We’re gearing up for another school year here at Casa de Rhonda and I gotta tell ya, I’m not looking forward to it. My baby will be in high school.
Sniff, sniff.
My boy will be a junior and has been driving since February, so I’m not making the double run to school every day–this is a HUGE perk–but just knowing that my baby’s high school career is about to commence somehow makes me sad. I remember watching her run into Kindergarten in her little vintage Dick and Jane print dress. (No doubt the outfit she wears the first day of school this year will be very different.)
Speaking of clothes, my son has finally discovered designer brands. We’ve avoided it for a very long time, but now that it’s hit, it’s hit with a vengeance. (He’s asking for a pair of $160 sunglasses. Er…no.) This year we’ve decided to give the kids money and let them do their own shopping, the reasoning being that if the money is their own instead of ours, they’ll treat it with more respect. (This could backfire, we know, but… )
So what’s happening on the back to school front with ya’ll? Are you still shopping for paste and crayons, or like us, have you graduated to scientific calculators, jump drives and ridiculously expensive sunglasses?
We’re traveling today–one last hurrah before school’s back in. Hope everyone has a wonderful day. (*)
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Oh, I totally sympathize with you on the sunglasses. When the boys go for designer stuff, it’s not the jeams (although there is that aspect as well. ) My son called from Tahoe and yiked in my ear, “I finally found the perfect pair of sunglasses!! And they’re only $150!!” :-O I’m thinking… only? Are you out of your mind? He got the $25 I was willing to pay and had to fork over the rest himself, which he did without a second thought. How can they do it?!
Good luck on sending your baby off to high school. We have one more year before we hit that milestone. And, although he walks to the middle school, it will be nice not to have to drive to the high school, at all, since oldest will have his license by then. Wahoo! Freedom!!
LOL Lori – I remember not even blinking when I handed over a wad of cash for my Gargoyle sunglasses back in the day. Of course, I didn’t have a mortgage, bills, groceries, etc to pay for so my money was Miiiine, alll miiiine to spurge as I wanted.
Come to think of it, I kinda miss that :-S
OMG tell me about it. My son’s an athlete and somehow managed to weasel us into buying him $200 custom Oakleys. The heroes in my books don’t wear $200 Oakleys! And lets not even get into the shoes, or Air Jordan shirts and (cough) socks.
But hugs on your daughter hitting high school. We’ve got one more year to go before ours is there. It feels like it will be a whole new ballgame, and I’m still getting used to middle school!
What I’m not ready for is girls. He’s done the “girlfriend” thing, but it wasn’t real, you know? High school, it will be real. Gulp!
Uh Oh… That whole real girlfriend/boyfriend thing was harder on me than my daughter being in high school – heck, even graduating high school!!! Its just so… well, intimidating as a parent. I mean, I remember being a teen and dating. No way I want my kids being that wild. (H)
I’m in the land of apartment rentals. Close to campus=more likely to attend class, but way more $$$. Somehow, rent and utilities end up more than our house payment. :-O
Holy cow, Heather, isn’t it horrible how much more that location and convenience costs? :-O
Wow, congrats, Rhonda! We’ve got a few more years before we hit high school, but I’m trembling at the thought already! This fall is actually the first year all the kids will be in school for at least part of the day, every day. Wooooo! Or yikes!
Yay Fedora!!! Think of all that extra time you’ll have for reading
I told my kids that I’d pay bargain price for jeans and if they wanted to upgrade to designer, they’d have to pay the difference. They learned to shop sales that way! LOL And they got jobs.
I always shop for new computer peripherals or other writing supplies at this time of year. Laptops for a song! Yeah, baby, yeah.
I’m off to shop for a new desk today. One that actually fits…I’m tired of turning my body into a pretzel.
Bonnie
Oooh, great idea, Bonnie. We homeschool so I rarely pay attention to back-to-school sales, but the idea of getting new computer goodies is a great one!!
I have 3 nieces and this year oldest starts college, middle starts high school and youngest starts kindergarten. My sister is all over the place trying to get everyone ready. We did all the supply shopping for youngest when she was at my house a couple of weeks ago. The college and high school girls will buy supplies after their first day of classes.
My nephew started 3rd grade today. We did all of the school supply runs this past week… we do not have to worry about elite items… he wants the latest action figures and whatnots…
I’m in that time of my life where I have kids in high school AND a kid that still needs crayons and paste! My baby will be in 4th grade and the 2 older ones just started driving. My teens have been wanting expensive clothes and accessories for years though. That started in Jr High. The only advantage to this Texas weather is that it stays so hot here until Halloween or beyond that I use that as an excuse to tell the kids they can wear their summer clothes until their Fall birthdays…
Of course, that doesn’t help with the $300 calculator my daughter swore she needed for Math class… :-O
I’m in the same boat with you Rhonda — one who’s a junior and about to get his driver’s license, the younger son is starting high school this year, and decided to be in marching band. I was not a marching band person, but I am now. Fundraisers! Concession stands! Uniforms and gloves and shoes and … they still don’t have the instrument in hand that he needs to play. Budget cuts in the schools have them swapping within the district.
And he’s come to understand that there is no money for the designer stuff along with band.
Oh how I miss crayons and bookbags!
My oldest starts kindergarten in a couple of weeks, so it’s paste and crayons for me. I can definitely wait for girls and designer labels, but I’m still having a nervous breakdown over having a kid in elementary school. Wasn’t *I* just a student??
Hi Rhonda, congrats on making it to high school…lol…I don’t have any kids, but I work with them…I could tell you, that some of the parents who drop them off at boarding school feel the way you do…their babies are growing up, and they feel soooo saaddd…some of them actually break down, but I do my best to console them. Many of these kids have very close and intimate relationships with brand names, and their ‘rents don’t mind buying them what they want…Sometimes I wish that they wouldn’t just hand over the money, but some of them are used to it…I guess, if you have it, there shouldn’t be a problem, but then to me, the kids don’t learn the value of money and hard work, which they tend to bring to the classroon…I know, I went off on a tangent, sorry…I will get back on topic…I can’t even imagine what the feeling would be like to have to watch kids grow up and move on with their lives…you are all brave souls and I commend you on that…
Peace and love,
Paula R.