Category Archives: shopaholism

May 29, 2011 · 11:59 am

Week In Review

Shopaholic Mama hasn’t bought anything but groceries, gas and diapers in nine days.  And it hasn’t even been hard.  Bring on week two…

Guilty Mamas!  Wow, my “Spectrum” post was my most viewed post since I began my blog almost a year ago.  I definitely struck a nerve with Guilty Mamas, and I can’t wait to explore it further.  The Guilty Mama Project is born!

The Chores Chart.  Both boys did great the first week.  They did their chores, got stickers and earned a reward last Sunday.  I gave them Cars II beach towels and sunglasses (all purchased before shopaholic rehab began).

Dylan is still doing great.  Riley, on the other hand, lost interest completely.  When I ask him to do something, he looks at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and says flat out, “no.”  I think he’d flip me the bird if he knew how.  I’m trying not to take it personally, especially after making him such a beautiful sticker chart, but he’s probably a little too young for chores.  I’m going to keep the focus on Dylan and let him reap the rewards of doing “big boy” stuff.  This week’s surprise is a baseball (Mike bought it, not me).

One more thing…

Riley, at two years and two months, peed on the potty this week.  Once.  He sat there until he was purple in the face and had a little tinkle.  This is great news, but now he wants to “pee potty” everywhere we go and repeatedly, especially in restaurants.  As a result, Mike and I have blacklisted him from restaurant outings until further notice.

Dylan didn’t potty train until he was almost three and a half, an even then he did it with great resistance, so Riley’s early (in comparison) interest is unexpected to say the least.  I don’t mean to discourage him, but his incessant and fruitless public restroom “pee potty” attempts are making me want to flush him down the toilet.  And, yes, I feel guilty for saying that.  I may have to go shopping this week for teeny, tiny pairs of underwear.  It’s a legitimate purchase, right?

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Filed under chores, guilt, potty training, shopaholism

May 21, 2011 · 1:10 pm

Shopaholic Mama Returns

Shopaholic Mama has surfaced.  I haven’t been really bad, but I haven’t been particularly good either.  I could make excuses.  Spring fever gave me uncontrollable impulses to buy skirts and espadrilles.  It was Mother’s Day and I really, really deserved a new pair of (expensive) jeans.  In Florida, one must have several dozen sundresses to survive hurricane season.  But, shopaholics, like all addicts, are full of excuses.

I’ve been online window-shopping.  Nothing’s been purchased, but a few shopping carts have been filled.  Yesterday, at Bloomingdales.com I found a style story called “Back to Basics: Top 10 Essentials.”  The text under the headline said: “From the white tee to the black blazer, these ten key pieces serve as the foundation for timeless style.”  Once you clicked through, you could shop a Lookbook and purchase a Diane von Furstenberg black wrap dress ($325), a Theory white tank top ($105), Citizens of Humanity boot cut jeans ($188), a Catherine Malandrino black cardigan ($345) and so on.

Mortgage payment or timeless style?

Don’t worry. I wasn’t tempted to buy any of it…not at those prices.  I’m no stranger to Bloomingdale’s – even as a little girl I had seven days of the week “Bloomies” underwear – but, believe it or not, I would have a hard time spending $300 on a sweater even if I could.

The Lookbook reminded me of Six Items Or Less, a social experiment where participants choose six items of clothing and pledge to wear only those items of clothing for a month (shoes and accessories are unlimited).  It’s a statement on consumerism, an exercise in living with less, or whatever you want it to be.  I think a lot of people who do it are surprised at how liberated (or livid) they feel about sticking to six items.

The founders organize the experiment in mass a few times a year.  I don’t know when the next one is scheduled (I know I just missed one in April), but I’m inspired to do it when the next cycle begins.  When I told my friend Karen about it, she said it was a cool concept and then said something like, “Are you *$#%! crazy?” (I’m paraphrasing).  Mike’s exact words were, “You’d never last a month.”  Hmm.  They’re probably both right and that’s exactly why I want to do it.

Until I get news about the next Six Items Or Less cycle, I’m back in rehab.  Starting today, May 20th, I will buy nothing but food, gas and diapers for one month, except for the pedicure I’m getting later on today.  (Why do I always have a pedicure scheduled when I go in shopaholic rehab?)  I’m also going to think about creating my own uniform of fashion essentials…from my closet, not the mall.  Maybe a style uniform is the cure I’ve been searching for?  At the very least, I hope it will distract me from Bloomingdales.com.

Wish me luck.

Do you have a style uniform?

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