When it comes to obtaining clothes for my children, I am lucky beyond measure. Darah is granddaughter #4 on one side of the family and Layah is granddaughter #7. Additionally, one of my sisters-in-law has a knack for finding great deals on really beautiful children’s clothing online, and we inherit those clothes after her kids have worn them. It is really awesome. But even with all that access to great (and FREE!) clothes, I still find that I need to supplement some things, especially as Darah gets older and the clothes heading her way have been worn for longer periods of time and might need to be replaced. A few weeks ago I realized that I was having some trouble getting Darah fully dressed in the mornings after the weather got a bit cooler. I made a list of the articles of clothing I kept reaching for but that weren’t there in her closet. And I was surprised by how many basics were needed! I was missing the following:

• black long-sleeve shirt
• white long-sleeve shirt
• jeans
• basic skirt
• footed tights in a basic color (white, black, red)
• black pants

I’m on a tight budget (who isn’t, these days?) so I was rather nervous when I saw how many things I needed to get. I wasn’t really sure how to get all of these items without spending more money than I really could afford to. And as many of you can understand, its not a fun feeling when you are struggling to figure out how to meet a need for your child. I turned to CookiesKids.com to try to find these basics at a good price. I had been hearing a lot of buzz from other bloggers about the huge inventory and the unbelievable prices, so I decided to go for it. I did my shopping at 4 in the morning (ah, the beauty of the internet!) so that I could shop in peace and quiet and not have to even put on any makeup! Darah is interested in clothes I bring home for her, but at 3 years old, she still has precious little patience for actually browsing in a store. If you’d like to follow along with my shopping experience, check out my Google+ album here.

One of the tricky things about shopping at CookiesKids.com is the fact that they carry a large assortment of brands. And that means that fit can vary quite a bit. I’m impressed that CookiesKids.com is working hard on a solution with a program called Alva Kids. You can find the icon by the size option. Once you register with this free and easy program and provide it with some basic information about your child’s measurements, you can better know how each brand on the site is going to fit your child. That’s very cool and can save a great deal of headache! Since I was shopping VERY early in the morning, and since I have a child who is very petite, I skipped this size, knowing that there was no possibility of a 3T in any brand being too small for her. PEOPLE, LEARN FROM MY EXAMPLE. I should have taken a few minutes to do this, because I ordered a few long-sleeve shirts, all from one particular brand, and they were all too small. I was really shocked by this, and then annoyed at myself because I could have prevented the problem.

CookiesKids.com did have a very impressive variety of clothing options and I found myself going down a few rabbit holes as I spotted things not on my list that were so pretty. I mean, how adorable is this sweater dress?! And just $9.99!

I actually stumbled upon some gray cords and some gray leggings, neither one of which were on my list but both of which I decided to purchase as staples for this year. I’m so glad I did! But perhaps my most awesome find was a set that included black pants (which was on my list) and also included a really cute black and gray fashion top, and the price was amazing…just $6.99!

This shirt was SOOOOO soft. And it also has a little bit of tulle at the bottom to make it sassy, which Darah especially loves. In fact, when it was time to model a different outfit, she asked if she could keep the top on just a little bit longer. I happily complied with her request, and it gave me an opportunity to see how her new gray cords would work with the top. They looked great! They are also a better option than jeans for her, as she finds jeans to be stiff and doesn’t really like wearing them. She’d actually wear dresses all year if she could, but at some point, pants are a must. So this outfit is a good compromise for her because she feels like she is wearing a dress, just with pants underneath!

Then we moved on to a white top (which will get near-constant use this season, I predict) and those gray leggings, which were from Esprit and still only cost $6.99. They are the cutest things ever!

I think #CookiesKids is a really good online shopping option for parents who need to stretch their dollars as far as possible but who still want to find kids fashion that is on-trend. Again, I want to stress the importance of doing a little bit of prep work by registering for Alva Kids so that you can buy with confidence and you know that everything you order is going to fit as it should!

Even if you don’t have to worry to much about the latest kids style because your child is in a uniform at school, Cookies Kids is still a great place to find good deals on those school uniforms. Basically, they’ve got something for everyone! They are also celebrating their 40th year of business, so you know they are doing something right!

And if you happen to live in the NYC area, Cookies Kids has 7 stores there. For the rest of us, shopping with this store is a possibility 24/7 by going online. You can also stay up to date on the latest happenings (and the SALES!) by following Cookies Kids on Facebook and Twitter. You can also use the code stuffparentsneed to save 10% on your order from now through 12/14/2012! Woo hoo!