and spruce it up with some cool patches. We found a little tiny Nintendo Mario mushroom, a cool black and red star, a large spider web, and two spider man spider pins (and a fairey that ds can not resist, but I have talked him out of putting it on his backpack because of the school he is going to... last thing I want is for him to get teased). I get to the registar and it was frickin $23!!!!!!!! So much for saving money on the used backpack! I can get a new Jansport for $30 at Costco! UGH! (It is a cool cami green old style, Jansport backpack, and now it is super cool, but D*m!!!!!)

I did end up getting them because I thought that since we were absolutly not being frugal, at least we were being individual. That counts for something.

Anyone else have a "I did it the hard way only to have it turn out MORE expensive than the new one" story??

Love Val

Well, at least you didn't buy something new, yk? And it's so much cooler. :)

You should have mentioned it to me, though - at Ross here they had really nice Jansports and Eastpaks for $7-12! Seriously! I had a nice Jansport in my hand for Jake for $12 but then saw an Eastpak for $7 and went with that. I have also had luck at Target after school starts, when they put them on clearance for $4-7.

Um, I guess that doesn't help now. Sorry!:o

So are you going to show us a pic of his backpack or what? ;)

Laurie, Alex just got a "new" one for the first time since 2000 when he started preschool. lol... I am not quite as cheap as you, but still pretty darn cheap.

;)

Love Val

PS I can't... my camera will not hook up to the computer since the move. I still have tons of garden pictures on the camera from May! ugh... I have asked and asked my dh to fix it... but the man has no time. So I will have to ask again... he has Thurday night off this week. :) My printer is not hooked up yet either... since MAY!! (needs to be done... needs to be done.) :D

Ok, I'll just imagine it then. :rainbow:

Ugh, new backpacks were a back to school necessity here. Each and every year. Til I was like wait, why????? Unless they need a new one, why can't they use it again??? The only exception is the character ones that I let my kiddos get if they are good quality, and then I understand the need/want for a new one once said child no longer wishes to be seen with a Care Bear on her back. LOL. (o; My oldest is small for her age, and man, middle school means a lot of heavy textbooks, some that come home daily. So we spent like $50 on her Nike backpack only cause it had the ergonomic straps and the "air filled" comfort chambers in them. ROFL, sounds cheesy and needless, I know....but trust me, when your 80 pounder is carrying 10 pounds home, she needs all the comfort help she can get. LOL. Books can be so heavy, one Mom at her school bought the textbooks herself, another set, to keep at home.....$240!!! But to her it was worth her daughter not carrying home that weight daily. I don't go that extreme, if it was cheaper I would. LOL. I pick Chels up if she has to bring home too many books though. I think in grade school any decent nice backpack will do, but once they carry home heavy loads, often the cheaper ones don't work well....but you got a good one anyhow, so I have no flippin idea what my point here is.......:rolleyes:

I agree with you Laurie - I am hoping my kids' packs last for quite a few years. Same with lunchboxes.

I think that most of Alex's stuff has a little too much of my artistic personality in it... lol... his Friday Folder has little doodles next to his name, all of his pens and things have stars on them instead of initials... etc. But I also think that it shows him I love him, and I have asked him if he wants it... he always says yes. My kids are not quite conformists. And thank goodness... I don't know what I would do if I was not allowed, by my son, to kiss him goodbye before school, or leave those temp tatoos in his lunch box and stuff. I hate the idea of something happening to him and not having touched his face when I left him... or have him know I am thinking of him through out the day... I am sure that he will not like it sometime... most likely the distain for things like that will come when he is a teen... anyway... I only have a short time of being able to do things like this... I have the energy and the time... So I do it. And hope it lasts a little longer. :heart:

Love Val

PS I will get dh to fix that soon... I want to show you all now. :D

Awww, Val...that is so sweet!

I would love to see the pics! It sounds awesome. Better than a new plain one, surely! :)

LOL...

Val, those are awesome ideas. I try and do that too. (o: I had a few Mamas on AW make me some kid sized cloth napkins for the kids lunches, as I can NOT sew a straight line, lol, and I "surprise" the kids daily with a cute one and sometimes a note or something....a Hershey kiss, sticker, etc. Today was my 13 yo's first day of 8th grade so I bought her a handmade beaded bracelet with her astrology sign symbol on a little metal charm on it, and she was soooo thrilled. Over a $8 bracelet. It made her day, and hence mine. :D

You are one of those Mamas your kids will look back on and think wow, she really did so much for us and loved us so much. :heart:

I got some crocheted napkins from a mama here that the girls take each day. I also got on clearance at Target some die-cut post-it notes in the shape of a star and about twice a week I write a personal note to Beth. She is keeping them in her Spanish notebook. It has the clear vinyl front (3 ring binder) and she is sticking them in there making a cute cover for it.

Tell more about which LL Bean backpacks you like? Beth needs a new one already (got her one 3 weeks ago) and I am looking at those. But, I can't decide. She can use a roll-around next year.

It's been awhile since backpack time for us (older kids are 20 and up; littles are 3 and under), but the good thing about LL Bean is their guarantee. If the backpack doesn't hold up, send it back and they'll fix it or replace it. They fixed the zipper on my stepdaughter's after she over-stuffed it for 3 years of high school. Expensive to start with, but they really are worth it!
Hana