School is about to start!!! Only 4 more days. And with school starting soon, it can mean only one thing... BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING! Who doesn't love a brand new notebook and some new crayons... that I may or may not still smell.
Oh, I always have these fantastic dreams of back to school shopping (or any shopping experience, really). You know the one where everyone keeps their hands in their little pockets and never ask for anything extra. But that is all that it is... a dream. The way it usually plays out with my circus is things start flying in the basket at warp speed, while they simultainously rapid-fire questions at me.
FOR THE LOVE. I JUST NEED A MINUTE TO THINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let's be honest. Back to school shopping is not for the faint of heart, no matter how many littles you are charged with shopping for. After several years of failed attempts, this year I took a trip down memory lane before I jumped in. Whilst meandering that path, I realized that I know what will work for me! I will collect all the lists, compile into one big list, and then tackle it... alone.
A-L-O-N-E. This year, that is the key for me... the key to my SANITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, off i went to tackle that big 'ol list. Just me, my buggy, my list, and my trusty pen. My metal sidekicks and I snatched up almost everything we needed and in quite a timely fashion, I might add. I made my way to the checkout and unloaded my haul onto the conveyer belt. As my bags began to fill, I noticed the mama behind me unloading her considerably smaller haul, as room became available. I glanced at her stash. Then I looked at my overflowing bags, and again at her things. For a brief second, I stood there and thought I'd like for my pile to be that small. And then... BAM. Would I really? Really? Because if my pile was that small, I wouldn't have the circus. And there would be no entertainment. And there would be (gasp!) silence. I don't do silence well. And it would be boring. I don't like boring, either. And there wouldn't be well, for instance... just now. Lily can't find lankie. That's because lankie is in the dryer. Because I sneaked lankie into the washer this afternoon when Lily wasn't looking. And in the 18 seconds since I've informed her of that, she has proceeded to have a meltdown because I've "washed lankie's smells away!" What?!?! True story.
Sometimes I wish I was the sweet, ever patient, never yells or says anything she wishes she could take back, kind of mama. I am not her. And I'm ok with that. And those precious littles who are loud and rowdy children are exactly who God made them to be. He picked me to be their mama. Craziness and all.
I did take them for clothes and shoe shopping... and once or twice may have questioned that decision on #taxfreeweekend. That $12.68 I saved wasn't worth it. At all.
And then there's this... the very haul that hit me like a ton of bricks.
Sometimes people ask what it's like having 3 kids. I tell them it's crazy and we're outnumbered, and now I'll say it's worth every school-shopping penny.
