Mom Guilt and Money

Amazon prime is both a blessing and a curse.  It is AWESOME that I can have almost anything I want delivered to my house in 2 days or less at no extra cost.  It is also TERRIBLE that-I-can-have-almost-anything-I-want-delivered-to-my-house-in-2-days-or-less-at-no-extra-cost.  The ease and availability of it makes it way too tempting to shop when you're vulnerable.  On the plus side, they've also got a great return policy.

I bought the DSLR I've been coveting for years the day BEFORE I sat down to work out my Christmas budget.  Turns out, Christmas is going to be tight this year.  The thing is I KNEW that it was going to be, but for some reason it didn't seem like a big deal until I actually ran the numbers.  I started to feel really guilty about ordering that camera.

It certainly didn't help my frame of mind that when the camera came it only worked for half the morning before it started displaying an error message and refusing to focus or take pictures.  That just didn't feel like a good sign.  I was frustrated but we were just going to send it back and they would send us a new one.

Then, yesterday, after stressing over Christmas gifts and birthday gifts and money, I decided to go check out some thrift stores and used book stores to get a feel for where I could pinch a few pennies in my shopping list.  When I got into our less-than-amazing minivan and tried to drive away, it kept slipping in and out of gear.  I made it about 10 feet down the road before I sloooooowly turned around and parked in front of the house.

That was the end of the line for me.  Chris came home from work and I told him to send the damn camera back for a refund.  I don't know if we're going to have to spend money on the van and I'm not sure how much the holidays are going to cost us, but that $600 for the camera sitting on my credit card bill was taunting me through it all, TAUNTING ME I tell you!  I don't typically like to charge anything, but I wanted the camera for the holidays.  If it's going to stress me out though, it's just not worth it.  I'll wait until I can actually afford it.

The silver lining is I did get some pictures the morning of Slim's birthday, before the dumb thing stopped working.

She likes to decorate her own cake.  This year's theme: mustaches.

I just can't resist this guy.

Enjoying her birthday presents: wearing the [very ugly] headphones that she HAD TO HAVE, while playing Magic the Gathering with Chris.

We took a walk to the park for some basketball.  Dear made some very bold fashion choices that day- in case it isn't clear those are striped knee-high socks on over some gray polka dot leggings under a vibrant (home sewn) skirt.