School Shopping

I hate school shopping. There's really no better way to put it. The ads come in the mail and the kids get a hold of them and the "I wants" start. At first I used to tell the kids that they were wishing books and none of that stuff was for sale but now my six year old is getting wise. I tell the girls, "You can wish all you want but you can't buy it." and my son says with a smile, "Mom, you're just kidding, right?" So I turn to him and tell him that he can buy anything he wants as long as he pays for it with his own money. That usually ends that discussion since he has no money.
So, anyway. You get all five kids in the van and daddy has to come along on this trip because I cannot do it by myself with all of them. I have five under seven years old and one of them has ADHD. The others are a handful in and among themselves. When we get to the store everyone who talks to us asks, "Are these all yours?" and "Wow, you have your hands full." Duh, I know this already. We get two carts. The newborn goes in one and the 17 month old in the other. The rest of them have to walk. Then the kids start to wander off as they see things they want and then the "I wants" start again. "I want this book, I want that car. Can I have this candy?" It's enough to drive a sane person crazy. We shop for the boy first since there is only one and get all his stuff out of the way. I don't even try clothes on the kids anymore. I just hold the shirt or pants up to them to see if they look like they will fit. Then we go for the socks and the underwear. Borrrring, unless they have spiderman on them.
Then we're off for the girls. The youngest two really don't get anything. They're not in school and the baby clothes I saved from the other girls are still in good shape. Besides, we go to DI or Kid 2 Kid for their clothes if we need them. The ADHD child and the "Princess" are tough to shop for. They run through the isles and racks and pop out saying, "Boo" to people as they pass by, causing havoc. They don't like to stand still while I hold clothes up to them. The good thing is that they pretty much wear the same size since they are close in age and the younger one is rounder than the other. I don't even try to separate underwear and socks since I can never remember what belongs to who anymore. I tried writing their initials on their underwear but I can never find a magic marker when I need one because we had to get rid of all them due to "not so much appreciated artwork on the walls and furniture." So, we have one drawer for their underwear and the rest of their clothes are separated, at least for now.
Then we go to the grocery area to get the few things that can't wait for tomorrow like milk. The girls run around the food isles pulling items off of the shelf. The woman behind us is saying, "Poor woman can't control her kids" to her signifigant other. At this point I am about ready to scream at them. I have already hollared and am turning redder by the minute. I may have swatted them in the butt a time or two, descreetly, of course. We somehow make it through checkout without screaming and fainting after seeing the amount we owe. We get them into the car, turn the music on and cry all the way home.
This year I decided to go it alone. I guessed on sizes, except shoes. I had to take them with me to get shoes but I guessed right on with the sizes so I don't have to take anything back. Yay for me. If only it was a "once a year" thing. I can't get too comfortable. Christmas is coming.