We checked out a new-to-us Costco after dropping our last guest at the airport—we have learned that different Costcos have different products and it’s fun to explore.
This was one of the new and different things—a chocolate Pentagon (they also had the Capitol!):
The other different thing was an entire walk-in cooler for JUST milk:
Mom and I went to Kohl’s this morning and Katie was enamored with the mannequins. She kept saying “He’s over here! He’s over here!”
Tom took the kids to get donuts this morning before I got up!
The dangers of taking Katie shopping with me. 🙂
Owen picked out some frosted cookies at the commissary today…and man can she make a mess!
So, what does a kindergartner need to start school? Here’s Owen’s list. I know you’re wondering about the boys list vs girls list and it took me a minute to find it—but the only difference is that boys have top bring gallon bags and the girls have to bring quart bags.
It didn’t look too bad, but from experience (when I worked retail) I always heard parents bitching about how specific the lists were—like if it said “3 red, 3 blue, 3 green pocket folders with clips” you had better bring in those exact colors. If it was Crayola crayons it had better be Crayola and not some off brand. So I’m wondering what things on the list are exact and which are likely just general suggestions. I can’t imagine for KINDERGARTEN it matters that much. The open house isn’t until August 28 (five days before school starts) so I’d rather not have to wait until them to ask the teachers (though I could).
The things I most wondered about are:
(3) Clorox Wipes, Disinfect, Bleach-Free, Lemon Scent, 35ct — Lemon scent? Really?
(4) Dry Erase Markers Chisel Tip Low Odor Black — I’m hoping these come in a four-pack.
(12) Glue Stick, washable, .77oz — I assume .77oz is a popular size but I also assume any washable glue sticks are fine.
So, this morning it was time. And it was somewhat painful.
I literally stood in front of the disinfectant wipes for 10 minutes debating wipes. As you can see, they requested “3 Clorox Wipes, Disinfect, Bleach-Free, Lemon Scent, 35ct.” Do I get the three pack off brand with two lemon scent and one fresh scent 35ct for $4.24? The three off brand lemon scent singles 35ct for about $8? The brand name Clorox lemon scent 75ct buy 3 get 1 free for $12? Or just send in Kirkland wipes I’ve already bought? I opted for the $4.24 set. And don’t get me started on glue sticks.
It took me almost two hours to find and decide on a list of 11 things—and that included two stores because one store (Target, where I started) didn’t have everything (though some of that time was just from being in brand new stores where I didn’t know where anything was).
But now he’s ready! 🙂
Then we set these brackets in the cart and she set them all upright. 🙂
After running our errands, we surprised the kids by taking them to the Lego store at the mall. They were both excited! There was lots of Star Wars stuff around so Katie kept screeching “YODA! YODA!”
We were willing to buy him a huge $80 set (that was on clearance) but he chose a little $10 set instead. 🙂
Then we stopped at the play area on the way back.
Ever since Owen got the little toy ninja at the grocery store the other day, he’s been talking pretty much non-stop about getting another ninja. First he wanted a blue one then it was definitely a green one—and I told him that he couldn’t pick the color and he’d have to be happy with whatever one he got. He wanted to go get one RIGHT NOW…multiple times a day. I told him that the next time we went to that store, he could take his money and get one. Well, of course, he then asked multiple times a day if we were going to that store.
Well, this afternoon was finally the time. He got dressed with me only asking once (rare), picked a quarter out of his bank, and put it safely in his shorts pocket. On the way to the store, he asked “How do I get the toy?” I said it was in a machine that he had to put the money in. He wasn’t sure about that and I said I’d show him when we got there. When we entered the store he was SUPER excited—but he knew he had to wait until AFTER the shopping was done and we had checked out (the machines are right at checkout). He even said a few times “I’m being good and waiting!” 🙂
Then out of nowhere he says “I know how the machine works! You put the coin in the slot and turn the handle and make sure your hand is underneath it to catch it!” Of course he was 100% right—we must have gotten him something in the past but hell if I can remember what or when it was but of course he remembers!
So we shopped…and then it was time.
And he got the green one! YIPPEE!
You would NOT believe the excitement over a 25-cent piece of plastic. 🙂
You just can’t predict what your kids will do or like. I wanted to get Katie new bedding for her new twin bed. I really really wanted the pretty stuff at Bed Bath & Beyond but I also didn’t want to pay $80 for it. (Normally I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but we’ve had to buy A LOT of stuff for this new place.)
So I decided I was going to just walk down the bedding aisle at Target and see what caught her eye. I was positive it would be Doc McStuffins or Frozen or possibly Despicable Me.
So what caught her eye? As you’ve seen: Sesame Street. Big bright bold colors—red, blue, green, and yellow (Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar, and Big Bird). I really didn’t think I’d have an opinion on what she chose, but I honestly really would’ve preferred Doc McStuffins (she loves it, and it’s pinks and purples). And I even tried to get her to take that one—or even Frozen or Sophia the first—but she just kept saying Elmo Elmo Elmo. So I bought Elmo. And it’s fine. And she seems to like it well enough…but it also kind of irritates me a little every time I look at it because I don’t love it. But I also felt a little guilty because I never let Owen pick what he wanted—at the time I was ready to relinquish that control (age 5) I hadn’t even thought of Target so had him pick something at BB&B which wasn’t kid-related. (He doesn’t complain at all, though…so since I still felt guilty I let him pick a new sheet set and he chose Minions.)
Kids are difficult when you’re a perfectionist.
We went to our first farmers market since moving here. It’s pretty much right up the main road about two miles away. It’s a small one (maybe seven booths) but it’s a Wednesday!
