Pre-teen Back to School shopping

Think back if you will, to that time when you were in Junior High. Remember the discussions you had with your mom about the current styles and what you would and would not wear? I was in Junior High back in the late 70's and early 80's. I can remember vividly telling my mother that I refused to wear those shirts with a bow tied all nice and pretty like at your neck. Ewww, gross, no way! Another thing I refused to wear was the preppy look. No one was going to get me in those Izod shirts, Khaki or plaid pants and those horrible penny loafers with the nice shiny new penny in the center. You want to know the funniest thing about that? When my husband and I went on our first date, do you want to know what he was wearing? Picture this in your mind... A guy that looked amazingly like Steve Perry of Journey wearing khaki pants, button down shirt with a sweater tied around his neck (Awww) and penny loafers with a penny! I am so not kidding! Anyway, if you have noticed, the plaid shorts are in style right now. I think they are cute! Who woulda thunk it?



So, now it is that time for me to be the parent shopping with my pre-teen for school. She is going into 7th grade. I remember that being a really tough year when peer pressure is really big. We went shopping this weekend and I noticed how much peer pressure influences what you wear. I also have a younger daughter who is going into the 3rd grade. She is just now able to wear clothes from the Limited Too. She was excited to being going in to buy clothes where all the cool girls buy clothes. No more Gymboree for Hurricane A! (sniff) So, we are looking around and Hurricane A is picking out clothes left and right. I notice that Drama Queen is only holding a shirt. I mention that shouldn't she be looking at jeans. She desperately needs some more jeans. She gives me this look and says "Mom, no one wears Limited Too Jeans in 7th grade!" Oh well, please tell me what jeans they do wear I ask her. She said "Abercrombie or Hollister" I informed her that she can also wear some jeans from Limited Too because I refuse to buy her 3 or 4 pair of $60-70 jeans. Especially not the ones with the worn out holes in them! (I vaguely think I might be sounding like my mother!) I make her try some on and she comes out and I think she looks all cute and the jeans fit perfectly. Her first response is "These are too big in the leg!" I say "What do you mean too big in the leg? They look fine." She says, pulling at the material on her legs, "Look at all this? They are too big." I said, "What, you have maybe a half inch of room? I am not buying you skin tight jeans." "But, that is what everyone wears! Mooomm, you just want me to look like a baby!" (Have I heard this conversation before about 30 years ago? UUGGHH!) After a few more exchanges of words and looks I made her buy one pair of jeans from there. So, we proceed to Abercrombie where she picks out several pair of jeans to try on. I put my foot down about the ones with holes. I bought her a pair last year that were about $70 and after the first washing she had to wear leggings under them every time she wore them! That is ridiculous! She goes to the dressing room and tries on the first pair. I hear her say "These are perfect!" She comes out and the jeans look like they are a second skin. When she walks the jeans crease into her legs like a sausage link. "Those are too tight" I say. She informs me that this is the way everyone wears them. I have already learned that by everyone, she actually means maybe one or two girls. I all of a sudden notice a pattern in what she is trying on. She is trying to look like this girl in the neighborhood who wears her jeans that tight and her shirts revealing two perky "girls" that seem too perky for a girl in 7th grade. I say "I'm sorry, you are not going to go out of the house looking like A. I can't believe her mother lets her go out of the house looking like that." (OMG did I actually say that? NOOOOO!) She assures me that isn't what she is doing and I make her try on some other style jeans in the same store. After much discussion we buy one pair of jeans and several t-shirts. After that I decide I have had enough for the day and we go home.



Do you want to know the biggest lesson I learned that day? I have turned into my MOTHER!

New Journey

Today marks a new journey in my blog world. My goal is to share my crazy life with you. I hope to look back one day and laugh at all the craziness and share this journal of life with my children so they can laugh and remember their childhood. Without further ado, so it begins.

Saturday was cleaning day in Southernbelle's house. The last time the house was cleaned was a month ago (yes I said a month ago) and it was cleaned by my mother! Thank goodness for mother's. They are always there when you need them. I decided to start cleaning in the girls closets. It is back to school shopping time and I have no idea what they have or need. Recently it seems as though clothes seem to be disappearing. Drama Queen's (my oldest daughter) closet was not that bad. That is amazing in itself. I then moved on to Hurricane A's (my youngest daughter) closet. Oh my goodness. Now I know why she has been getting her room picked up so fast. Her interpretation of picking up her room is obviously to gather everything up and throw it the closet. This is what I found in the bottom of her closet:

• Dirty clothes
• Clean clothes
• Dirty underwear (eewwww)
• Toys
• Videos without the case
• Odds and ends to who knows what

Now I know where all her new clothes were and the new underwear that I only remember seeing once! It seems they were growing gross things in the closet. I don't think Hurricane A needs any more clothes. She has enough to dress for nearly 2 weeks without repeat.

Next on to the playroom closet. This one was so bad that it took our entire family of 4 to complete it. In here we found:

• More dirty clothes
• Mismatched socks
• Ponytail holders that also seem to magically disappear
• Game pieces
• Polly Pocket dolls and itty bitty accessories
• Bratz dolls
• Barbie dolls

During this time together we had glorious fun of laughing and fighting. HA! Anyway, at one point you could hear this conversation between SoGent (husband) and myself.

SoGent: Are we done yet?

Me: I wish. This clutter seems to be growing.

SoGent: I really hate spending my weekends cleaning up the house. (editors note: PUHLEEEZ!)

Me: Tell me about it. By the time I get home from work the last thing I want to do is clean and I want to spend my weekends doing fun things.

SoGent: Would your mother really like to clean our house?

Me: Yes! She loves (exaggeration) to clean. She also would love the extra spending money since she retired.

SoGent: Well, let me think about it.

Doesn't he know better than to dangle such a thing in front of me? I will go after that like a dog to a t-bone?