I've been enjoying this summer - it's been crazy-hectic, fun, dramatic and hot! Who wouldn't love to have their days filled with (all) of that?! Yet that little ditty keeps popping into my head... I have mixed feelings on the whole 'back to school' wonderful time of year - time of year... Abby is going into SK this year... yes you read that right - SENIOR kindergarten... my baby isn't a baby anymore. If you scroll back a few posts you will find us at the start of her JK year - I am happy to report that all ended on a fantastic note - heck she even made the front page of the Hamilton Spectator for her Mother's Day artwork portrait of me!! Yes, my little karate kicking, time-outing, asserting her independence little girl finished her first school year with flying colours! It's Abby I'm talking about - of course she did, everyone loved her!
Even faced with this knowledge of how she is becoming a real 'big kid' I can't help wanting to bottle up this time and hold on to it forever. Thankfully twinnies Ashlan and Reid are around to remind me of all the fun things 'little kids' do... and when they start JK - well Mrs. F here is a heads up for you: let me know what kind of wine you like, because a case will be delivered on their first day!
Ah yes - wine... along with Starbucks, cheese and chocolate - is one of my food groups! So you can imagine the horror (read: had to re-adjust the wine budget to account for this increase) when I discovered my (many) purchases at the LCBO are now HST applicable... (well to be fair - although sales tax on alcohol is decreasing, other alcohol fees and taxes are changing to continue to support social responsibility...) I can't take credit for that little tidbit of information - that goes to my friend Jon that works at the Ontario Ministry of Revenue (hey - friends in the MOR are a GOOD thing to have!!!) but he was very helpful in explaining the whole 'what is and what isn't' affected by the HST - click here to find a handy sheet that explains it all. Heck - he was even going to drive to our local Chapters to have my back when I thought they charged me when they shouldn't have...(and who says spending my time on Twitter isn't productive!!) turns out the book BAG I bought is HST applicable - but the many books I bought were not. Okay, fair enough.
So before you head out to do your back to school shopping - make sure you check out Jon's link - it is very informative... while I bottle up this time (need to do something with all my empties...) and enjoy the rest of the summer with the kids!
Cheers!
Amanda
