Fifth Grade

We went school shopping for Jamie and Linda's 5th grade year. It is kind of nice, because the school supply list gets shorter every year. Clothes shopping was the hardest. Linda is so tall, she is kind of in an in-between size between the kids clothes, and the Juniors. She can wear 14s in jeans, and size small in juniors (or a size 3). Poor Jamie just seems to grow super slow next to her. He is still wearing 10s and mediums in kid sizes. The downside is now they have to have regulation gym clothes that we can only buy at one store in town, and a pair of gym shoes, and deodorant that have to stay at school. Like I said, the clothes were the hardest. Not for Jamie, he was happy with a few Star Wars shirts, and a couple of polo shirts that had camo design. Linda, on the other hand, is a whole new ball game. I know this is not her fault, this is what she sees in the media, and often on other girls, but she seems to want to dress as provocatively as possible. I hate to tell her, but I don't care if she is eleven, or 17, she is not dressing like that. So a battle ensued. You should know, I am not super, uber strict, but I think shorts should cover her butt cheeks, shirts should cover at least as much as a bra does, and if any part of it is see-through enough that your underwear shows, it is a no-go. This made for a hard time. Sigh. We also had to buy a puberty emergency kit (a make-up bag with a few pads in it), in case that happens. I can't believe I am having to worry about this at age 11, but she is starting to develop quickly. About two hundred dollars later, they are all set. They are lucky this year, school doesn't start until 8:40 and they do not get on the bus until 8:30, which means they don't have to get up until pretty late. I hope this year goes well for them. They are both in band, and some other activites. I think it is set up to be their best year ever.