Shopping . . .

So, the last few months have been crazy busy and I was in Facebook world for awhile, but it's not really working for me as a good way to actually share or record what's going on in my life, so I think I'm back to blogger.  I'm not deserting Facebook altogether, since I still like to spy on my children that way, but for my personal use, I think this is better.  I've skipped a lot, but I'm not going to try to go back and catch up now, I'll just pick up with my thoughts for today and maybe one day next week I'll find some pictures we've taken in the last bit and add a few historical notes.
As for the title of this post . . . I've discovered that the trade off for the fun of shopping for cute baby girl clothes is the agony of shopping for preteen and teenage girl clothes.  This is where having boys would really be handy-jeans and T-shirts and styles that don't really change from toddler through adulthood.  That doesn't work for girls.  Particularly my girls.  You would think that with all them I would just be able to pass things right on down the line.  Not so much.  For one thing, they are all different body types.  For another thing, they all have completely different tastes.  Thirdly, they are all pretty particular about what they will and won't wear (it's too itchy, it's too clingy, it's too loose, it's too short, it's too long, the pockets are strange, I hate glitter).  Fourthly, styles change between the time #1 child wears it and #6 child gets it.  Fifthly, after about 3 children, clothes start looking pretty worn or stained.  So, I find myself needing to buy every single one of these cute girls a new summer wardrobe this year.  Luckily the oldest 2 have their own source of income and are largely responsible for paying for their own things.  But I still have to endure the shopping for the new things.  I confess, I have never been a shopaholic.  I spent some time wandering the mall as a teenager, but not for the love of shopping.  I get a headache after running from store to store for more than about and hour and a 1/2.   I don't even enjoy shopping for my own clothes.  I find myself spending hours perseverating over whether or not I'm getting the best deal, and whether I might find something I like more somewhere else, how often it will have to be ironed, and whether I really should be spending my money on this at all, or if this article of clothing will match enough of what is already in my closet.  That's after I even find something I kind of like and that mostly fits, which in and of itself is a major chore.  I inherited my shopping dislike from my mother.  She was one of those who knew what she needed, knew where to get it and was in and out of the store with her mission accomplished.  I'll probably pass it on to my children.  Summer clothes and church dresses are particularly troublesome shopping missions.  Shorts are too short, tank tops too skimpy, and dresses don't come with sleeves anymore.  Of course my girls want to look reasonably stylish, and so do I, but these days stylish means having the least amount of coverage of your body as possible.  That doesn't work for me.  This season I seem to be having an especially hard time finding things I like and that they like for anyone.  Lexi and Christa are so long-legged that any skirt or shorts is too short.  Emma is difficult right now being in that weird preteen size where juniors don't really fit, unless I can find an extra small, but girls' size 14/16 don't really work either.  Sierra is just too skinny and pretty much any bottoms fall off of her.  I had a bunch of knit shorts that Emma wore, but she hates those.   I have several cute summer skirts in Anya's size, but she's not so much into those.  I've tried saying, "Well, that's what we have, so wear it or not" and they usually opt for the "or not" and wear the same 3 outfits that they like every day then cry to me in the morning that their clothes aren't clean.  I just gave away boxes of clothes that were just sitting in the closet not worn while my kids complain that they have nothing to wear.  Internet shopping doesn't really help me because the girls really need to be able to try things on-there is so much variation in sizing.  Maybe I'll be hiring a personal shopper for back to school season . . . for the next 15 years.