"Back to School" is an interesting time of year for me. After a super busy mom/step-mom summer with 1-5 kids a night for 7 weeks, my husband and I had a kid-less week last week. We both worked long hours, especially me, to get ready to take this week off. We also went camping over the weekend in Southern VT, my first time camping since -- 15-18 years ago. I loved it, despite the heat.
My 2 stepchildren are back in Cincinnati, OH and are starting school this week. Our oldest who is 20 is moving from Western MI to Orlando, FL to begin school and pursue a relationship with a young man that she's known since high school.
Fast forward to this morning. I pick up my daughters at their Dad's house at 8:30 a.m. The girls were traveling in Colorado (their first time out West!) with their Dad and stepmom last week. They brought all of their clothes (they live with their Dad 45% of the time so almost half of their stuff resides there) to my house and I felt like Stacey London on What Not To Wear. We went through everything, they tried on stuff, including ski and snowboard stuff (old and new). We threw out undies and socks and washed new ones. They set up their school bags and lunch boxes. I took them shopping to CVS for toiletries, sock shopping, and shoe shopping.
Mind you, 10 days ago I spent 5 hours at the mall (I hate the mall) with my girls. I must say, we got them some great stuff with good discounts. Because they live in 2 houses, they definately need more clothing than usual so there is enough at both houses without having to constantly even things out and re-distribute them. Thursday, I'll take them shopping at a mall in Farmington, CT on our way south to NYC where we're heading for 3 days to visit my family. Of course, we'll shop the city and gosh, I hope that's it for awhile. My 11 year old is doing well for clothes and only needs a few things, but my almost 14 year old has grown this summer and needs so much, especially jeans! She now has wider shoulders, longer legs (she's almost my height of 5' 6 3/4 ") and she's got a great sense of style. She's very slender so finding clothing that is long enough but not too baggy takes awhile.
Tomorrow we go to the doctor (my 11 year old's annual physical), the orthodontist (for my eighth grader), I have a doctor appointment, and in the evening, we'll strip the beds, wash the sheets, and begin the packing planning list for NYC.
Whew!
