Our Family: School Supplies

I've blogged about school supplies for the past few years and can't let this annual event pass without comment. As usual, I am annoyed by the requirement that Lacey bring 48 pencils. I stated emphatically that she would bring her own supply in her own pencil box and would not supply the rest of the class. Cassie then reminded me that I had uttered the same edict last year and that Les had happily delivered Lacey and 48 pencils to her teacher on the first day. Ah, well.

As we downloaded supply lists and sorted through unused supplies from last year, I recalled how much fun it was to have that new backpack and those new shoes for the first day of school. I decided to relax a bit and just let the girls have fun making some purchases. They are well trained, though. Cassie reminded me of the Virginia tax holiday. She then printed relevant coupons from Target. Lacey ran to retrieve a Target gift card that had been a birthday gift. She was sure that it had at least .99 left on it and wanted to contribute that to the cause.

Bright and early on Day 1 of the tax holiday, we set off for Target. We joined the herd of parents and kids making their way to the back corner of the store where school supplies are traditionally located. Then, my kids whizzed through that madhouse like true pros. One read from a list while the other grabbed for the item. They ignored all the extras - exotic book covers, scented highlighters, mini kleenex packages, erasers shaped like flowers - and stuck to their task. When they got to "four pocket folders" on Lacey's list, she selected the ones that were only .15 apiece. We finished in record time and were quickly checking out. Lacey was delighted that her gift card still contained 2.99 and was sure that would free up enough money for the monogrammed backpack that she wanted. I congratulated the girls as we came in with a grand total of 82.09. If that seems like a lot to you, you're not familiar with the requirements of Northern Virginia schools. Just imagine what our total would have been if we didn't already have a calculator, composition books, spiral notebooks, pens and graph paper left from last year.

Shopping at Target

Day 2 of the Tax Holiday found us taking advantage of Nordstrom's semi-annual shoe sale. I promised each girl one pair of shoes. We began in the kid's department with Lacey. We tried everything we could think of to attract her to the boots, flats, high tops, loafers and Mary Janes. Nothing doing. All she wanted was a pair of pink Converse sneakers.

Cassie's choice took more time. While her feet seem to have stopped growing, her collection of shoes can now expand. Lacey and I watched and waited patiently through the first few rounds of trying on. Then, Cassie's eyes lit up as she spotted a distant pair of boots. Look what happened. . .