I got nothing.

It's just a Friday and I have no awe-inspiring message to post. Just working my way through email, setting up photo appointments, thinking about the fantasy football party that takes place at my house tomorrow. We'll do a whirlwind clean and grocery shop tonight/tomorrow and we'll be ready. I need to help Margret with her science homework packet, due on Tuesday. And I also need to interrogate her on missing school clothes. I had seven different shorts/skirts/capris for her and I can only put my hands on four after doing all the laundry. As far as I know, these clothes are not disposable.

I'm also working on a revamp of my website. I'm adding new photo packages and need to work on copy today. I have a long list of business development stuff that I'm working my way through. Even though I'm home alone, the tv stays off and I concentrate on my work. We have a birthday party on Monday, which means presents to buy. I'll fit that in somewhere. Perhaps after we help a neighbor who is expecting a trailer-load of cats on Sunday from an animal adoption organization that is heading north to escape Gustave.

Since I have nothing of interest to say, why don't you leave a comment with your interesting thoughts? What do you have planned for the long weekend?

Attention, grandparents.

Just because you live far away does not mean you get out of participating in the girls' school fundraiser. The new vendor, Cherrydale, is a little confusing, but I have sent you an email from the site that should have all the info you need. I registered my email address and the school code is 156279. Let me know if you have questions!

I need some bellies.

While the girls are toiling away in school each day, I'm looking for ways to expand my photography business. I'm adding engagement sessions (my first session will be up soon), and I'm thinking about maternity ones. You know, beautiful photos of an expectant mom, maybe with dad and the other kids. Close-ups of the belly. Fully clothed or tastefully somewhat bare.

But first I need a model. I'm looking for someone around 6-8 months along who would be willing to pose for me. It'll take about 90 minutes, at your home (preferably East Memphis or nearby), and within a few weeks you'll get a free disk of about 20 high-res photos. In return, I get to use the photos as a marketing tool on my website and blog.

I shoot on weekends, and during the week from 8a to 1p. If you'd like to volunteer, please contact me at marci @ makearteveryday dot com (take out spaces and put in a real dot). I'd like to schedule a session soon.

ETA: Thanks for the response. I've set up two free sessions and that's all I'll be doing for now. I will be adding this package to my website and the cost will be $150. Contact me if you need more info.

Too old for Elmo.

While watching a commercial for "Elmo Grows Up", a live performance coming to Memphis:

Audrey: "We are sooooo not going to that. It's a baby show."

Margret: "Yeah, Elmo is for babies."

Me: "You two both loooooooved Elmo when you were little."

Blink blink. [Crickets chirp in background]

I guess it's my job to remember that whenever the "la la lala, la la lala" music would come on, 18-month-old Margret would race to her bean bag chair and flop herself down and not move for ten minutes. And she had a huge smile on her face. And I have a photo of the two of them, Audrey about 18 months, nestled together on the couch watching Elmo, and more big smiles.

Now they watch SpongeBob. Who is endearing in his own way. And I don't have to change their diapers afterward, so there's that. But sometimes I miss those babies who loved Elmo.

Sigh....

My friend, Liz, sent me an email with the above image and some others (titled "P0r n* for women") and it made me laugh out loud! When John and I were first dating, I wanted to go to a fall crafts fair on a Sunday and because he was so crazy in love he never mentioned that he really wanted to plop down in front of the tv to watch football. As he had done for the previous 20 years. Give or take. So we wandered around the fair for a few hours.

It's all worked out, though. Because I'm pretty sure he's gotten to watch football on every Sunday since.

*Blog tip: be careful about the words you use in your posts. I've purposely typed that word incorrectly because I don't want someone searching for it to come to this blog.

ETA: this is from an actual book! Click here for details. And a scrapper has done her own version; click here for that.

The winner.

Looks like "The Time Traveler's Wife" is a favorite (I do plan to read all the books on the list). I cracked the cover yesterday in the car, while waiting to pick up the girls. Then I read more in the afternoon while the girls played. And then a little more last night before I went to sleep. I like it a lot, but what is more fun is torturing John with it. See, he has this thing about time travel -- he can't watch any movies involving time travel because the logic of being in two different places at once just totally makes his head explode. Now you know why he voted for "Kitchen Confidential."

Someone needs to clean her desk.

