Mixed Basket

Today we went out to lunch with Shane's parents, then stopped at K-Mart on our way home to pick up a couple of things for Kat's Easter basket. We keep things simple for Easter (as we do for most holidays), so her basket, a nice sturdy wooden one with pink ribbon, is reused each year. In it this year are a jump rope, some sandbox toys, some sidewalk chalk and a few pieces of candy. The candy is very limited this year because she still has candy left from Valentine's Day, Christmas, and yes, even a piece or two from Halloween.

We also have a tradition of giving Kat a new spring outfit at Easter. Nothing dressy; this years outfit is a pair of denim shorts, a t-shirt and some new tennis shoes. Hopefully the weather will warm up soon, because she'll want to wear them right away.

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While we were at K-Mart we noticed they had a lot of end-of-season clearance items that were 50% off of the already marked-down prices. We found a hoodie for me (I wear one almost daily at work) for $5, and we found a winter coat for Kat that can be worn four different ways (with or without the fleece liner, which can be worn by itself with either side out). We picked it up for just $15. We're pretty sure we found a size that will fit her next fall, but we'll leave the tags on it, and if it doesn't fit, we can surely get our money back by selling it on eBay or craigslist.

On a similar end-of-season sale last fall, at Target I think, I bought a couple pair of suede flip-flops ($2 a pair) and four pairs of denim and khaki capri pants ($4 each) for me, and some water shoes for Kat ($1.75). I can't wait to get these out in a few more weeks when it's warm.

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I saved a lot of time today by renewing our truck license plates online. If you're in Missouri and you have valid insurance, a copy of your most recent property tax receipt (the last two years' receipts if you want a two-year renewal), your inspection slip, and there is a PIN number at the top of your renewal notice, then you can probably renew online. Check here to see if your county participates.

If you aren't in Missouri, check your state's Department of Revenue or Department of Motor Vehicles website. I'm sure many states have the option to renew online.