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August 11, 2011
Staying organized and custody sharing
Juggling shared custody is tough, especially as kids get older and have after-school activities.
My brother is a single dad with two boys and it seems like he makes weekly trips to Target/Wal-Mart for items that his kids forgot at their moms’ houses. His oldest is in elementary school and he also spends frequent overnights at both grandparents’ houses. So my nephew has clothes at each house: underwear, socks, shorts, tops, swim trucks and tooth brush.
The dirty clothes stay at grandma’s house for future washing and the clean set goes with him to the next house. Growth spurts are a problem and as is karate, where there is just one set of special clothing and a belt that needs to be at the right house two days a week.
So, I was intrigued by this pitch for days of the week closet organizers called Organizables ($29.95). They are essentially garment bags, labeled by the day of the week. Each day has zippered pockets for shoes, jewelry, socks, etc. There’s also a weekend version ($24.95), personalized with a child’s name.
At first I though they were a bit over the top. Really, who needs to be that organized? Even my 4-year-old can get herself dressed in the morning. But for trips to Grandmas, dance class or household juggling, it could be just the thing. And who knows, as she gets more involved in activities and spends more overnights away from mom and dad, they might be just the thing.
But right now, for every day, I’m hoping that putting all of her school pieces for the day on a single hanger, will accomplish the same goal. (Shoes and socks by the door.)
What do you think? Could you use something like this?
Photo: Organizables.com
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June 20, 2011
Making the most of the summer sales
June is starting to wind down and that means the summer sales are heating up.
Stores are trying to clear their floors to make room for fall and back-to-school sales, which means that there are deals to be had. This is my fourth year buying kids clothes, and it has taken me that long to grasp a fundamental truth when it comes to buying kids clothes:
They will grow into it.
After years of buying my own clothes and having things that don’t fit here, but do fit there, I’ve been wary of buying clothes for my kids too far in advance. What if they don’t fit? No worries. Little kids don’t have curves, which means the clothes will fit, eventually.
In Texas, this does not hold true for cold weather clothes. Our winters are so short, who knows what size the kids will be for that brief 2.5-month period between Christmas and short-sleeves. (I’ve gotten burned twice on buying winter coats ahead of time. Fine. By the time it gets cold enough to wear them, the major stores will start putting them on sale.)
But otherwise buying ahead makes total financial sense, with a few small caveats.
1) Never buy sets. My daughter is one size on top and another on the bottom. The matching sets are adorable, but unless the bottoms can be worn separately I don’t even bother. Too risky.
2) After about age 2, you should have a pretty good idea of what your kids build will be for the next few years, which means that once you’ve settled on a few brands that you like the fit just buy one size up. In our case, Osh Kosh clothes come too wide for my girls. Old Navy, Stride Rite, Target’s Circo and Kohl’s Jumping Bean are my best friends.
3) If you find a good sale on basics, buy two, the size they need and the next size up. The difference between $15 shorts and $5 shorts really add up when you multiple that times seven. (The Stride Rite guy and I got into it over the weekend when he started bringing out non-sale sneakers. “Are those shoes on sale?” “No, but they are only $32,” he said. “If they aren’t $19.99 or less, forget it, thanks.”
4) Check your kids’ drawers and the old bins before you go shopping. I was sorting through the hand-me-down bin for my younger daughter and discovered that I overbought in a big way for Ayanna, who moved into size 2 at the end of summer. She was still the same size when March rolled around, but I forgot to check, assuming that her stuff from the previous summer wouldn’t fit. Oops. (I was pregnant with No. 2 by then, so I blame pregnancy brain.)
5) If you find basics, like underwear, undershirts, leggings or socks on sale, buy them — lots of them. They do not go on seasonal sale like normal clothes, so stock up when you have the chance.
6) Read care labels. Make sure the clothes can handle non-chlorine bleach. Kids are dirty, filthy creatures. They will manage to get spaghetti sauce on the white triangle of an otherwise red Hello Kitty dress. Bleach is your friend. (I’m trying to get over my chlorine bleach phobia since my daughter will be required to wear uniforms to school next year and the shirts are white. I still have flashbacks from clothes my mom ruined with bleach splatters, but I’m working up to it.)
7) Even though it is currently 105 outside, keep an eye out for winter clothes. I stumbled on a bin on winter clothes at one of my favorite haunts and we’re close enough to the winter season that I can make a more educated guess on what size my girls might be. I walked out with three turtle necks, two pairs of leggings, three pairs of knee socks and some sweat pants for less than $25.
Happy hunting.
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August 9, 2010
Back to school: Is the tax-free weekend worth it?
Some things sound much better on paper than in reality. The Texas tax-free holiday is one of them.
No sales tax, horray! But for something that’s billed as a help to parents during the back-to-school season, I just can’t get excited about it.
First of all, with the three-day shopping bonanza scheduled for Aug. 20-22 (the weekend before school starts statewide), the holiday falls pretty late in the back-to-school game.
Many shopping-savvy parents have already scoped out school supply lists and stockpiled 25-cent glue and summer clearance items marked 30 to 50 percent off retail. After all, with a little creativity, you can wear summer clothes in Texas almost year-round.
Saving $8 per $100 purchase isn’t much of an incentive to risk coming up short on needed sizes or supplies, especially when there are better deals to be had in late July and early August. (And a lot of paychecks, including mine, aren’t sizeable enough to buy everything for the next year in one weekend.)
I know some parents of school-age kids who buy everything on the school supply list ahead of time and then head out on the tax holiday to buy back ups for springtime.