On Saturday afternoon I did manage to pull out the paint supplies for the girls. They each did two paintings and one will be entered in the MidSouth Fair, though the school. While the girls were immersed in their work, so was I in mine. I actually scrapped a two-page layout of Margret that I just love. I may try to submit it before I post it here.

The scrap stuff is still spread all over my desk, along with coupons, my planner, flyers from the newspaper and anything else that landed there this weekend. I thought I would hit the ground running but I've been a little off this morning. I'll be back on track tomorrow.

I do want to report that I did relax this weekend. John brought home pizza Saturday night and we watched "The Absent-Minded Professor". The girls love that movie. And it is pretty cute. We put the girls to bed and started watching some Olympics. An hour later, both girls were back up, claiming an inability to sleep. We let them watch for a bit and herded them back to bed.

On Sunday I was up early making shopping lists. Walgreen's was great: I spent $24 on $68 worth of stuff, and at Kroger I spent $72 on $102. As usual, we are well-stocked for the week. I know there are bargain shoppers out there who can feed their families of four on $40 a week, but I don't think I'll ever get that low, nor do I want to. Our love of Diet Coke and Capri Sun pretty much knock us out of that ballpark. I mainly want to to be well-fed with nutritious food and some fun snacks. I think I'm there.

And in the name of family fun, we went out to lunch and then to see "Kung Fu Panda" at the bargain theatre. Cute movie, fun time.

Now. About that desk.

I've been tagged.

Kimber, whom I adore even though I've only met once, has tagged me. And I'm going to play along. The rules:

(1) The winner can put the logo on their blog.
(2) Link the person you received your award from.
(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
(4) Put links of those on yours.
(5) Leave a message on the blogs you’ve nominated.

These are the blogs I try not to miss:
Paula (Kimber already tagged her, but Paula is my best scrappy friend in the world, even though we live nowhere close to each other)
Francine (she's a talented artist who is also a dear friend that I've never actually met)
Sarah (another scrappy friend who refuses to sit on the sidelines of life; her passion is inspiring)
Vivian (she's been tagged already, but what can I say? I was one of the many people who hounded her to start a blog)
Jennifer (a dear friend who is super talented and lives around the corner!)
Liz (another local friend who I don't get to see nearly enough; she's sweet and hilarious!)
Torm (we've never met but I feel like we could and we'd instantly be friends)

Feel free to leave a comment and tell me whose blog you love.

I do not know how to relax.

Those around me may laugh at those words, but I was struck by this thought earlier today. I really don't know how to relax.

With our new schedule of both girls in school, I've made a commitment to limiting work time to school hours. That means on the weekends, except for photo shoots, I want to focus on my family instead of my computer. Yet my brain is always spinning with business development ideas and things to do and I haven't found a way to switch that off yet.

So today John has a leadership seminar all day and I had a photo shoot. I took the kids to Kidstation (they love it there) and picked them up about 90 minutes later. Now we are home and I have an afternoon of painting (them) and scrapping (me) and I'm all tense about it. I keep thinking about the redesign of my website and how I need to set up some bookmarks for photo forums and that list of computer maintenance I need to give to John. I have a whole afternoon of no real obligations and yet here I am. At the computer.

Is there a self-help group for people like me?

I scrapped.

I've pretty much taken the summer off from scrapping. Life just seemed too hectic and I didn't feel like pulling out the supplies most days. I also left my design teams (or they closed) and so I had no deadlines pushing me to get something done.

I did continue to take photos and print them, because I knew I'd get back to it. And when Francine asked me to join her new blog, I thought it would be just the thing to get me going. The team is slowing introducing itself over there, and my post is up today. Check it out, and check back here for more scrappy goodness. I promise it's coming.

Nearly 200 cinnamon rolls.

I have spent the majority of the day baking cinnamon rolls. And of course I have loved it. I don't think I'm all that great of a cook, but I could bake every day. About 150 of the rolls are going to the Newcomer's Breakfast at school tomorrow. Several have already been eaten by the mommies who were picking up their kids today. And the rest get to stay with the Lamberts.

Pick my next book, please.

As you may recall, I have finally returned to an old love: reading books. From the time I first read Charlotte's Web as a child, I have loved to read (it's fun to watch Margret, who is just as driven as I was, as she reads not only books, but road signs, billboards and the backs of cereal boxes). Last night I finally finished "The Corrections", which I loved. I picked it up from PaperBackSwap, but I'm not so sure I'm going to put it back into circulation. I can totally imagine picking this up again in a few years. Perhaps I have a sentimentality about this family, named Lambert.

