Hover or Run?

I PROMISE this is my last back to school post.  I think there are two types of parents and kids on the first day of school:  the ones that hover by the classroom door and don't want to leave or the ones that skip off down the hall and don't look back.  When a parent and a child are opposite types, well it can be ugly.

Fortunately, Mini K and I are the same type...we run and skip down the hall, away from the drop off line and don't look back.  She is so excited to go to school and is counting down the remaining 9 days of summer vacation.  I love that she is so excited and independent and I always look forward to the structure of a school year and an early bedtime after our crazy summers.   Her uniform is already washed and hanging in her closet, clean socks in her school uniform shoes and first day of school gift for her teacher wrapped and ready.  This year her first grade teacher is a former All-American field hockey player and Mini K thinks this is really cool and she was picked for her "team" class so to speak.  We ran with this theme and got Mrs. G a basket and filled it with a ruler, some pens, a lanyard with her monogram for her teacher ID, some candy, some Advil (my contribution!) and a gift card to the coffee around the corner from school.  We made a tag in the shape of field hockey sticks that says "I am so happy to be on your team this year!".  I would post a photo, but in the craziness of this construction I cannot find my camera cord.

As the summer draws to a close, my list seems to get longer.  Both of my kiddos seem to have grown, A LOT, this summer...and let's not even talk about the fact that their shoes from the start of the summer make me wonder how their feet have grown so much.  While I am not going back to school, I always make of fall list of what I want to add to my wardrobe.  What can I say there is a satisfaction of crossing things off my list....in sharpie of course!

While I don't smoke, I love a good smoking loafer and was thrilled to add these to my closet.

 Well Mini K wanted a pair as well, but pink ones.  Not only did I find her pink smoking loafers, but how about pink smoking loafers at HALF PRICE? You can purchase them HERE, or I should say purchase a $50 voucher for $25 and use code:  PDCOZ10 to save yourself an extra 10%!

Baby C is clearly growing up in the right house, because every time Mini K says school, he screams YEAH FOOTBALL!  In our this, this means burnt orange, tailgate food in front of the tv and hopefully the celebration of many, many touchdowns!

Fall is also birthday party season in Mini K's circle of friends...almost everyone has their birthday before the end of the year so I am stockpiling gifts for the upcoming soirees.

While I know a lot of you do not have kids, or aren't preparing for back to school, I hae to believe that you still like saving money.

Today started with a little happy in the mail:  my check from Ebates.  I mean seriously, how nice is getting a check for things you were going to purchase anyway?  If you haven't joined, click HERE and if you have joined but keep forgetting to go to Ebates and click through to stores, put a note on your computer!

You know that while I love to find a deal, I am not a good couponer (is that even a word?)  I really don't like spending money on things that I know my kids and I won't use outside of school.  Cue navy loafers for our uniform.  I was thrilled to find navy loafer, that are still cute, for under $35 today at MyHabit.  If you haven't checked it out, you should.  You can checkout with your Amazon account and the deals on loafers and Bloch ballet flats are a lot less than the same shoes have been on Gilt.

We have had a growth spurt since football season last year and Mini K has made me promise NO MORE SMOCKING.  I may have shed a tear, but thankfully, I discovered some non-smocked Longhorn wear for Mini K and when you purchase one piece, you get you second half off.  These collegiate clothes are my go to baby gift for friends that I know are die hard fans.  I mean, how cute are the smocked bubbles?  Obviously, even Crisco wouldn't help me squeeze Baby C into the bubble, and is working hard to rid our house of diapers so I ordered the shorts for him and belted skirt for Mini K.  You can check out the entire line HERE.

Now for the girls birthday parties galore.  I struggle with gifts for her school classmates as you want to give everyone something similar and I know most parents agree that their kids seem to have more than enough toys.  When I saw these necklaces, I knew I was on to something!  I think they make a great gift alone, or pair them with some Lip Smackers, some hair ties or even some candy treats in a cello bag with a big bow and my guess is the birthday girl will be thrilled.  We will keep it a secret that the necklaces are only $11.95 with $3.50 shipping and each additional necklace ships for only $0.50!  That's a touchdown in my book!  You can purchase them HERE.