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Guest post from Trina of TrinaHolden.com It’s that time of year again — time to take stock of our closets and plan a shopping trip to bring our family’s wardrobes into the the cooler months. The best place to do this is frugally is at the thrift store! But what to do with the kids? Take them along! I’ll be the first to admit that thrifting with kids is not a walk in the park. But as a homeschooling mom of a 2, 4, and 6-year-old, I’ve had to embrace the challenge of bringing my kids with me on our shopping trips. If you find yourself in a similar place, with the desire to clothe your family frugally, here are my tips for thrifting with kids in tow: 1. Bring Provisions The quest to find a good deal can feel as epic as Lewis and Clarke looking for the Pacific ocean. Go ahead and carry the theme by putting ample thought into provisions for your journey. My kids enjoy the thrift store the most when they’re munching dried fruit, each from their own little plastic baggy. Any kind of snack that won’t end up staining the clothes you’re trying to buy works great for happy distraction on the journey. Think cheese sticks, raisins, crackers, and nuts. Also, water bottles and sippy cups. And don’t forget wipers for little hands that might have been crawling around under the clothing racks just before being handed a snack. If snack time isn’t a normal part of your daily routine — all the better! It will be one more highlight in their day, causing them to ask you when they get to go thrift shopping again! 2. Narrow Your Focus It’s tempting to look at a giant thrift store as a one-stop-shop for all your wardrobe and houseware needs, because that’s often what it offers: from curtains to furniture, shoes to pots and pans, you can find it all! But that doesn’t mean you should. For the sake of you and your kid’s endurance, you will probably need to narrow the focus of your trip to one section of the store, or even one child’s clothing needs at a time. If this means you have to go back weekly until you’ve covered all the bases, that’s better than a 3-hour marathon, and dreading the idea of ever going thrifting again. 3. Pack Your Patience More important than coupons, an organized list, or well-packed diaper bag, you will need your patience, mamma. Don’t head out unprepared for the fact you will have plenty of opportunities to grow in patience and unconditional love for your children. That’s why, in my list of thrifting tips in my book, I encourage you to “Pray — out loud!” as you embark. Just as any challenge in parenting, God will use this to work beauty in you, if you let it. Keep in mind that our ultimate goal has nothing to do with a few cheap outfits, and everything to do with hearts — ours and our children’s. 4. Remember That It’s Not a Talent Show One of the most challenging aspects of taking our kids with us to the thrift store, or any public place, is that people see when they misbehave. But seriously, mamma — is this such a terrible thing? Is the goal of your visit to the thrift store to have the best behaved children in sight? If it is, you’re putting way too big a burden on yourself. On my last thrifting trip, I lost track of the amount of times I had to remind my 6 and 4-year-old to stay in the same aisle with me. If I had added shame at their poor behavior to the challenges I was facing on that particular day, it would have been a horrific experience indeed. Instead, I prayed for patience, hoping that if anyone was watching (and they weren’t, really), they might be impacted by a mother’s gentle demeanor under duress, not simply impressed by children so perfectly behaved they appeared to be drugged. When we got home, it was definitely time to have a little talk about how we should obey mommy when we’re out and about, but that afternoon at the thrift store, I just had to let my pride go and embrace the fact that kids will be kids. The practically-new Bravado Nursing Bra I scored for $1.50 was totally worth any embarrassment I might have suffered at the hands of my babies.  This post is an excerpt from Trina’s book, “Embracing Beauty: Practical Style for Every Shape and Season of Motherhood”, available in all electronic formats and paperback. Check it out for more tips on thrifting, defining your personal style, and finding beauty in the busy season of motherhood. 