I have a few more books on my bedside, queued up, and I can't make up my mind which to read next. So I thought I'd ask my blog readers to vote. Look for the box in the upper right to make your selection.

Your choices are:

• White Oleander (I've seen the movie and thought it was poorly done; but it seemed like a great story so I'm giving the book a shot).
• The Joy Luck Club (I've also seen this movie and loved it. I'm hoping the book is more nuanced and I get more details).
• The Time Traveler's Wife (I know nothing about it but it seems like it pops up on "must read" lists).
• Kitchen Confidential (I gave this to John for his birthday; he prefers non-fiction and he likes Anthony Bourdain. He loved it and has probably already told me every good story in it, but I still want to read it).

Vote quick! I'm going to have to make do with magazines until the deadline, which is Sunday at noon. And feel free to leave a comment if you want to tell me more about your choice.

ETA: I've added links to the books above just in case you want to check them out.

Just because I can.

• Because I bought a second camera body last week and I was testing it out.
• Because I post more photos of Audrey than of Margret (Audrey used to be around more).
• Because she's cute.
• And dorky because she likes to button her shirts to the top like Urkel.
• Because I have time to post every day now.
• Because I like labeling photos "goof".
• Because I love her to pieces.

Homework.

This is the scene at the Lambert household right now. Our new schedule includes coming home and doing homework right away. With a snack, of course. Audrey didn't have homework tonight, but I was glad she wanted to sit at the table and make some art. Margret has three assignments and she's done two. Under duress. Well, not exactly duress. Margret is just so interested in the world that she doesn't settle down easily. She wants to hear about Audrey's day and get more lemonade and tell us about her day and sharpen another pencil and eat a graham cracker and ask some more questions and so on. I'm sure she'll get done sometime before bedtime. I think. I hope.

Welcome to Memphis.

Have you ever been a tourist in your own city? Yesterday I had a hankering to go downtown to a funky restaurant for dinner. And I had originally planned to do a photo shoot in the morning with the girls, but the rain from the night before scratched that. As I thought some more, I decided we should go downtown, ride the trolley, do a photo shoot and go to dinner.

So we did.

We had to wait a while to catch the right trolley, so the photo session started at the trolley stop. The girls were way excited.

We got off at one of the many little parks that face the Mississippi River. The girls were still happy and cooperative. If you can call this shot cooperative.
We walked down a very long staircase, crossed the street and found a shady spot in Tom Lee Park. The shoot started off with a bang: Audrey stepped into a pile of ants and they began biting her. At first I couldn't figure out why she was screaming, but John got her taken care of. After our session, we pointed out the paddlewheel boat that was pulling out from the dock.

Some friends of ours had called us earlier and we invited them to come meet us at the Flying Fish. It resembles your grandmother's screened-in porch, complete with picnic table and handmade kitsch on the walls. And lots of fried food.

Of course, the girls were most interested in the TV.

After we ate, we headed over to Beale Street and looked for Elvii. This past week has been Death Week here -- people from all over the world flock here to commemorate the Aug. 16 death of Elvis Presley. Some dress the part. You can even line up at the gates of Graceland on Aug. 15 and at midnight they let everyone who wants to file by his grave. John and I have both been to a vigil, and it truly is an experience.

This year we were just hoping to see some impersonators out on Beale. Alas, the few we saw were performing in the clubs, so no photo opps. I guess there's always next year.

What I did with myself.

Audrey's first day at school on Thursday was great. For me and for her. Everyone was good about getting up and out of the house and I got right to work on my list of things to do. One of those things was finishing up the project above: an accordion book showing a monthly photo of my dear little friend, Juliana, over her first year. It was fun to work on and I've missed scrapping.

I also ran a few errands, took care of my domestic responsibilities and did a little photo business development. I got to school a bit early so I could read some of my latest book, so let's just call it a wonderful day. I sprinted through my list and felt so accomplished.

