Here We Go Again!

Today we finished up the last of the back to school shopping. At least I hope we did. The Peanuts are in the elementary so they get a list of what they need for their grade. By the time you get to middle school you don't. The Boss is a freshman this year so he just got his schedule. What I wish the upper level teachers would so is make up a list of what they want their students to have so the school could have them at the table with the schedules. Then, when the student picks up the schedule, he just picks up the lists form the appropriate teachers. Makes sense, right? Maybe just to me. LOL

Friday we got our start. I did all the regular pencil/paper shopping for the Peanuts and just spent $25. Today we bought the stuff that the Boss is pretty sure he'll need and what he wants for keeping his stuff organized. Unless a teacher has a very specific request, I think he's set. We went to a popular thrift store first because last year they had school supplies, or at least a TON of pencils. So we checked there first. The Diva didn't find a book bag she liked but the Little Prince did. He wants everything this year to be green...and he found a green book bag right off the back. It was a nice, new one too, with the original tags. Cool! Next we went to another thrift store to see what they had. None of their bags were new and the only one we found was kind of dirty and smelled...and had wheels. Not sure if bags with wheels are allowed at their school. I know they drove us crazy at my school in q8. We were constantly fussing at the kids to carry them up and down the stairs. Just so you know I'm not opposed to using used book bags, but I'd like them to be in better condition than our last year bags...which I can't convince them to use. Actually the Little Prince's bag probably needed to be replaced last year but squeaked by through the end. The Diva's is in much better shape but can't be outdone now, can she?

Next was a children's resale shop. A couple of nice, new bags but wheels. But they were having a buy 2 get 1 free sale in conjunction with the sales tax holiday so the Little Prince got a cute outfit and the Diva got 5 things. Honestly I wasn't being unfair...that was all I could get him to pick out. Such a guy! Until I try to get him to wear what I picked out in a morning. {sigh}

So we headed to a popular retail store (despite wanting to avoid buying new as much as possible-more on that later) that has really good prices. We found one for the Diva right off the bat. They had nice lunch boxes but too small for the nice Thermoses that I send their hot foods in so we went to the super center next. That's where we finished off the Boss's shopping and got the new lunch boxes, etc. I only bought a few groceries this week, just stuff we were out of or close to. I didn't bother with stocking up because I knew I would be spending money on school stuff. Besides, there are only 2 days of school this week so it's not like I have to be really prepared. I have time to bake or prepare stuff for those 2 days. Next weekend I can go back to stocking up, if necessary.

Oh, I found a cookbook whose name I can't quite say properly. It's where I can see it but I can't see the spine where the title is. I also don't want to get up until I'm turning off the computer and heading to bed. But it's written by the wife of a very famous comedian who has neat recipes calling for healthy food being hidden in favorite kid foods. I plan to study that this week and find stuff good for sending to school.

OK, why was I shopping at thrift stores? First, I love the deals you can get there. You can find really neat stuff for a great price. It's a charity so I'm doing good while saving money. I really like them for the Boss because he's 14 and wearing men's sizes. But he's only 14 and still growing. Since he is going to outgrow the clothes I'm buying for him, unlike most men who wear his size, it bugs me to pay adult prices for what are essentially kids' clothes. So thrift stores and resale are the best place to start looking. For his birthday, before we discovered this neat resale place, I did buy a bunch of clothes at the super center and they're nice. He wanted stuff for church since he's now confirmed and helping as usher and occasionally other stuff.

Also, I've been reading some blogs lately and joined a Yahoo group on The Compact on not buying anything new if at all possible. So I thought the back to school shopping frenzy on the sales tax holiday was a good place to start. I wish we had found some stuff for the Boss today at his resale shop, but it was so crowded it was a real pain. Also the prices on pants/shorts just aren't nearly as good as the thrift shops. Just easier to find stuff since it's sorted by size. I think for bottoms we'll stick to the thrift stores or the super center. Shirts are easier to find in the right size. If we can't find pants the right length (most are way too long) I can hem them or put in a fake cuff to keep as much fabric as possible to let out.

Tomorrow I have training for student teaching. I tried going to the state website for a new copy of my certificate. Luckily she told me I can get online there to print it because I couldn't figure out which heading to use to do it. Ugh!

Well, it's off to bed but first I want to try Freecycle for a trailer coop for our chickens. We bought 7 more little ladies yesterday, bringing our flock up to 12. I'd like to keep it at 12, hence the trailer coop idea.