At this point, after seven years of marriage, my wife and I are pretty much in tune with how we might compliment one another in any given situation. We know where one of us will fall short and where the other one will excel.
As the 1988 song ‘Opposites Attract’ once said…
…She likes it neat
And he makes a mess
I take it easy
Baby I get obsessed
She’s got the money
And he’s always broke…
Okay, alright – party’s over. Enough of that trash.
We all KNOW that I’m the NEAT one. So what if she’s got a bunch of money.
The point is (if you can wipe the morning coffee spittake from your work computer), on a normal day my wife and I would give and take – ebb and flow – make things work… however, KINDERGARTEN.
My wife is emotional BECAUSE and I’m emotional because I’ve spent every day with her as a stay-at-home dad since she was 10 weeks old.
The battlefield for ‘back-to-school’ shopping has been leveled and neither of us are holding the door for one another to get in and find the sales – like the awesome 3D butterfly mesh skirt above!
Allow me to preface what I’m about to write, by telling you that my wife’s ‘happy place’ is ANY form of shopping and my ‘panic room’ is similarly, shopping.
When I enter a store, I’ve most likely already downloaded floor plan schematics online, I’ve chosen an inherently slow day and will case the front entrance for several minutes before I make entry.
I know which aisle (or AISLES, heaven save me) my product is located and I retrieve it like I’m Special Forces on a hostage rescue (even with a kid on my chest and two toddlers in 17’ long race car shopping cart).
My wife, however, would most likely choose to live in a mall if a house weren’t an option.
Anyhow, as opposites, we find ourselves wanting to come together on one thing – playing a part in Ava’s Kindergarten experience. I’ve never said this before in my life, but we BOTH wanted to do the shopping.
As you can tell by my Instagram and Facebook accounts, we were visiting my parents last weekend in Pennsylvania. They live in the middle of the woods, yet somehow have The Children’s Place at the nearby promenade.
We thought it was the perfect time (with pop-pop watching Mason) to take Ava and Charlie and knock this thing out…
I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the science behind magnetism and repulsion, but when two poles (me and my wife) have similar interests and they’re pushed together, they tend to bounce off of and resist one another – which is exactly what the staff at TCP in Saucon Valley, PA witnessed.
I’ll save you a long story and just give you the top exchange of the shopping trip:
ME: “What do you think about this shirt, I’m diggin’ it.”
WIFE: “Are you serious? If you want them to match in the picture for this post, go find something green.”
ME: (breathing through my nose, which is abnormal as a mouth-breather) “Ok, I’ll see what I can dig up.”
ME: (comes back with two shirts with elements of green) “Babe, what about these? We could totally work with these.”
WIFE: “Honey, these are great, but you’ve got a 3T and a 5T here, and WE’RE TRYING TO FIND 4T’s (FIRE SHOOTS THROUGH HER NOSE)”
ME: (Situation elevates as ‘Opposites Attract’ plays over PA) “Allllllllright, but seriously, where are the kids?”
TCP EMPLOYEE: “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that your son has…maybe…ten t-shirts on all at once – he’s up at the front of the store… and your daughter is back there and has completely filled both of her arms with bracelets and says she has to pee.”
US: “Awwl, thank you so much, we literally turned our heads for a minute (which is parent code for 7-8 minutes).”
The long and the short of it is, despite our differences, we emerged with some super buys. Ava picked out a few really exceptional dresses and my wife and I were both impressed with some of the great, refreshing colors (including this awesome gumball dress) we were able to choose from – Charlie’s closet has never looked so vibrant!
…or when we get to spend time together later in the day (graphic skull shirt included!) or on the weekends.
The Children’s Place ended up being the venue where we did most of our back-to-school shopping this year (check out that and they had some great savings.
This season, The Children’s Place has teamed up with Shutterfly to help parents create a keepsake for their children’s first day of school photos. Now through September 12th, you guys have the opportunity to receive a custom TCP coupon code for $20 off a purchase of $20 or more at Shutterfly.com! To enhance your post, print up a sign from TCP and include it in your submission!
To receive the code, participants simply need to share a first day of school photo on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook – using #FirstDayPLACE and tagging @ChildrensPlace! Following a photo post, TCP will direct message qualifying customers with the single-use Shutterfly offer code in the channel the photo was submitted. (Limit of one Shutterfly offer per account)
I hope you guys take advantage of this great promotion and happy clothing hunting as you send your kids back to school!
[…] year we got started early and just like our back-to-school experience, The Children’s Place had the colors and selection to match the […]