Now. Here's the part when I first tell you how much I love my children and would do anything to protect them blah blah blah. Because on Friday, Audrey was home with me and I felt like I was trying to move through quicksand. Everything was a battle or minor skirmish. Please help me hand out yard sale flyers on our street. Yes you can ride the Barbie bike. But don't go to far ahead. Slow down. Wait for me here. Now let's run to Kroger to get Margret's cereal. Pleeeaasse fasten your seatbelt. Now. Fasten it. Okay, we're here. Let's go. Please get out of the car now. Now. I'm hot. Let's go. No, we are only buying cereal. It will only take a minute. Hey, it's time for lunch. What do you want? No, you can't have gummy snacks for lunch. No, really. You can't. Why do you suddenly hate grapes? It's time to get Margret. Please put your shoes on. And get in the car. And fasten your seatbelt. Now. Today. Would you please fasten it? We've got to go. Blah blah blah.

I love that crazy kid, but she was totally weighing me down. And it made Thursday that much sweeter. So I'll put aside the work for this weekend and we'll try to have some family fun time. Because now I know how much I'll be able to get done when sweet Monday arrives.

Just about two years ago.

While uploading some other photos, I found this one of Margret on her first day of kindergarten. Another happy, contented kid. We must be doing something right, John.

Audrey's first day of kindergarten.

I really wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this day. After all, I've taken a kid to kindergarten before and I lived through it (and I was actually so excited for Margret to begin her formal education). Life with Audrey is, well, not always what you expect. Sometimes she's happy, sometimes angry, sometimes funny. And frequently all that happens within minutes. So I thought my emotions would probably just mirror hers.

Everyone did great at getting up early (6:15a) and eating breakfast. We had time to snap a few pictures before we loaded up. Audrey picked out her own backpack and lunchbox. We think the backpack is perfectly suited to her personality.

This isn't Margret's first day (she started Monday), but I just had to get a photo of them together. And I'm struck once again over how dang cute my girls are.

Is Audrey nervous? No, she's playing silly games at the crosswalk.

And she's completely at home in the classroom. Five kids came today (they stagger kindergarten attendance for the first week) and one of them is a good friend of ours. They started playing right away, as soon as they hung up their backpacks and lined up their lunches.

I didn't even get misty. I think it was because Audrey was content. So I was content. My emotions have mirrored hers.

Now, what am I going to do with myself today?

Uncle Norman. And some other stuff.

This morning I'm having rye toast (actually a rye and pumpernickel blend that was purchased for reubens this week -- they were great). And whenever I have rye toast I have to think of Uncle Norman.

When I was about 14, I spent a week in Washington, D.C. with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Norman. They lived on the top floor of an apartment building just on the edge of the city and the new subway had just opened. And Watergate was getting some coverage.

This summer we visited Nan and Norm again, and I mentioned that I remembered going to breakfast with Norman at the Marriott Hotel several times. And that I even remembered what he ate: two eggs over easy and rye toast. He encouraged me to try the rye toast (I was already all about the eggs over easy) and I loved it. Still love it. Not sure why I don't buy it more often, other than I'm the only one who will eat it (unless it's part of a reuben).

So anyhow. I saved the bread to use this morning because it's the last breakfast before Audrey is in kindergarten. I let her sleep in a bit today as I got Margret ready and I waited to eat with her.

And I thought I'd get out the camera as she was telling me yet another cartoon plot that was on her mind. Because it would be sweet to remember this day sometime in the future.

And also to remember how she loves to make goofy faces when I have the camera out. It's okay. I distinctly remember a specific day when Margret was just about three months old and my maternity leave was nearly over (I worked in advertising for her first year). It was a lazy afternoon and she was about to fall asleep. I had planned to put her in the crib and do some laundry when it occurred to me that we could just cuddle up on a quilt and take a nap together. Laundry could wait. And that's what we did. It was a very good choice.

So if Audrey wants to let loose with the goofy today, I'm not going to stop her. I just want to remember it.

Sweet family.

I had the good fortune of meeting and photographing this family a few weeks ago. They were just lovely and we soldiered through the early morning heat for the shoot.

The kids were totally cool. I asked mom and dad to hang out behind me so we could get some smiles. I like the basic posed shot.

But I also like it when they put their guard down a bit and I catch them just being themselves.

I try to make sure every kid gets a photo by themselves with mom and with dad. I tell my clients that I want these photos to have such lasting value that they will show them at the kid's rehearsal dinner years from now. Unfortunately, the dad told me that this little beauty is not allowed to get married. Ever. Maybe she can live in a convent with my girls.

Why is it so easy to convince dads to be goofy?

And of course I'm still obsessed with feet. Can't help it. Look how dang cute they are.