The kids tried fresh kettle corn (being made as we watched).
We tried and bought homemade honey mint dressing (better than you’d imagine) and zesty balsamic dressing.
We bough fresh corn on the cob, pickles, cabbage, and multi-colored carrots.
We tried pumpkin chocolate chip bread and white cheddar garlic bread (and bought that one).
We sampled cookies…and bought some.
Then we got the kids some Venetian Ice (I think it was called) and went to sit on the lawn in the shade. There were some kids nearby eating some as well and Owen desperately wanted to go sit with them. So we said okay.
Then Katie wanted to go sit by Owee…
No kid can pass up a puddle!
Katie loved the stairs because the rise is kid-sized and there was a kid-level handrail.
Owen wanted to stay and play at the kiddie center so we just had Katie with us.
Playing peek!
Waiting for daddy to come back with Owen (kids can only stay in the center for 30 minutes).
This was taken on July 4 but I forgot to post it.
Owen went to Home Depot with Tom, picked up the lightbulb, put it over his head, and said “I have an idea!” 🙂
They love sitting together!
She was VERY excited about the ice cream!
Watching TV while daddy picked up his commemorative Sig Sauer deployment pistol.
We’re taking our awesome refrigerator with us, so (long story) we had to replace it in case we got renters. This is the third refrigerator we’ve bought in three years. 🙂
Katie didn’t like the door being off—at first. She was confused yet surely thinking about how she could escape.
Then she realized she could play with the buttons!
It looks nice, but we hate it (compared to our AWESOME one).
I told Owen to hold Katie’s hand while walking into the store. Not bad for a first attempt. 🙂
Then they both wanted to sit in the cart. This is about the best way.
Apparently VERY hard for these three people on the left.
We stopped at the farmers market on the way home from a Costco run…and they had face painting! Owen had never had it done, and I thought I might be able to entice him with a superhero…and it worked!!
The before:
He had a handful to choose from. Can you tell who he picked?
Katie and daddy were waiting:
Sponging on some red…
Painting some lines…
The final product—he was suddenly shy and wouldn’t look at me and wanted to go to the car. Oh well.
But once we got to the car, he had turned into Spider-Man and he was ALL SMILES!
And even throwing webs!
When we got home, he was a super big help unloading the car, and then I heard “Mama take a picture!” Yep, he had found his matching Spider-Man Lego head! 🙂
We bought some new pillows to replace some very bedraggled ones and the kids had great fun with them first! You can see they’re blurry because they’re moving fast! 🙂
Owen was coloring with chalk and Katie wanted to see the moo. 🙂
Not a great pic but they were enjoying their treat—s’more bites. 🙂
Checking out the pond behind the market.
Back to the moo to give it a hug.
Checking out the udders (they have water coming out of them so she was excited about watee).
Wasting time at Lowe’s afterwards while daddy looked for stuff.
We took the kids down the fish aisle at Walmart…and both of their reactions were “Woooow!” 🙂
I really hope we have a good spot for a small aquarium at our next house (we already own it).
THE BED IS HERE! THE BED IS HERE! Yes, they showed up today after telling me yesterday it would be Thursday. But I don’t care! Look at all the space!!!
No, there are no box springs…because we thought we’d still be using the same frame. But we’ve decided to go the bed frame plus headboard route for awhile. You can see the platform it’s currently sitting on…but the new frame doesn’t require a platform so we’ll be able to get rid of it!
It’s a little strange being so low…but at this point I couldn’t care less.
So, they’re coming to pick up our bed tomorrow…and the new bed won’t be here for a few weeks so we had to do a bit of a bed switcheroo.
Owen has a Queen (only because that’s just how it worked out over the years—that’s what we had available) so we figured we’d use that and he would get a new Twin (what he should really have anyway).
The pros are that it gives him a lot more space in his room and it will look good for staging purposes…but the cons are all the money we’ve sunk into Queen bedding (quilt, sheet sets, mattress pad cover, bed skirt) and having to buy him all new Twin bedding.
I took him shopping with me and there wasn’t much to choose from at Marshall’s, Ross, or BB&B—so he ended up with a comforter set very similar to what he had.
I feel bad because Target would likely have had superheroes or Star Wars…but he was tired of shopping. And I wanted it today vs. ordering from Amazon. And I failed to plan ahead.
So…in order to move the Queen into our room, we had to take down our King headboard/frame and put it in storage—and that thing is a BEAST (poor Tom). Then Tom set up a regular bed frame (which we happened to have) and brought in the mattress and box springs. And moved our nightstands in a bunch because they were obviously placed for the King.
The pros? The room looks bigger and will be good for staging purposes. We’re not sleeping on an air mattress.
The cons? We get to move it all back when the new bed gets here! And we have to try and sleep on a Queen until then—OHMYGOD I miss my space already and we haven’t even slept on it yet. Both of us were like “Is there even a bed here?” because we can lean across the bed and touch hands. (We did fine in a Queen on vacation but it was only for a week…and it was vacation. This is real life.)
We’re seriously contemplating selling the behemoth King frame—even though it’s only about eight years old—but it sucks because it was EXPENSIVE and of course we’d still want a different (though smaller) one.
So Owen had obviously seen his new bed (we even let him pick out the mattress—and of course he picked out the cushy $199 one vs. the $99 one!) but when he actually got in it for the first time, he said “Wow, this is a small bed. There’s only room for one person!” 🙂
So I hope the return/bed pickup goes well tomorrow and I hope we can sell the beastly frame…and I hope our new bed gets here on the short end of 3-4 weeks!