Oh this time of year. All I am doing is vomiting money all over the place. Kid activities. Preschool. Public school registration and fees. School lunch accounts. My own parking permit. New shoes. More new shoes. Even more new shoes. Family photos. Senior pictures. School pictures. Various gear. Clothes. Sports equipment. Haircuts. NEW SHOES AGAIN.
So much, you guys.
I HAVE FIVE CHILDREN, and that is striking me as very extravagant right about now.
Seriously, though, are you even a fifth baby if you don’t wind up downtown and confined to a sportsball wagon because YOUR MOTHER FORGOT YOUR SHOES?
Are your kids into Fjallraven? Everyone is here (in my home and in the town, more generally), and I really really love their backpacks and men’s wallets. SO durable. Coop sized up from the standard bag (that Jack has— and Jack’s looks tiny but is actually YUGE), and I can see him using this to travel in college, even. Highly recommend— worth the trip, even one as chaotic as ours.
Love Minnie's resourcefulness at problem solving! School shopping continues to be a favorite activity, but the 15-year-old prefers online shopping.
ReplyDeleteI also prefer online shopping ;)
DeleteHa ha! My SIL and I walked into a Fjallraven once because it was all the rage at my nephew's school, too. We saw the prices and laughed loudly and she bought him an LL Bean backpack for half the price. He just had to deal with not having a fancy bag. I have an LL Bean backpack that I received as a high school graduation gift that lasted through college, grad school, and a billion trips. You and I are clearly in different tax brackets!!
ReplyDeleteI love LL Bean bags too. Jack has had his Fjallraven since 6th grade, and it's PERFECT-- they really are excellent quality.
DeleteMy daughter is going into 7th grade and is only on her second bookbag. I didn't even buy her 1st one (a friend gifted both my kids their first bookbag); it's a Ripzone bag ($30 I think?) and the first was Tracker. I feel a bit bad that she keeps using the same one over and over...but it's in great shape so...*shrugs*
ReplyDeletethis is Coop's second ever backpack, and I don't plan to buy another.
DeleteLove your chaotic good family and your genius baby. I believe we are Herschel people. I remember the school supplies/ back to school outfit extravaganza. Now my husband just pays the tuition and rent and I live happily in denial.
ReplyDeleteah, happy denial. This is usually me, but I can just FEEL how much is going out, you know?
DeleteOur school shopping has been sadly underwhelming. Everyone got new shoes but there's no school supply lists, everyone gets a Jansport in kindergarten that they keep forever, and it doesn't make sense to buy fall clothes when it's still eighty million degrees. It's making my nerdy heart very, very sad.
ReplyDeleteI bought Dorothy a kit from school, so nothing to buy for her. Middle school sent a list, but it is so basic we can source it at home mostly. And high schoolers LOL. And the clothes! So hot! No need to shop. Very **whomp whomp**
DeleteAND! I tried to book senior pictures only to find out that the yearbook only accepts Lifetouch, so I couldn't even console myself with that.
ReplyDeleteNO! Although in terms of equity, this is really smart.
DeleteSeriously, I can't even imagine the back-to-school shopping with FIVE kids. I went out today to get my daughter's supplies (which are not that many, now that she's in high school) and when I saw the crowded school supply aisle I had to give myself a little pep talk- "It's okay, you can do this, you'll get through it..." And of course my son is in college, so he just orders everything from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteMinnie looks VERY happy, in spite of the fact that she had to be confined to a wagon : )
She was happy with a cookie LOL
DeleteLove this! Except for the $$$$ of course. I remember school shopping SO fondly. Getting new clothes and shoes... going to the store for notebooks and fresh pencils. So fun! Part of my kid's tuition goes to school supplies, so we don't get to do a supply shopping trip, which is a little sad. But we always buy school supplies to donate, so at least we get a little of the fun!
ReplyDeleteLisa here. I have not heard of this brand! I got Paul a cute LL bean backpack - I let him pick out the print and it happened to be marked down! Yay for me! I probably should have sized up but he is so very tiny and I can’t imagine he will bring much home from school so it should last for years.
ReplyDeleteI remember my mom talking about the expense of back to school shopping. We were more spread out so she wasn’t shopping for 5 at any time since there is a 17 year age gap - most years there were 3 to shop for and even that was pricey!
I can only imagine how expensive it is to get your kids school-ready again.
ReplyDeleteI love the Fjallraven brand, but I don't own any of their bags. The backpacks look really nice though!
Who knew there'd be pricey backpack backlash. Haha. I guess that's what happens when one shares online. Probably nobody questioning your shopping habits IRL. You do you Sarah.
ReplyDeleteI love school supplies and kind of lament the fact that I am so digitally-focused now that... it doesn't make sense to invest in pens and paper and notepads and... sigh. Maybe I need an analogue option in my life. ;)
ReplyDelete