Is Summer Really Over?

School has started and Labor Day has passed us by.  I suppose that really does mean Summer is over for the year.  It makes me a little sad since we've had such a great summer and I hate for it to come to an end.  Plus with temps in the 90s here in NC all week, the weather sure doesn't suggest that Fall is on it's way.

But.  When I think about fall I get really excited too - pumpkins and leaves and hot chocolate and sweaters and birthdays (what? you don't have half the family's birthdays all crammed into about 3 weeks at the end of Sept/1st of Oct like we do?!).  So I'm taking one final look back at all the great times we've had - road trips, boating, pool, beach, vacation, fantastic time spent with family and friends...

Yep - we did almost everything on the list!  And we will try to make the most of the last week or two that the neighorhood pool will be open for the season.  Then fall will be here and we will love that too. 

But, oh summer!  We will miss you!

Kids are Back in School!

                          

Can you guess what we did yesterday?!

 Exactly!  First day of school - woohoo!
I am not one of those moms that spends the whole summer wishing the kids were back in school but I have to admit that there are a lot perks for Stay at Home Moms when the kids are in school.  Like the fact that the only dishes in the sink or crumbs on the counter are the ones I put there.  ;)  And the quiet - oh the quiet house!

The kids were ready for a change too, even if they wouldn't admit it.  I couldn't help smiling to myself as I listened to my oldest help her brother select his clothes the night before and at his excitement in the morning to finally put on the new I-can-tie-them-myself! shoes he has been so excited to wear.  Our morning went very smoothly with no issues getting up and out the door with plenty of time to take photos on the porch before heading to the bus stop.  They were both so bubbly and chatty when they got home from school, too.

True to form, I did my best to add a few special touches to the first day of school.  I made special muffins for the kiddos for breakfast and made sure they had something fun in their lunchboxes.  And I pulled out the last of my husband's award winning chocolate chip cookie dough from the freezer so they could have fresh from the oven cookies when they got off the bus.  However, what I personally look forward to the most is my annual Back to School Mom's Brunch!

 This is a tradition I started back when my daughter first started school as I knew I would be a little sad to see her growing up and wanted a way to celebrate the milestone - and to distract myself.  It served its purpose perfectly and I have had a casual Mom's Brunch every year since.  I don't go into full out party mode - the point is to keep it casual and just enjoy some time with the ladies without (most of) the kids running around.  I set aside the first day of school for myself with no real worries about the To Do List or running around so brunch can go on as long as we feel like it.

I do Mom's Brunch potluck style so prep work on my end is minimal though I do like to add just a little bit of fun to the food display.  A few weeks ago I ran across this great Dr Seuss printable (here) and with our big moving date looming in the near future I knew that a Places You'll Go theme was exactly what we needed this year.  In keeping with the chalkboard style I printed out a few more school-type signs (ran out of time though so only one made it onto the table - the fun flags and water bottle labels will have to get their turn another time.  You can find those printables here).  Then I added a few maps to round out the Going Places idea.  The maps themselves were road maps of the states - one for North Carolina, one for Utah, and the others were the home states of some of my friends.  And yes, my friends did actually notice and comment on the fact that their states were included.  (See?  The details DO matter!)

I know - I should have taken the covers off the dishes and the coffee cake wasn't even out of the oven for this photo but hey - when you have to decide between taking beauty shots for the blog and actually participating in your own party... ;)
Happy Back to School Everyone!  I hope this year is a wonderful one for all!

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Party Bunch Linky Party

How Many Days Til School Starts?!

It's creeping up on us.  AGAIN.  That time when the kiddos put away their well-used shorts and tank tops, put on their stiff new shoes and painstakingly chosen First Day of School outfits and... all of us Stay At Home parents get the house to ourselves again!
Kidding! ;)  I've really enjoyed having the kids home with me this summer and it went by all too quickly, as life often does lately.  But I do enjoy the Back to School shopping and the planning and anticipation of a brand new year.

