soon as to why we did.

On our way over to the boys' section, we noticed the backpacks were on sale for 30% off. We had already purchased new bags in July, however, but I was curious to check out the prices regardless.

My son didn't join us on this day but I still wanted to come home with something new for him. The problem is he already has a crazy amount of clothes. He tends to wear out the knees of his pants so I thought, at the very least, I should pick up a pair of Levis jeans. I noticed a large sign highlighting the KidVantage lifetime wear out warranty while I was there. Perfect!

Once we made our way to the register with our initial three items (a vest, a hoodie, jeans), our cashier let us know that if we spent a certain amount we could get 30% off our purchase. The vest cost $20, the hoodie cost $30 and the jeans cost $35. If my mental math was correct, that would have put me just shy of my $100 budget. BUT by adding the Smurfette t-shirt I was able to save nearly $30, bringing the grand total to $69 and change. Cowabunga, dude! With funds remaining, I knew I had to come back with my son so he could pick out some new clothes and possibly try on a pair of Reebok Kids ATV19 runners I had noticed on display.

A few days later, I returned with my son and almost instantly he zoned in on a plaid buttoned Levis shirt. He loved it so much that he wore it with his new Levis jeans the following evening at the City Critters Coyote Crawl session held at the Toronto Botanical Garden. It was a little cool that evening so it was great he wore a long-sleeve top. Here he is acting like a coyote in Edwards Gardens as part of a little game.