I can't believe ... that most of the summer is looking over our shoulders ... that we got the last purple pencil box at Staples ... that after organizing my daughter's fifth-grade closet we agreed, agreed, that she didn't require much to start the year ... that purchases met my "appropriateness'' standards  and her "fashion-trendy'' expectations ... that she told me, at the mall, standing amid racks and stacks of all things new, that there were lots of items she actually didn't need ... that she's carrying an argyle-styled backpack to school (ahh memories) ... that she's so excited to return to the classroom and will do it in her first pair of contacts ... and that while I'm not at all ready for her to begin the first of the last two grades of elementary school, I'm eager to get back into a routine.

So I'm forecasting a smooth landing on the first day of school as we coast along this last week of summer vacation. Keeping the fingers crossed that it stays this way.

Today, Aug. 14, is International Nagging Day. (Who has the energy and the time to come up with these things?) Anyway, I hope I won't have to resort to actually annoying my daughter with scoldings and reminders, but it will be the backup plan when we begin the  annual get-the-bedroom-ready-for-a-new-school-year-a-thon later today. It's going to mean a lot of trying on of last year's clothes (hers) and shoes (hers) ... and even more emphasis on throwing away old school papers and other clutter (hers) that is spilling out of her bedroom and into the hallway. If we're still smiling by the end of all of this, and especially if we're not, it will be a good time to enjoy something a bit sweeter: National Creamsicle Day!

By the way, Saturday is National Best Friends Day! And I'll stop there.

I was already running behind schedule this morning when "Today'' show co-host Matt Lauer got me even further off-track. Consider this, as I did while rooting through the closet for my black high-heeled shoes:

Tweens account for $43 billion in spending power.

Seventy, that's 70, percent of them want their own credit card.

Tweens watch, on average, 40,000 TV commercials every year.

Sixty-seven percent of them wear popular, or the right, labels out of fear of being teased.

And the peer pressure isn't something to scoff at: about one-third are teased.

The stats were part of a segment with Martin Lindstrom, author of "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.'' In a report on his focus group of boys and girls, ages 9 to 11, it quickly became evident that kids know the big-name labels. And they're well-aware of which ones suggest wealth, status and an easier time at school.

I guess that's good news for the folks pushing everything from video games to jeans. A bit more sobering for parents and, in the end, the tweens themselves. I have some questions for my daughter, and all of this will be information I'm going to put to the test when we begin our back-to-school shopping.

It also made me think hard about my own buying habits and whether I'm overly influenced by a name, or a particular brand. Might be a good time for me to do some self-examination my own.

Thoughts, anyone?

Today is the day: I'm selling my daughter's first bicycle, complete with training wheels and helmet. She outgrew the 16-inch Barbie bike a long time ago, but it's been hard for me to part with yet another tangible reminder of her littler years -- even though she's pedaled far beyond those days. So I've filled out the card that will go on our for-sale sign at work. Gosh, it's hard to let go. If that isn't enough, she informed me yesterday that it's time to clean up the bulletin board in her room. I truly didn't know what she was talking about. But then I went in and took a good long look. It is layered with pre-kindergarten art projects and mementos of toddlerhood, pictures of her when she was a baby. It's all little-kid stuff, she told me in an exasperated tone, "and I'm going into fifth grade.'' Oh how sobering to realize that the board in her room was really more for me than it was for her. So tonight, down comes the baby and up goes the tween. Where is the time going? 

Sitting in church yesterday, I looked down and saw that my daughter had a spiral notebook opened to a very looooooooong list. (My apologies to Pastor Larry for the inappropriate diversion during the service.) Upon closer inspection I saw that it contained her back-to-school needs, everything from highlighters to planners to backpack to lunchbox to erasers. She'd even labeled the list "Draft.''  You've got to be kidding me, I thought. It was July 19. School starts Aug. 31. How many more "drafts'' would there be? I can't seem to formulate the perfect grocery list until I'm back from the store and lugging bags into the house.

 Why can't I be more like my daughter?

A few days ago I got a call from my bank; I apparently left my debit card at a local gas station. I didn't even know the card was missing. The bank called to tell me it had terminated the card and would await word from me before opening a new one. Argh! Thank goodness someone is watching over me. In May, I microwaved my cell phone, which had, unbeknownst to me, slipped into a bucket of popcorn en route from the video store to my house. And then there's my organized, focused daughter, who is crafting a blueprint for the 2009-10 school year.