Special Coupon Code! From now until noon on September 5, all MoneySavingMom.com readers can use the coupon code MOMBEAUTY to get $2 off the PDF version of Trina’s book! {Note from Crystal: I love and highly recommend Trina’s book. Read my full review here.}
Trina is a homeschooling mom of 3 who regularly schedules field trips to the thrift store to clothe her family frugally. You can find her wearing purple most days, jotting down words that beg to be written in between cooking, cleaning and laughter-filled phone conversations with friends. She blogs about true beauty, deep community, and real food at TrinaHolden.com.    Related Stories 
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Here are some of the best educational deals and freebies available right now from Katie who writes at Cincinnati Cents: Liberty’s Kids Complete Series for $6.49: Amazon has their Liberty’s Kids Complete Series on DVD for just $6.49. This set received a 5-star rating from more than 150 reviews and has over 800 minutes of run time. X-ACTO Spira Electric Pencil Sharpener for $8.99: Purchase the X-ACTO Spira Electric Pencil Sharpener for $8.99. This pencil sharpener uses a helical steel cutter to produce a sharp pencil tip and includes a safety first feature that will not allow the sharpener to operate without the receptacle in place. Free Letter Mm Alphabet Pack: Royal Baloo has a free Letter Mm Alphabet Pack available for download. This pack includes such skills as counting, letter matching, graphing, shapes, puzzles, and more. The Chronicles of Narnia 7-Book Volume for $15.16: Amazon has the Chronicles of Narnia Book Set on sale for $15.16. This edition includes all seven books completely unabridged in one volume. Inside this volume you'll receive all seven Chronicles of Narnia books – The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. Lincoln Log Horseshoe Hill Station for $19.99: Purchase the Lincoln Log Horseshoe Hill Station for just $19.99. This set typically retails for $27.99 and contains 83 pieces including real wood logs, a cowboy, a horse, a roof, and a door. The set also comes with a sturdy box with a lid for convenient storage and portability. Free Utah Worksheet Pack: Download a free Utah Worksheet Pack from 123 Homeschool 4 Me. This pack includes such topics as the state's nickname, capital, chief products, history, things to see, and weather. Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game for $15.71: Purchase the Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game for just $15.71. This game received a 5-star rating from over 250 reviews, and it encourages a variety of skills, such as matching, sorting, strategic thinking, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and pre-handwriting skills. Scrabble Turbo Slam for $8.60: Amazon has their Scrabble Turbo Slam on sale for $8.60. This game typically retails for $19.99 and is a fast-moving version of the classic word-building Scrabble Game. Free ABC Frame Cards: 3 Dinosaurs has a free set of ABC Frame Cards available for download. These cards are ideal for matching games as well as for making words. Leapfrog Complete Scout & Friends 4-DVD Collection for $14.99: Amazon has their Leapfrog Complete Scout & Friends 4-DVD Collection on sale for $14.99. This set includes the following DVDs – Phonics Farm, Number Land, Adventures in Shapeville Park, and The Magnificent Museum of Opposite Words. Angry Birds Plush Backpack for $10.63: Purchase an Angry Birds Plush Backpack for $10.63. You can choose from red, green, or black. You can also purchase a Perry the Platypus Backpack for $10.63 as well. Free Noah’s Ark Mega Pack: Download a free Noah's Ark Mega Pack from 123 Homeschool 4 Me. This pack includes 50 pages of activities geared toward children ages 2-8. Perler Beads 6,000-Count Bucket for $8.99: Amazon has their Perler Beads 6,000-Count Multi-Mix Bucket on sale for $8.99. This set typically retails for $11.79 and includes 6,000 beads, 5 boards (small square, small circle, small hexagon, small star, and small heart), and ironing paper. This fun craft is an ideal way to develop hand-eye coordination, color and shape recognition, and fine motor skills. Swingline Laminator for $23.99: If you missed the sale on the Swingline Laminator last week, it’s on sale again this week (not quite as low as last week, but still a good deal). You can currently purchase the Swingline Laminator for $23.99. This item laminates up to 9 inches wide. As an alternative option, you can also purchase the Scotch Thermal Laminator for $24.97. These are both inexpensive options to make charts, graphs, and posters and is an ideal way to preserve your child's artwork and papers throughout the school year. Katie is a wife and homeschooling mother of four who writes at Cincinnati Cents about saving money and having fun as a family without breaking the bank. She enjoys sharing new recipes, ideas for frugal family fun, and tips for spending less at the grocery store.
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BundleoftheWeek.com is a site bringing you a new ebook bundle each and every week that features 5 high-quality, related ebooks from well-known authors at the unbelievable price of just $7.40 total. If you like ebooks, you’ll definitely want to sign up for their email newsletter to be notified of the new bundle each week. This week they’re bringing back their most popular bundles for just 24 hours each as part of their Labor Day Flash Sale! And, I’m so excited to have the bundle my ebook was in (New Year’s Resolutions) be a part of the sale. For today only, you can get all five resources below for just $7.40: Healthy Homemaking: One Step at a Time by Stephanie Langford Healthy Homemaking is a compilation of 26 practical, relevant and varied "baby steps" to take you on a one-year journey toward healthy living. Covering a broad range of topics in the areas of nutrition, cooking, green and natural living, each baby step includes a specific goal, background information and references, and specific steps to take toward that goal. The one-year format allows you to cover a wide variety of information in a systematic way without being overwhelming. Simplify by Joshua Becker Simplify is a celebration of living more by owning less. This is a book that calls for the end of living lives seeking and accumulating more and more possessions by highlighting the enjoyment of living with less. Full of personal stories, practical tips, and powerful inspiration, Simplify is based on Joshua's rational approach to minimalism. It will forever change the way you look at physical possessions and provide you with the extra motivation to realign your life around what's important to you. 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life by Crystal Paine 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life is a handbook to help you create discipline habits in your life. With 21 days of exercises, Crystal helps you develop discipline in your life, one habit at a time. From identifying and prioritizing goals to overcoming obstacles and stopping the excuses, these exercises are perfect for anyone who has trouble following through or gets overwhelmed by big projects and goals! The 2013 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner by Susan Heid The 2013 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner keeps busy moms from all walks of life motivated and on track with all of their to-do items day after day, week after week, all year long. Susan has done the hard work of scheduling for you, and this weekly planner breaks down all of your household tasks into manageable daily and weekly bite-size pieces, utilizing smaller increments of time to keep the tasks from becoming too large and overwhelming. One Bite at a Time by Tsh Oxenreider
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