My kids went back to school last week, and not a moment too soon. This summer . . . it may have been one of my hardest yet as a parent. We were in the middle of moving and unpacking, our house was constantly full of construction workers, we didn’t have a working kitchen, and there wasn’t really a place for the kids to play. And in the midst of this I was still trying to work from home full-time. I was exhausted and the kids were bored. I think even they were ready to go back to school.
I can’t believe I have a 5th grader. Still reeling about that a little bit. Two more years until middle school! Eek.
Back-to-school shopping was a little different this year than in year’s past. Typically I would pick their first-day-of-school outfit for them, but in the past year my older 3 kids have gotten very picky about what they wear, and want to have a hand in choosing their own clothes. They also have specific brands that they really like. For the girls, it’s Roxy. For the boys, it’s Volcom Not a big surprise given that both of these brands are local, and what a lot of their peers like to wear. (Not to mention their parents.)
I’ve talked about this before but I do most of my shopping online. I really don’t like carting four kids to the store. This year, I decided to outfit their first day of school from Zappos. I always knew Zappos as a great place for shoes, but only recently became aware of their vast selection of the surf/skate brands my kids and husband really like. They’ve got Billabong, Volcom, Hurley, Quicksilver, and RVCA clothing, and of course a huge selection of shoes.
This year, I pulled the kids over to my laptop, pulled up some selections from their favorite brands, and let them pick their own back-to-school outfit. The girls both chose Roxy dresses and Converse shoes. The boys both picked Converse as well, and some Volcom tees.
They were really stoked when the box came full of the items they had picked out themselves.
In addition to our back-to-school clothes, we also ordered some new shoes for the girls’ cheerleading uniforms. All of my kids are doing our local “Friday Night Lights” program – the boys are playing football and the girls are cheering.
I love the selection of Converse – so many colors. Kembe was so excited about his shoes that he kept wanting school to start THAT DAY. Every day, he would say, “I can’t wait for school so I can wear my new shoes.”
All of my kids had a really positive first day of school, and so did I. After drop-off, I had some other moms over for mimosas to celebrate our newfound freedom. The kids saw my preparations and said, “What? You are celebrating that our summer is over?”
Yes, children. Yes we are.
