she works hard for her money...

It all started with this, spotted the day after we got home from our trip to Puerto Rico...

The squeals, oh my, the squeals.
Then the cold hard truth, "It is really cute, but if you want to buy it, you're going to have to save your money this Summer and pay for it yourself."
{Sometimes being a parent is no fun at all.  We want to teach them right though, so we press on.}


And that she did.


She did chores...

And counted the money in her piggy bank over and over and over again...what she had saved all year and what she was adding little by little each week.

Until this week.
Finally, she had saved enough!
{actually she was $1 short of $42, but I'm a softie, what can I say}

So off, to Toys-R-Us we went!


Hudson picked out some fun Legos with the gift card Papaw and Mimsy gave him for his birthday - thank you, Papaw and Mimsy!

But. No. Lalaloopsy. Silly. Fun. House. in. sight.
Oh dear.


Off to Target #1...
Still hopeful.

Two Targets later and still, no Lalaloopsy house.
The tears.
I hurt for her.
I knew how hard her little five year old self had worked to save the money to pay for it...picking up after her little brother, taking on extra chores, even asking Noonie if she had chores she could do to earn money.


This was the consolation price.  I had to.
I mean, I heard her in the backseat whispering a little prayer, "Please let this one have it, please, please let this one have it...." just as we were about to get out at the second Target.

And don't worry.
She gave her ziploc bag of money to me to order the Silly Fun House online {I secretly deposited it into the little pumpkin's bank account, but shhh, let's keep that between you and me}.
A certain big package is scheduled to arrive at our front door this week.
A little someone is very happy.
[Money Saving Lesson 1 of 2,367,549 learned...Check.}