After my son lost his second fleece jacket at school, I started searching online for another one. Since he has a little brother who will one day wear his hand-me-downs, I wanted a decent jacket that we could keep for a few years...or until my son loses it again.

LL Bean had some nice fleece jackets at a reasonable price, but the colors were unattractive. Same with Land's End. I decided to try Patagonia (or PataGucci, as some people call it.) Patagonia had just started its winter sale, but I hesitated to spend the money on the jackets I saw on the website. Hesitation is often the killer of such deals, and when I went in the next day to splurge, I found that everything I'd liked had already been snapped up.

Then I found this site: A fantastic discovery for outdoor gear and clothing for the entire family.

I quickly found (and bought) a Patagonia kids' Marsupial fleece jacket in willow bark (otherwise known as brown) for only $41, on sale from the regular price of $59. Upsideover.com also had a Patagonia El Cap lightweight zip-t fleece jacket for only $30 ($20 off the full price), and a Patagonia kids' reversible puff-ball jacket for $69 -- $30 off the regular price. These are great deals if you like to buy Patagonia clothes for your kids, and you missed the big Patagonia sale. The website also sells jogging strollers, child carriers, bike trailers, and other outdoor gear. For even more savings, here's the preferred customer discount the site gave me with my order: Use coupon code FB350 on your next order, and receive 10% off.

Do I hear a "thank you, Mom?"