Day 315: school shopping

We've waited until we only had two days till school started to get any sort of school stuff. I think I was hoping all the necessary supplies would just magically appear if I waited long enough. Usually I don't really get the kids clothes, but they all outgrew everything except Zoran who doesn't seem to grow much but has worn holes in all his pants since he's been wearing the same ones for about three years now.

We also needed paper and pens and things like that so we were forced to go shopping. It was sort of awful. Azia likes to buy things but doesn't actually have enough money to buy most of what she wants. The rest of us don't like much about it at all. Israel is disturbed by "all this fashion." (Though really, I get it. Why do they make 70% of the jeans for middle school boys skinny jeans or jeans that seem to be be-dazzeled?) Also, I hate the huge lists of supplies that I need to track down for each kid. It takes forever & they just dump everything into community bins anyway, so it's not like we're actually picking out anything specific for each kid. I'd prefer if teachers would just tell me how much all these Kleenexes and crayons and glue sticks added up to & someone can just buy it all at once and give me the bill.

I think I may be a back to school scrooge. I am actually happy to send them back. Maybe if I just start sending them barefoot, in their pajamas or swimsuits (what my kids seem to wear much of the summer), with one of those 20 cent notebooks from target and a pen I'd be more enthusiastic.