So glad we live in a country where they still wear school uniform... it does take a lot of hassle out of the mornings. Although like others here have said on the clothes thing we have never clothes shopped for DS6, one reason is being half way round the world from relatives - the usual "what does he want for b'day/xmas" question has always been answered with - clothes, cheaper to post and easier than trying to explain that age appropriate toys won't cut it. So we still have a heap to pull out that he hasn't even grown into yet. Although I guess the clothes thing is only really a part of the problem. I hear what you are saying re being at home with the kids for a month. When my DS was 2.5yrs I couldn't keep him entertained at home any longer, he was driving me insane. He went to Kindy full time (9am-3pm)every day and loved every minute of it because he was constantly stimulated and I think once your DD starts school this term you will see a difference (if she is properly challenged), a grade skip helped us a lot, along with lots of hard work with the help of a psych who showed us how much he was controlling us with his opposisitional behaviour and how we had to go back to basics of setting boundaries, restricting choices, giving rewards (to begin with - really don't need them now) and lots and lots of positive praise. I've talked about this on previous threads and we are really seeing the results now - his behaviour is awesome. We had to be reminded that our super clever conversationalist who could give a chief justice a run for their money was in fact still a child and needed to be treated like one. It may not work for everyone of course and everyone has different styles but it sure worked for us and now I sometimes forget about being a parent because he has it all under control
Good luck & big hugs.
