How the Lady at Trader Joes Cost Me $13by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 22 Feb 2009 05:34 PM
We have been having a rough and busy few weeks, and the kids have definitely been affected. We've made trips to the hospital, trips to the doctor and trips out of state. We've had late dinner and bedtimes and our phone went out due to old wiring in our home. This afternoon, we headed over to Trader Joes grocery store to pick up some staples, such as milk, cheese, fruit and eggs. The kids always look forward to getting the free balloon. And this time, they really had to work for them. While the store is usually full of the most amazing employees, we must have hit the balloon lady on a bad day. She gave our family two balloons. We have three kids. My four-year-old walked up to the balloon lady to ask for a third balloon. The lady told her she already had one, using a not-so-nice tone. We worked it all out, but there was more problems ahead. As soon as we got outside, the red balloon slipped from the ribbon and flew off into the clouds. I don't think it was ever actually knotted onto the balloon. Well, my poor girl finally had it. She started bawling right then and there. Her older brother's balloon flew away as well, and the baby was scared that his was going to be next (I grabbed the valve on it). We got into the car, and nothing would calm my daughter. She thought all of her toys would fly away. When she cried out that she was happy that maybe Mom Mom could find the balloon (Mom Mom has passed on to heaven), I just lost it and was ready to cry with her. Although we don't usually comfort our kids with material things, we made what is probably a bad parenting move and stopped at the Five Below on the way to buy her something heavy that wouldn't fly away, and her older brother something, and the baby something, just to be fair. I figure that $13 was cheaper than therapy. Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Favorite Deal Websites: Related Articles: Reducing the Cost of Raising a Child Dollar Store Shopping Strategies Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantfrugal tags User Comments  Valorie Delp (49340) 22 Feb 2009 07:59 PMLOL It happens to the best of us. Toys that fly away can be very scary. annasmom07 (40) 23 Feb 2009 09:09 AMAwwww! I think that was $13 well spent!! Life is more pleasant when we live by the spirit, rather than the letter, of the "law"... no matter what "law" that might be (in this case, being frugal).  Mary Ann Romans (26886) 23 Feb 2009 10:51 AMTruthfully, I was more worried about sending the wrong message about buying away sadness, but I think we made the right decision in this case. jonesx6 (1606) 23 Feb 2009 03:13 PMAwww poor girl and mommy! I think as long as you don't make it habit, you'll be fine. lol Nice post. Bill went to Trader Joe's this afternoon and all of their refrigerators were broken, so he didn't get any cheese. Community Tags Kids, red balloon, shopping, Trader Joes Discuss this article
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