Wendy’s — $3.52
Two hamburgers and a vanilla frosty for The Son after his lesson before heading off for orchestra rehearsal.

Costco — $19.32
Ugh. This is the kind of trip I just hate! I’ve been wanting to get up to the north Costco because I’d been told that they carry a larger selection of organic items and that they had the Nature’s Path organic toaster pastries that the kids like for breakfast. I also wanted to see if they had the Fruitabu fruit “flats” (which The Daughter likes) or “twirls” (which The Son likes). They didn’t have either.

It gets worse — while wandering around looking for the toaster pastries, I found the cases of Horizon vanilla milk but no chocolate milk. Were they out? NO. They’ve replaced that product with a different brand. WTF?! The Horizon chocolate milk was the whole reason for renewing our membership this year [see this post]. I’m so very ticked!

I did find a 15-package case of Annie’s Mac & Cheese for $8.99 — that makes the price $0.60/box! Looking back at my notes the very best price I’ve gotten on those lately is $1.25 less 10%. If I remember correctly Vitamin Cottage had them on sale for $0.99 this summer. Today’s $0.60 per box is a great price but, as The Daughter said, it will take her 6 months to eat it all.

The other item I picked up was a box of assorted flavors of Stretch Island fruit leathers. Never mind the fact that Stretch Island and Fruitabu are made by the same company — as soon as The Daughter laid eyes on the box she announced in no uncertain terms that she doesn’t like that brand, she only likes Fruitabu. Kids!

Costco Gas — $45.74
The Tank was thirsty. I pumped 15.888 gallons @ $2.879/gal. My odometer reads 116,396.

Vitamin Cottage — $2.59
While The Son did his cello thing, I ran out for an Odwalla Strawberry C Monster to tide me over until I could get home for some dinner.

Marshall’s — $118.80
Another Ugh! How did I manage to spend so much and in less than an hour?!

Okay, I was there to find another pair of basketball shorts for The Son because 1) the red ones I bought look less than terrific with his just-issued red jersey uniform and 2) I expected his uniform to include a jersey and shorts because, after all, that’s what the high school uniform consists of but it turns out that the middle-schoolers are only provided with a jersey. He needs two pair of shorts if he’s going to be playing two games and having at least one practice each week. I found a pair of reversible Addias shorts in black/gray that I’m hopeful will look okay with the jersey and that The Son will acquiesce to wear. Cost: $13.00 (retail — $35.00)

I also needed to see if I could find a smaller pair of warm-up pants. The Daughter convinced me to get him a size Large during our earlier shopping trip but they’re simply too big in the waist; no matter how much I cinch the drawstring, they fall off the boy. As I’ve learned over the years, too big isn’t an issue — he’s sure to grow into them. But, in the meantime, he needs a pair of warm-up pants that he doesn’t have to continuously hold up with one hand and that don’t threaten to fall off and take his shorts with them whenever he needs two free hands. I found a pair of black Nike pants that I hope will fit and meet with The Son’s approval. Cost: $16.99 (retail — $40.00)

While looking through the menswear department, I found a nice Columbia fleece jacket that I thought The Son might approve of. His favorite spring/fall-weight jacket is now officially too small. But he’s very partial to it and is reluctant to select a replacement. He has a new Columbia winter-weight jacket that we picked up from Burlington just before I started blogging but it’s meant for cold days and is too heavy and bulky for merely crisp days. I made The Son try the new Columbia on before allowing him into the car after rehearsal — if it had met with an immediate veto I was prepared to take it back immediately. It passed the first round of approvals. We’ll let it sit around for a week or so without removing the tags to see if it’s still a “go” or if it becomes a “no”. Cost: $34.99 (retail — $65.00)

As long as I was shopping, I did some planned birthday present hunting for my youngest nephew and godson. He’s a skinny, petite little pistol and what he really wants are “swish” pants — windbreaker athletic pants that make that “swish” noise when you walk. I found just the thing and in the right size too. Cost: $12.99 (retail @ $20.00)

As I was shopping I called my sister to confirm the little guy’s size and see what else might be on his wish-list. It turns out that he’s suddenly outgrown all of his undies and maybe his Auntie, shopper extraordinare that she is, could find some new ones. He’d expressed interest in boxers like the ones his older brother wears but upon trying them doesn’t like all that extra fabric, etc. So his mom and I agreed that maybe he’d like boxer briefs. Sure enough, I found two packages in that usually-elusive littlest-boy size so I snapped them up at $5.99/package (retail — $15.00/ea).

My final purchase was a nice hoodie sweatshirt branded with the local college football team’s logo across the chest. This purchase was a bit of a might-have-to-be-returned risk, which I hate taking, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes. I did call The Husband and ask his opinion but he was less than helpful. The intended recipient is The Husband’s third son who is special needs and has a birthday later this month. The questions are 1) is it the right size and 2) does he need a hoodie? I tried calling The Husband’s daughter because she’ll know what size her brother wears and will have an educated guess as to whether or not a sweatshirt will be an appreciated gift but I couldn’t get her on the phone. I’ll try again tomorrow. Cost: $19.99 (retail @ $38.00).

Overall I’m extremely pleased with the items I found and the prices I paid but it sure is depressing to see how quickly it all adds up.

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