Johnson Journal

Summer is winding down, and it's been so hot that we really haven't done much lately except sit around the house and watch the Olympics. Well, we have attended birthday parties for 3 Saturdays in a row now- but that's about all the excitement we've had. Our big outing today was to Burger King for lunch, if that tells you anything (Why does that have to be my kids' favorite place to go? Yuck!). Pretty boring around here, but I'm enjoying my last couple weeks before the back-to-school craziness starts again.

I took these pictures of Lauren over the last couple months. I think she is so cute when she is sleeping, and she stopped taking naps when she was about 18 months old, so whenever she unexpectedly conks out, I can't resist snapping a picture. The one of her in Steve's lap was after dance camp one day in July- that really helped wear her out! (You can see she loves her new lil'kinz cat). Hopefully no one will turn me in for having her in the car without her booster seat! My car was in the shop, so we had gotten up early to take it in and we were sharing Steve's car. I guess the long drive to his office to pick him up lulled her to sleep. What an angel...

So...I decided to venture out school supply shopping today. Unfortunately, since we are switching schools this year, I was unable to order the pre-packaged school supplies at the end of last year. No problem- the stores have the printed supply lists...it'll be fun to pick out our own stuff for a change- right?? Not so fast!

I'd been to Target over the weekend, and they didn't have our list. I heard Wal-Mart did, so I went there today and, of course, they didn't! Went back home and found it on-line, printed it, and went back to Wal-Mart. Ok- what happened to the old crayons, glue, scissors, and #2 pencils? This list is so specific- it's crazy! 1 Sharpie permanent marker ultra fine point-metal tip- black, 1 package durable double pocket notebook dividers with tabs, a 2 1/2" to 3" sturdy binder (ok, that is huge!- Found one at Office Depot- $10.99!), yellow and red plastic pocket folders (well, they had almost every color but yellow). They had small packages of construction paper, but of course not the 12 x 18" kind. They want 2 boxes of Kleenex (230 count)- I could only find 200 count. This is ridiculous! I used to be a teacher! This should NOT be so difficult!!!

Oh no! I am looking at the list right now and I think I got the wrong kind of baggies...does "quart or jumbo size with hard plastic zipper (at least 20 count)" mean that it has to have that little sliding zipper thing at the top? I just the old-fashioned "push the two sides together and slide it closed with your fingers" kind. At least they are furnishing the assignment books, "special" ruler, and magazine subscription- for the small supply fee of $8.60! So, I'm on my fourth trip to the store- Office Depot this time. Wish me luck! Am I the only one who is finding this a little challenging? I knew I should have sent Steve...just so he'd appreciate the things I go through! (Back from Office Depot- still searching for the right size construction paper)