"Mom, we have to go back-to-school shopping!"

After getting the much-anticipated letter in the mail this weekend revealing who their teachers will be this school year, my daughter is rarin to go to third grade, the list of needed school supplies at the ready for a trip to the store.

This morning, she dragged her backpack from two years ago out of the closet and cleaned it out, telling me I didn't need to buy her a new one because "this one is fine." Wow. I didn't see that coming, but anything that saves me money is wonderful. My son's backback is fine, too, so this may end up being a year we get away on the cheap. I bought them each three pairs of jeans on clearance at the beginning of the summer, so as long as I compensated for how much they've grown in the past few months, we're good.

Of course, there's the supply list to conquer, the sooner the better to avoid picked over aisles (something we are all too familiar with). While it is a chore — and something that I cannot justify wasting a sunny summer weekend day doing — I get a little excited helping the kids check off everything to get ready for the new year.

My son is less enthused, especially since everyone keeps saying, "ooh, fifth grade, there's a lot of homework in fifth grade." Unlike his sister, he can think of a gazillion things he's rather do than get back to school.

I, too, would like to hang onto summer a bit longer. I need a few more lazy lake days and a campfire with s'mores before I'll be ready to embrace the next season.