Summer is ending and the time is now upon us; Fall season of sports and dance classes. Translation-I begin to hemorrhage money like my wallet is a stuck pig. All so that my kids can receive a participation trophy and dance on stage in a rodent costume. We haven’t yet reached the age of real competition in soccer or dance so no one really keeps track of how many wins we have or who does the best Rond de Jambe. That doesn’t mean we save much money (or stress!) though. A “more experienced” parent (I’m not going to say older because they may read this and want to pummel me) once told me that as kids get older, they just get more expensive. I am absolutely finding this out first hand and my husband just doesn’t get it. I think he thought that once my girls were out of diapers that our budget was going to change in our favor. WRONG! Now we have registration fees, uniform costs, practice equipment for home, shoes (seriously can they PLEASE stop growing so fast?!), and costumes.
My daughter literally grew 3 clothing sizes in a year. We had one size as we went into Spring so as the budget-conscious Mama I am, I prepped and bought clothes on clearance/sale for the upcoming seasons. Such a bad idea! Thank God she has a sister that could wear them. That summer I went to put her clothes on her and she had gone up a full size! So I went out and bought summer clothes-in season. I still hear the cash registers and the money flying out of my wallet. Thinking that she had a growth spurt and we are done, I bought her winter clothes on clearance in that size. NOPE! Wrong again! By fall/winter she was AGAIN in another size! There was a moment where I thought, “Maybe I can just buy leggings and make her wear leggings underneath everything and then it won’t be so bad.” I caved and bought her clothes when she couldn’t get her head through the shirts. Have you ever wished your kid stopped growing at 6? I may have.
Really, in the grand scheme of things, I try to remember that as much as my kids enjoy these sports and classes, the idea that they will become the next Mia Hamm or female Baryshnikov is very unlikely. We have to keep the budget in mind so that while they’re enjoying their games and performances Mommy doesn’t have to be hooked up to a machine donating plasma just to make it through the next week. Those clearance cleats will fit just as good as the full price ones.
