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I seriously can’t believe that my kids head back to school next week. Where has this summer gone? Not only does it feel like I was just getting antsy for them to get out for the summer, but we practically only have four months left this year. Father Time, slow it down a few paces please!
My baby starts kindergarten this year, I have mixed emotions about it. I’ve never been the parent to cry when the others started school. I was always excited for them to start this next chapter in their life, however now that I’ve been through it with the other two I realize how much faster the years go by once they start school.
I didn’t go crazy school shopping for the kids this year. They each got new book bags, lunch boxes and tennis shoes. Jayden picked a small Under Armour book bag. It’s perfect for his size 5 body. I often feel bad for the kindergarten kiddos as they usually end up drowning in their book bags, so when we found this one we grabbed it up! Since it’s his first year at the “Big” school I let him design his own tennis shoes at Nike.com. After I bought these Nike Free Run shoes for myself during Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, I’ve been grabbing them for the whole family. I thought Jayden did a great job designing his own shoes! He even put his last name on the tongue so he knew they were his. 🙂 My little guy is an Under Armour addict, so I made sure to grab him a few matching sets and lots of tall socks. He is extremely particular on his socks! He also likes a nice button up shirt with matching tie to wear on church days or for his school picture day. Old Navy has been having some great deals for back to school. Today I saved an EXTRA 35% off my order online. Here’s my grabs for little man.
Parker is getting harder and harder to shop for. Boys shoes stop at a size 7 and it’s like they skip a few before they hit mens. He’s a perfect women’s size 7.5 (I may be guilty of wearing his sliders or sanuks sometimes.) Then it’s on to the struggle of his skinny waist and long legs. I’ve been having to order him a size 24×32 from Buckle. Hello, my boy is only 10! He’s almost as tall as me (I’m 5’3″) I did try to order him some play jeans from Old Navy but matching the waist size to the height chart is a bit challenging. We shall see how it plays out when they come in. I’m not to keen on him wearing $60 jeans while playing outside. Last year I let him customize a pair of Nike Air Max shoes, I’ll be honest I was a bit disappointed in how they held up. In only 2 weeks of wearing them to school the sole was peeling. Umm, for being nearly $200 they shouldn’t do that. Four square on the playground isn’t that strenuous is it? So this year we opted for a pair that didn’t break the bank and will probably hold up better. The boy is known for his taste in tennis shoes. For basketball this past year he picked a pair of Kevin Durant Fire & Ice shoes. We first thought the sales guy played a joke on us when he brought out one orange and one blue shoe for him to try on. Then after a quick google search it showed they were made that way. “Fire and Ice Baby…” I was so surprised that he opted for them since they were so different, but I’m glad he wasn’t afraid to stand out. They handled the whole basketball season (including the winning championship game) and he’s worn them all summer. They are still in tip top shape so definitely worth the investment! He also picked a new Oakley book bag from Buckle and we need to make a trip to Under Armour to stock up on a few more shorts. Parker’s back to school favorites here.
And now for the grand finale, the big kaboom. School shopping with my little diva requires me to have a glass or three of wine first. This girl do do more damage on a shopping trip than just to her Daddy’s wallet. We ran to Ross Park Mall so I could exchange her shoes I ordered from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale for a larger size. I couldn’t believe how much her feet grew this summer. She picked out a few of her favorite tops there from the Maddie line. She thinks it’s so cool that a girl she’s watched dance on old reruns of Dance Moms on Youtube has designed her own clothing line. Props to this idols for showing these girls that anything is possible when you’re a kid! We made a pit stop at her favorite store Ivivva. She came across the store last year and loves their active wear for both school and dance. Unfortunately they are closing all their brick and mortar stores and only keeping 9 open across the US and Canada. We enjoyed getting to go in the store and shop around over shopping online. The plus side is they were having some awesome sales since they were closing in just a few days. They even partnered with PB Teen to offer bedding and bedroom decor. She got an awesome backpack and lunch box for 50% off. We went ahead and stocked up on outfits to fit her next year since they had deals too good to pass up with the store closing. Madison picked out a few tops from Abercrombie kids. That was another disappointment when we went to the mall to see that they closed that actual store also. I am a HUGE online shopper, but I still liked to take the kids in store to pick things out and try stuff on. Madison picked herself out a pair of Nike Free Run tennis shoes also. I guess it’s a good thing her feet finally took a growth spurt, because this girl has been wearing the same tennis shoes for the past 2 years. Her little brother can fit in some of her tennis shoes now! Some of Madison’s favorites for back to school!
