Supplies supplies and more supplies

Yesterday I decided that it was that time again. School starts in about a month so in order to avoid the dreaded drive around to half a dozen stores looking for things the night before classes start I decided that now would be the time. I had planned on picking up some cotton training pants for Andrew since he thinks that diapers and regular pull-ups are one and the same. Of course the kid also sits on the step stool in front of the bathroom sink and calls it his "potty chair" so the fact that "go pee in the potty" means "pee in the pull-up the second Mom puts them on me" just shows that as far as Potty Training 101 goes...we've got a ways. At least with the cloth ones he gets upset at being wet. He still wets himself but he will run to the bathroom and pull them down a few times first.

Well after successfully buying the training pants and a very cute swimsuit for Carolyn (hey it was 60% off) I headed over to the mecca of all that is school supply cheap---Wal-Mart. The store I usually shop at is undergoing renovations so when I got there about half of the areas were bare and stuff was relocated to different areas. The school supplies were not where they usually are but I had seen the staff setting up the aisles a few weeks ago so I knew where to go. Armed with my handy dandy list of supplies off I went. Most retail stores have lists of items that each school requires for the kids. It is very useful to have and usually saves a buttload of time, except when the store tries to make one master list of supplies and apply it to all schools in the area and items get left off the list. Happened to me last year and it was weeks before I could find a few of the items because all the stores were sold out. I was assured by the school secretary that this year the list was accurate. Having one first grader and one Jr. kindergartner meant that I was looking at two different lists of items. For some strange reason the children in kindergarten don't need as many items and the Jr. k kids do. Some things were obvious like pencils and erasers and pencil box and glue but others were total head scratchers. I'm not sure why both Matthew and Carolyn need dry erase markers and eraser (kindergartners do not) and what on earth do they need a box of Ziplock Freezer Bags for?? Different sizes for boys and girls too. Andrew was my helper and he was a real trooper. It's kinda hard to keep track of a 2 year old and read a list of items in very small print at the same time. Some of you may be asking why I just didn't put Andrew in the cart and call it good. Well the little guy has now decided that carts are EVIL and kicks up a HUGE ( I mean huge) fit if I confine him to the cart. I just let him run up and down the aisle and put items in the cart as I found them. Unfortunately, I still managed to find a couple of things I didn't need that made it into the cart courtesy of Mr. Helpful. With exceptions of the ziplock bags and boxes of kleenex, managed to get all the needed stuff and a few items extra for me to use around the house. I plan on taking Matthew out and letting him pick out his own lunch box so I'll get that later when I take the kids clothes shopping. I still have to do the "fashion show" try on of all the clothes in the drawers to see what fits and what can be worn again. I'll still have to buy a few basic items like socks, underwear and jeans but I plan on buying some of the cooler weather clothing later on. The Sioux Falls schools start in the middle of August but Brandon Valley doesn't start until the end of the month so I made the school supplies a priority over the clothing. I really don't want to be trying to find items on my list and find out that all the stores are sold out and everything is ordered but won't be in until the week after I need it. JC Penny on the other hand has sales every other week so I can afford to wait until later in the school year and buy stuff on sale. I'll be so gald when school starts and I'm all done with the supply part of the school year.