And what is up with the list?
Football and baseball jerseys are tax exempt, but not pads, helmets, pants or other sports equipment. (News flash: The football practice has already started, and if your kids play sports they need the whole uniform, not just the jerseys.)
Also on the list: hunting vests and fishing vests, but not life jackets. Bowling shirts are also specifically on the list. Huh?
I asked State Sen. Rodney Ellis, one of the architects of the tax-free holiday, about how the list got made and why the dates were moved later in the month during the last legislative session. (The Texas holiday is the latest entry on the calendar of state-sponsored tax exemption weekends for back to school shopping.)
This was his full emailed response:
I introduced the original “Sales Tax Free Holiday” legislation in 1999 with the observance falling on the first weekend in August. The holiday was changed to the third weekend in August in 2007 by consensus of the retailers and legislators. We hoped it would bring out more parents because it was closer to the start of the school year. If there is consensus next session to make the holiday earlier, I am certainly amendable to changing it.Every session is an opportunity for legislators to add or subtract from the list of exempt items. Last session the legislature added backpacks and additional clothing items. The list we end up with is not always exhaustive of what some parents might like to see. The current statute is very different then what passed in 1999. In fact, when I filed the initial bill, all clothing less than $500 for children younger than 13 was exempt for the entire month of August. I believe there may be a chance to include technology other than calculators that fall in the price range of other tax-free items, such as printers, keyboards, and monitors in the future.
Comptroller Susan Combs has predicted that in 2010 shoppers will save $59.3 million in state and local sales taxes during the upcoming holiday. I hope parents will take advantage of the weekend in these difficult economic times to save some money while preparing their students for school.”
Don’t get me wrong. I know people shop during the holiday - just look at the madhouse at the outlet mall and at Wal-Mart. Before I had kids, I was known to venture out a time or two to buy a few fall items that weren’t on sale yet, so I could get my fall goodies with some savings.
But most of the folks who will turn out at the mall later this month aren’t likely to be harried parents trying to patch together an entire school wardrobe for their kids. I certainly won’t be. I’ve already hit Kohl’s, Old Navy and Children’s Place, and have just a few more items on my fall list for the girls. And those can wait until the crowds are gone and the sales are better. And I don’t see changing that schedule when Ayanna starts pre-kindergarten next year.
I might be convinced to go stock up on some diapers (which are also tax-free that weekend.) But then again, I’m averse to crowds and my sanity is worth more than the 8 bucks I might save.
Are you planning to hit the stores hard on the tax-free holiday?
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August 4, 2010
Back to school: Return of the Crocs
The much-maligned Crocs are back for this back to school season. This time as a tennis shoe.
A few years ago, some schools and day care centers started banning the shoes outright, citing safety concerns. Principals said the open-heel and clog designs provided for slippage on playground equipment and made kids prone to tripping. (This is separate from the concern about kids heels reportedly getting stuck in escalators.)
Parents and kids loved the wash-and-wear appeal and the microbial soles. But with all the bad press, the brand teetered at the brink of bankruptcy last fall.
But now they are back — with shoes that look nothing like the originals, but made out of the same comfy plastic foam. The new kids shoes look like sneakers, all the way to their laces. There’s also a Mary Jane model for girls — also closed heel.
The new sneakers retail for $34.99. And can be found at local retailers, including Dillards, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Academy, InStep and Sports Authority.
Photos: Crocs
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February 19, 2010
A mom's hunt for toddler underwear
Add this to the ever-growing list of things that I never thought I’d be spending my time on. Kids underwear.
We have successfully potty trained our 2 year old, and it is time for Ayanna to move on from her padded cotton training panties. This should not be hard. After all, when I was a kid, underwear just sort of appeared in my drawers until I was high school aged — cotton briefs in beige, white and, if they were on sale, pink.
Oh, but things are not that simple.
First, Ayanna has apparently trained earlier than many kids, so finding panties in the smallest size is not an easy thing. Combine that with the fact that my little girl, though tall for her age frankly does not has much of a butt (not from my side of the family.) Her pants and even her current training underwear are forever sliding downhill. (Fruit of the Loom and Hanes start at Size 4. She is more like Size 2-3)
Everything at Target and WalMart looks like Dora the Explorer threw up on it. I like Dora. We have Dora flannel pajamas. We have a Dora action figurine. I intend to draw the line at Dora underwear (and that goes for any of her licensed character friends from Nickelodeon and Disney.) I’ve just had enough.
So then I wandered into GapKids, willing to pay a little more, if I could find something that A) fit well and B) had some innocuous design. I was elated to find not only basic white, but some cute designs without any cartoon characters in size XXS.
I skipped the “low-rise” cut and just got some bikini briefs, not thinking that they meant adult-cut bikinis. I though I had perhaps paid too much ($22.50 for a pack of 7), but these should work. After all, I skipped the lowrise cut.
Oh, but I was mistaken. I pulled them out of the package at home and let’s just say the lack of front coverage was startling for a product aimed at little kids. When they say bikini cut, they mean bikini cut.
So then I hunted online and there is as vast selection of girls underwear that appears to meet my criteria on screen at least, but they start at $8 a pair. Not an acceptable option since my daycare tosses underwear if the occasional accident is more than just urine.
I may have to order some from Swedish company Hanna Andersson, which offers 3-packs in for $14. Still not cheap, but they have sizes that fit even 10-24 month old babies in classic styles.
I’m sensing that as the girls get older this is going to be an ongoing problem. Finding age-appropriate clothing should not be this hard or expensive.
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