Four words a mother dreads.

I try to find the best deals. With two kids to purchase school supplies and new wardrobes for, that is important.

In my opinion, Staples is the best place for supply deals. You can check out their ad online. They have free items after rebates.*** (There is more information about this at the bottom of the post if you wish to do this.). You just enter information online to get a rebate check back for the amount you paid. This week, composition books are .10 cents a piece (limit 3 with $5 purchase. They are also doing a $20 rebate on a case of five reams of paper, making the final price $4.99). Most rebates take 6-8 weeks to get back to you. Target has great savings on colored pencils, crayons, erasers, and markers. And, of course, Walmart always has decent prices.

Check out some cool items I have picked up the kids this summer in anticipation of them going back to school:

A Fantastic Gap Spree. I purchased most of my son’s back to school pieces for $135 (for twelve items. This photo would be much more impressive, if half of the items were not in the wash. ; ). ) during their big additional 40% off clearance sale. I love their shorts for him. I think they fit true to size.

My daughter’s pair of J Brand Rozz Moto jeans from Nordstrom Rack were not as good of a sale find. They were still 62% off. Gwen Stefani has worn the Rozz Moto jeans a couple of times. High school is hard. I want her to be confident. These are adorable. And she’s a good kid.

I scored her this polka dot dress at Forever 21 for $5. And the cute tie-dyed chambray shirt for $11. The white tuxedo shirt was $9.

These awesome Comic Character Converse are currently on sale at Famous Footwear in their clearance section. They also had Batman (my daughter got these) and The Joker (my husband could not resist them for himself). When we purchased these, they were also doing buy one get one 50% off with a 20% off additional coupon.

Also, they had these shoes my son informed me were very Minecraft inspired. The brand is Osiris. Good thing the above deal was in effect!

Also, Costco is the place for kid’s fashion jeans. I purchased my son four pairs of Buffalo jeans to carry him into the next year for $16.99 each. They currently have Levi’s for a steal for the younger boys and girls. They also have brand name jeans for men and women. I buy all of my husband’s Lucky Brand jeans there. Unfortunately, my daughter cannot buy jeans there. Can you believe they only carry size 2 and up? What about the petites?

And just because I think this is hilarious. Check out my son’s new sunglasses. I could not figure out what was on them until I realized he “MacGuyvered” the broken frames together with tape. I tried them on. You cannot see through that eye. Now I’m off to ask what the heck happened to them.

Have you scored any good sales on kids’ items lately? I am always looking for a deal.

***A note about Staples’ rebates: They take about two minutes online to fill out. They will send a confirmation of processing to your email. You generally have two options for payment. These are: rebate check and Paypal. I have always done check. The check will arrive in the mail looking like a piece of trash. Or a flyer. It is small and pink. That is your check! Do not throw it away! There is no envelope. Also, the $20 rebate currently for the ream of paper is processed for a prepaid Visa card. If you do not want that option, you can change it to a check. Just look for that button before you process it. Hope that helps!