Back-to-School Shopping: When is it Too Much?

It's that time of year again.

S in anticipation of the new school year. Swimsuits, beach towels, and sunscreen are making way for backpacks, lunchboxes, pencils and notebooks.

Let's not forget the new fall clothes.

As much as I love summer, there is nothing I like more than dressing for fall. Rich colors, heavier fabrics and preppy prints all make me itch to get my hands on the newest fashions. But this year I won't be shopping the new looks for myself.

My little girl is heading to preschool this fall, and I am stocking her closet with all the latest trends that any fashionable 3-year-old needs for her very first year of educational instruction.

Preschooler, you say? Does a preschooler really need a whole new wardrobe for fall classes?

Yes. She. Does.

My husband doesn’t understand my obsession with this undertaking.

“She is in preschool," he says. “Who cares what she wears?”

I do.

Bright pink leggings, Hello Kitty tops, some adorable pieces from and a whole boatload of stuff from complete my vision of what Kailee will be wearing this fall.

Although I have big plans for what’s going into my little girl's closet, I have no intentions of breaking the bank.

At least not completely.

I’ve been scanning the stores and the Internet to find the very best deals out there. I've also been buying things here and there when I manage to catch them on sale.

Just because these items are on sale doesn’t mean they are reasonably priced. Taking 25 percent off a ridiculously-priced sweater gets you down to only an absurd amount.

And I am OK with that.

Because my husband and I don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on the amount of money this endeavor should cost, I have decided to spare him the stress of knowing. Instead, I just hide anything I purchase.

It’s for his own good really.

Besides, it's only a matter of time before my little one will want to pick out her own clothing. Instead of being satisfied with sweet pink frocks, she'll want to emulate the latest hoochie pop-star looks.

As we stand in the dressing room arguing over the fact that there is absolutely no way we will be purchasing too-tight jeans or a much-too-short skirt, I will think back and relish the days when she wore my choices.

I know what she wears really doesn't matter in the scheme of things.

But it's so much fun to dress her up while I still can.