We've been in school preparation mode for the last few days.  It started out with one of my pre-move sort/toss sessions - this time in one of the storage closets and a box full of office supplies.  Or maybe it was someone mentioning shopping for school supplies on Facebook.  Whatever it was, I finally remembered to pull out the kids' school supplies list and started seeing what I could pull from our already existing stash of school supplies.  As luck would have it, I was able to pull almost everything on their lists out of the supplies I already had on hand (well other than the multiples and random things.  Since the kids are only going to be at this school for about 6 weeks I don't think they need 20 gluesticks or 3 boxes or tissues, etc etc).  Score!  That only left new pencil pouches and a pack of lined paper that I easily picked up the next time I was out.  That really put me in planning mode and it wasn't long before I was on the computer seeing what else I needed to get ready for school.

If you need inspiration of your own, I have a TON on my Pinterest board. (here)  I've been reviewing it myself so I can print out this year's round of Must Haves for photo ideas and memories.  My picks so far:
-First Day of school signs for photos here or here.  I think I will use the chevron print ones again this year - at least here in NC.  I love the idea of the conversation bubble ones and am thinking those would be a great First Day of School AGAIN photo prop after we move and the kids have their first day at the new school.
-First Day of school interview questions (printable here or here).  I try to do this every year in one form or another.  I think I used this one last year
-Stocking up on lunchbox jokes like these cuties here and here.

I was on such a roll that I decided to finish the Back to School shopping over the weekend.  We had run into fantastic deals for Tyler while we were on vacation so he was already set for new clothing.  So Kaitlyn and I left the boys home Saturday and went shopping on our own.  Turning it into a Girls Day Out was so much fun.  At almost eleven she has opinions and a style of her own but is young enough that the thought of spending a whole day out shopping with just me feels really special - especially when she gets to chose the restaurant for lunch.  She talked non-stop the entire day and I realized how easily I go through my days with the kids not fully tuning in to what may be on their minds or having full conversations with them.  So I gave myself a "good mommy" pat on the back for doing that and vowed to be better at that.

Sunday found us all out at the Outlets in search of shoes - the final thing on the list.  Does anyone else find that shoes are the hardest part?!  We hit three full stores before Kaitlyn finally decided she wasn't going to find any she was truly in love with (and I had already accepted last year that I was no longer going to get off without shelling out a good chunk of change for shoes from now on *sigh*) and settled for a pair that were comfortable but not much of a fashion statement.  Thank goodness we had already ordered her a super-cute inexpensive pair of boots online a couple weeks ago.  The compromise on the gym shoes wasn't as big a deal when we remembered that.  We found Tyler a decent pair of new cowboy boots plus some gym shoes he was excited about and after getting home I spent the next 30 minutes reteaching him to tie his shoes.  Any bets on how long it takes me to get frustrated with his slow progress every morning and change out the laces for elastic again this year? lol

With that I considered myself entirely done with Back to School prep.  Until yesterday.  When something prompted a discussion on dressing up Kaitlyn's jeans and I heard myself mentioning we could Bedazzle them.  Mental head slap right? I was DONE.  She was HAPPY.  But we had settled for 4 pairs of the exact same style of jean because my skinny little girl always has a hard time finding pants that fit and those were the only ones that worked.  And they were very Plain Jane and you should have seen Miss Kate's eyes light up at the thought of adding sparkles to her jeans herself.  So today they went from this

to this

Ta Da!

Now I'm done with Back to School Prep... except I need tags for the teacher gift...and maybe something cute to dress up the table at my annual Back to School Mom's Brunch... ;)

Linking to:
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BFF Open House Link Party

Teacher Appreciation 2014

It's that time of year again.  The kids came home with the note from the PTO with this year's agenda for Teacher Appreciation Week.  They follow the same schedule every year, which may get a little boring, but now that I know how it works I can plan ahead.  For three of the days during Teacher Appreciation week the PTO asks the students to bring in a little something for the teacher - a card, chocolate, and a flower.  Easy enough right?
It is me we're talking about here, so I do try to personalize it a little bit. 

I found the owl printable card first (Printable found here) and decided to go with that as the theme.

 The flowers are tiny pot/seed kits.  I'm sure the intention is that the kids bring in a cut flower or two so that when all are combined the teachers have a big bouquet, but I didn't want something perishable so I could get it ahead of time.