I'm still booking sessions for the fall. Give me a call at 901-568-0211 or email me at marci@makearteveryday.com to set up a time. I'll travel within the greater metro area at no charge.

It takes all kinds.

My dear friend, Francine, has asked me to be part of what is sure to be an excellent source of scrapbooking inspiration: It Takes All Kinds. Scrappers come from every walk of life: married, single, with kids and without, all races, all countries and myriad reasons for doing what they do. Francine has invited a diverse group to post almost daily inspiration, starting September 1st. In the meantime, you can check out the contributors as they introduce themselves over the next few weeks. Be sure to bookmark the site so you can find instant inspiration.

First day of second grade.

Today is Margret's first day of second grade. On Saturday we met her teacher and saw her classroom. As John says, second grade is when you get down to business. No more tables; these kids have desks. And they have agenda books -- a calendar for the year and a place to write down assignments. I love the idea of getting used to a planner at this young age.

Here's my girl with her Disney lunchbox and rolling backpack. It is stuffed with supplies today. Tomorrow her load will be much lighter. She also picked out her outfit. Between you and me, I would have preferred a skirt for the first day, but this is what makes her happy so I let it go.

I pretty much insist on being there for the first day of school, so we were all up and out the door by 7:10a. We had to park sort of far away, so it was a trek. Still, we got in line before the first bell and we all went in with her.

Of course I have to get a photo at her desk. I'll take another at the end of the year so we can compare. Audrey's first day is Thursday and we'll do the same thing with her. I can't believe my girls are so grown up. Time really does fly.

Rest in peace, Isaac Hayes.

Isaac Hayes died in Memphis today. Very sad, especially at the beginning of Elvis Death Week here. John and I got to meet Isaac in the fall of 2000. He had written a cookbook and we went to a book signing. We told him we were expecting our first baby and he told us to make some food from his book. He was really sweet and let us pose for photos, and he had the coolest outfit: it looked liked pajamas. He is just as great in person as you would think he would be.

Last week Morgan Freeman was in a bad car accident (but he's going to be okay) and Bernie Mac just died at age 50. I'd like to personally call Andre Braugher, Bill Cosby and Danny Glover and tell them to be careful this week.

What I need vs. what I get.

A friend asked me to do a headshot for her recently. You know, a professional looking, well-lit portrait that she could send to a local leadership group that she's been asked to join.

So while I was setting up today, I asked for a kid to come be a stand-in. I needed to make sure the lights were set up the way I wanted and I had to check the color. What I wanted was this:


But what I got was this:
Because that's life with my kids.

Homemade crayons.

As I mentioned in the post below, we decided to do something with the sack of crayons we had lying around. We followed Danny Seo's recipe and here's what we started with:

The girls did some paper peeling and then needed a "break" so I came into the playroom and helped them finish up. Slivers of crayon under your fingernails are unpleasant. In case you were wondering.

I used a foil-lined pan and cooked them at 350˚. I checked them at 10 minutes and decided they could use some more meltiness. I think the two minutes I left them in was too much -- I'd just do one more minute next time.

I let the block of wax cool for maybe 20 minutes and then pulled it out with the foil still attached on the bottom. I laid it on a dish towel on the counter. We picked a few metal cookie cutters (although I think you could use plastic ones too) and started cutting. I went around the edges first because they were slightly cooler. You want the wax to be slightly warm but not still soft. As the middle cooled off I cut there too. I tossed the scraps.

The top of the wax block was not that pretty, but once I cut them out and flipped them over I thought they were beautiful. And I stuck with hearts and circles because I think they'll be the sturdiest shapes. I let them all cool on wax paper for about an hour. And from what I hear, they are already being tested down the hall.

This is what we are trying today.

Click here. More to come.

Honest to blog.

Yet another benefit of the Grocery Game for us is that I've been able to get inexpensive multi-vitamins for all of us. During a recent buy-one-get-one-free sale, I asked John if he wanted to start taking them and he said "why not."

And then at the breakfast table one morning he looked at the bottle and said "how many of these do I take each day?"

Uh, dude. Read the label.

The importance of thank you notes.

I am not as good as my sister-in-law, Martha, who sends lovely thank you notes promptly, but I am teaching my girls the importance of gratitude. This year Margret was able to write all her own thank you notes for her birthday party gifts. I gave her a list of who gave her what, and she would write a few each day. She even stamped them all.

