Back to School Shopping

I can remember when Robby started Kindergarten and I was so excited to go to store after store to find SEVERAL cute outfits, NEW shoes, and school supplies to fill up the NEW backpack. Then I would come home and lay everything out and label crayons, pencils, and everything else that belonged to my little man. It was fun and I wasn't stressed. That was in 1999.

Present day, 2008, I have 4 children to shop for.

It's not fun, and I am stressed.

Brandon knows exactly what he wants. He has wanted a new pair of Puma's for several months and he was easy to please. We were on a mission to find the perfect pair of Puma's, and we located them with ease at Journey's. Robby has no idea. He knows what he doesn't want, but what he wants changes from store to store. I know what I want him to wear....FLIP FLOPS...you can wear them at the Highschool. I would wear nothing else if I were him...I could have bought him a black pair and a brown pair and he would have been set. Robby doesn't like flip flops...he doesn't like the feeling of his feet not being covered up. Robby doesn't like a flat shoe. Robby doesn't want a shoe that looks like a skate shoe. Robby doesn't like a round toe shoe. Robby doesn't want a shoe that looks "fuzzy". Robby doesn't want the same shoe Brandon has...it goes on and on. In fact, as of now on Sunday afternoon, he does not have a new pair of shoes (everyone else does). We are optimistic about stopping at Famous Footwear and finding the perfect Adidas. I went there last night with my mom and we took some pictures, with my cell phone, of the shoes they had and he seems to be excited about one in particular. I'm sure he'll start school tomorrow with a brand new pair of shoes that COVER his feet.

Then there is the "several cute outfits" issue. I told Raleigh I would not go school shopping next year unless I had $5,000 to spend...haha. Oh, did I mention I was trying to shop for 4 children on $700.00???

Side Note---I am thankful for having the money...I don't want to sound ungrateful...Especially in today's economy...Gas being at $4.00 a gallon, milk costing $5.50 a gallon, groceries in general are up almost 16%...And our cost of living hasn't increased enough to cover such inflation...So I do want to stress that I understand there are some families unable to get their children new school clothes, shoes, and supplies...I am thankful for my $700.00 allowance!!!

However, it's difficult for me to control the desire to "dress them all to the nines" and purchase every Billabong, Quicksilver, Hurley, Limited Too, and what ever else brand name piece of clothing they bring to me and toss into the buggy. Brandon was so funny because he said, "mom, I found tons of shirts (at Bealls Florida) and they are all 25% off!!" But 25% off of $26 and $32 dollars isn't the $8.99 price I like to spend on shirts at Ross ;)

Thankfully, I managed my money well (after returning a few pieces the next day) and all 4 children have several COOL and CUTE outfits, fresh new school supplies, new backpacks, and soon all will have new shoes. I am happy with the outcome (after stressing out Friday night for spending too much in one store) and what matters most is my sweet little dears are happy as well.

It wasn't quite as fun as it was back almost 10 years ago, but since it is still such an exciting event and time to get ready to start another school year, I couldn't help but smile and enjoy the moment of labeling all of the new supplies and laying out all of the new clothes.

My wish is for every child to go to sleep tonight with the excitement of starting school tomorrow keeping them awake!! :)