I wonder sometimes where my head is. Do I deplete my organizational bank by the time I leave work? Am I juggling too many mom things? Am I getting old? Am I the only mom who feels like her mind is always leaping forward to the next Scout meeting or ballet lesson before I've parked the car at the one that started two minutes ago?  Is there hope? I don't know, but if there is, I'm sure it's somewhere on my daughter's checklist.

Three birthdays, one wedding and a funeral.

So it has been for our family since July 3, just three weeks ago. Joy brought us together that day for the marriage of my nephew and 'new niece.' My mom's birthday followed but, by July 16, we gathered again to remember my Great Aunt Jane, who died on the 89th anniversary of her own arrival in this world. Her death leaves a lone great aunt, the last of nine siblings whose childhood years spanned the early 1900s. Especially for Aunt Keak, the grief runs deep.

In all of this, I've been reminded of how life pushes on, despite our own attempts to slow it down, speed it up or manipulate its course. As I was putting the finishing touches on Aunt Jane's obituary for the newspaper, I was stringing balloons together for my young daughter's birthday party. What a lesson in both the newness and waning days of life ... and a reminder of all of the ordinary and extraordinary that fall in between. 

My new 10-year-old never tires of emphasizing the importance of family in our lives. And she's been doing it a lot lately. I think she's onto something.

I'm fortunate to have a soon-to-be-10-year-old and her 11-year-old cousin hanging over my shoulder as I write this. Isn't it great to have helpers!? Both girls had a terrific time at the wedding rehearsal yesterday at Lauxmont Farm in York County. What a gorgeous place for a wedding! It was "cool,'' as my niece puts it. And my daughter was impressed by the "pretty'' Pheasant Run Farm Bed & Breakfast on Marticville Road. (Nephew, 8, is still passed out from all of the activity -- it's only 7 a.m.ish.) What a beautiful place to have the dinner. It is tucked in the beautiful Lancaster County countryside. A real treasure. Rettew's did the catering. Fabulous! And all of the kids loved the server/cook extraordinaire, Kay. She was so great with all of the children. She allowed them in the kitchen. But more than that, she was so kind and fun and interested in everything the kids did and told her! Thank you Kay of Rettew's! Now the two girls, junior bridesmaids, wearing the "wedding party'' T-shirts they got last night, are off to get up-dos for the wedding! I anticipate a wonderful and exhausting day. And watching my daughter and all the nieces and nephews is sure to be a bittersweet pill --  how quickly they grow up! I'm off to get the tissues!

Happy wedding day, JJ and Elizabeth!

The house is full of family as we get ready for my nephew's wedding, which is tomorrow.Off to a good start. My sister, brother-in-law and kids are in from Oak Park, Ill., and staying with us. The dog got so excited last night she had several accidents. It was so hot in the guest bedroom that my brother-in-law slept on the living room floor and my sister on the sofa. The dog, at least, will have a respite; she's going to the kennel today. Meanwhile, the humans in the household will debate all day about who's going to sleep where tonight. They're either going to need to take the master bedroom, or I'm buying a fan. Ahhh, family.

Anyway, the cousins who are staying with us, ages 8 (nephew) and 11 (niece), are very excited. They and my daughter are in the wedding party. It's going to be so heart-warming to see them wear something other than shorts and T-shirts. And because people other than their moms are doing their hair, the girls will succumb to any hair style that tops their heads. A reason to be joyful! So it's off to pick up tuxes, drop off the dog, stop by a few stores for some last-minute shopping, prepare for the rehearsal and then on to the rehearsal dinner. In-between, we'll take time to reminisce about our nephew. I vividly remember that it was just yesterday that he was a 6-year-old running around the yard with his friends, and delighting his parents. He still delights, but when did he get to be such a fine, young man?!

If you've ever lived with a tween, plan to cohabitate with one within the next decade, have made it to tweendom's other side, or have been a tween yourself, this one's for you. A blog about kids who find themselves in that wonderfully emotional, beautiful, frustrating, crazy, roller-coaster time of life that we know as 8 to 12 years of age. It's also about those of us who are along for the ride, or as I prefer to think of it, setting the course. Yeah, I know. Who am I kidding?

As I write this, my daughter is gearing up for her 10th birthday. She's beside herself with excitement; I'm blinking back the tears. And so the stage is set. Let's see how it goes.