Audrey is too young to do all the writing, but like I did with Margret last year, I wrote the notes and Audrey signed her name. I just gave her the stack and she returned them with her multi-color signature. A very nice touch.

I'm not sure how the girls feel about doing it, or if it's making an impact yet. But maybe if we keep at it each year they will grow up to be like Aunt Martha. Which would not be a bad thing at all.

Quickie!

Don't ask what I've been doing for the last few days because I don't think I remember! There was some photo editing (that I'm still in the middle of) and administrative work for my business. I helped set up a teacher's lunch at school yesterday. There was a meeting last night for my neighborhood group -- we're planning out the year and I worked on a few printed items today. We went over to the school to sign Margret up for tap and Audrey for ballet this morning. I've fixed breakfasts and lunches and am about to work on dinner. I cut and filed coupons. I rejoined the PTO. I bought Richland Redhawk shirts for the girls. I may have put away laundry. I've taken several phone calls about school and neighborhood stuff. And I've updated my planner.

This Saturday we find out who the girls' teachers are. I'm excited. We get to request teachers but we don't always get the first choice. I'm not that worried; I think we have great teachers at our school. Margret will start on Monday and Audrey will just go on Thursday of next week. Then on Monday, both girls are in fulltime. I think the house will be very, very quiet, but I'm looking forward to being very productive in the mornings so I can focus on the girls in the afternoon. This is going to be such a big change in schedule for our family. Can't wait!

I don't believe it.

It says the temperature outside is only 98˚. Yeah. Sure. Maybe it's one hundred and ninety-eight degrees. I've been out three times today and all I want to do now is collapse in a heap. I did a Walgreen's shop (about $41 for $76 worth of stuff and I got $10 in Register Rewards and I'm expecting about $8 in rebates). I did a photo shoot of an incredibly sweet baby (I've done her newborn and three month photos, too. We spent part of the time outside and undid all effects of my earlier shower. Then after lunch I did the Kroger shopping. Only $55 on $90+ worth of stuff. This is the week I was waiting for. I did one round of the Mega Sale stuff (buy 10 of participating products and get $5 off) and the rest was just fresh stuff for this week.

And I seriously need a nap. But first a friend is coming over with a metal detector to help us look for John's lost wedding ring. He thinks it came off while he was mowing grass last week. I'm hoping that a chipmunk hasn't found it and is wearing it for an ankle bracelet. It's possible.

Here's a question I never asked my mother.

"Mommy, will you put this on your blog?"

Yesterday I got out the big box of playdoh so I could work on a photo session in relative peace. Instead, I got little moments of peace in between many requests for their creations to be photographed and posted. What the heck. Here's Audrey's colorful caterpillar.

Margret made her own ramen noodles.

Audrey chose this pose for her blue and yellow hearts.

A purple and blue elephant.

And a few more critters. The girls played with the stuff for hours and I was able to complete a slide show and photo book. And they were so engrossed in their work that they never even turned on the tv. Perfect.

PS: I'm cutting their bangs this weekend. I swear.

Done!

Well, almost. Yesterday I pulled out all the school uniform stuff that Margret has worn for the past two years and made both girls try stuff on. Audrey will wear a bunch of Margret's old stuff, and Margret still had a few things that fit. The girls were wonderful about trying on the clothes and I was able to make a very specific list of what additional things we needed.

We headed to Target this morning to do the shopping. It's tax-free weekend here (that 9.25% makes a difference) and I wanted an early start to make sure we still had a good selection. I had budgeted $150 to buy 15 pieces. I thought about checking consignment shops, but I don't mind buying new for school clothes since I can get a second wearing out of them with Audrey.

The girls helped pick out the clothes and Margret was great at finding the right sizes. And Audrey loves trying on school clothes. I mean she really loves it. I can't wait to see her dressed up for the big day.

We had a few other things to get: a big pack of socks, two pairs of tights, three large boxes of cereal, Smucker's squeezable strawberry jelly and a present for a birthday party tomorrow. I had a few coupons for the grocery items, and my grand total came to $166! The one thing I couldn't find was a pair of black pants for Margret but I'll keep looking for those. I was really thrilled to get as much as I got, and not having to pay sales tax on the clothes was a big help.

So we've got clothes, backpacks, lunchboxes, athletic shoes, and school supplies. I'll take Margret to buy one more pair of shoes and I need to pick up some special glue at the school store for Audrey. And then I will truly be done.