I modified the printable water bottle labels found here and used that for the tags on the rest of the items.  The tag on the flowers reads "Thanks for helping me grow.  Love, ___ "

 The chocolate:  The tag reads "you deserve chocolate! Love,  ___"

And finally, a more personal gift from the kids.  I like to get a little creative with these, not only to give the teachers a little variety but hopefully they also get the message that we participate in Teacher Appreciation week not just because we are asked to, but because we really do appreciate their contribution as teachers to the lives of our children.
Last year I did End of School/Back to School countdown sets, but I've been getting so many orders for pregnancy countdown blocks the process just didn't sound like fun.  So I went with altered clipboards and turned some plain old clipboards

 into something fun, pretty, and personal.

 The tag reads "You're just write, teacher.  Love, ____"

Hope they like it!
Now if I can get the kids to sit down and sing cards for teachers and the Grandmas I will be all set for the one-two punch of having Teacher Appreciation back to back with Mother's Day next week.

Twas the Night Before School...

Another summer is at an end and here we are on the eve of the first day of school.  School clothes are all purchased.  Supplies are all collected (and is it just me or do those list from the school just get longer and longer?).  New backpacks are labeled.  I even gave the little guy a haircut today.

So here I sit running through my final countdown list one more time.  New lunchbox notes  - check! (I'm using these this week)  First day of _____ signs for photos - check!  Questionnaires for the kids to fill out tomorrow for their scrapbooks - check!  (I found the ones I'm using this year here)  "If I can give you a hand" tags (printable here) ready to be printed and attached to some hand soap or anti-bac to send to the teachers - check!  Plans for a good breakfast and supplies for baking cookies to have waiting for the kids after school - check!  And a couple of friends lined up to join me for my annual Mom's Brunch tomorrow after the kids get on the bus - you betcha! :)
Happy Monday and Happy Back to School!

Back to School Already?

Here we go again!  We're on the downhill side of summer and in full prep mode for school.  We have 2 1/2 weeks until the big day here, but I know some people have already started back.  I'm kind of sad about it actually.  This summer has absolutely flown by and I find myself wishing for many many more lazy days by the pool.  Oh well.  Fall has its good points too - like school shopping.  I kind of like dragging the kids from store to store and forcing them to try on all the cuteness :)  And we all know how fun it is to stock up on 50 cent notebooks!

 

We finished up the last of the clothes shopping this past weekend.  Tyler was in full cowboy mode that day and while I had convinced him to leave the hat in the car so he could try on clothing more easily he still insisted on putting his boots back on with each pair of jeans.  Love that funny kid!

Now with stacks of school supplies waiting to be labeled, lunchbox jokes Pinned (but not printed yet), and summer swimming lessons almost at an end it's time to start the final countdown.  So of course I made a set of blocks :)

 Actually I made two sets so I can give them to the teachers - either as a Hello gift at Back to School night or save them up for Teacher Appreciation.  (I did post a listing in my Etsy shop if anyone would like their own set)  How good would I be if I was all ready for that (teacher appreciation) so far ahead of time?! lol 

 The base has two sides ("days til summer" and "days til school") so it works for either the beginning or the end of the school year.  Genius, no? ;)
Now where is my List so I can figure out what else I need to do before school starts...?  Only 19 days to go!

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Sending them Back to School

I just listened to my 8-year-old tell her brother (in her whiniest, most annoying, loud voice) to get out of her room because "I just need PRIVACY" while attempting to shut the door in his face (I assume).  That's the third time today.  *sigh*
School starts in a week and that was probably just the reminder I needed to get me out of my nostalgic mind-set (summer can't really be almost over can it?! But it was so much fun! And dang, are my kids really this OLD?!) and back to looking forward to the fact that this year both kids will be in school all day and I will the have the house to myself - clean (because no one will be home to mess it up), quiet (with no one around to blast the music or interrupt me every 5 minutes), and with plenty of time to work on anything my little (crafty!) heart desires - WOOHOO!
So today I got on the ball and pulled together everything I've been meaning to get ready for the transition to school.  I have a whole list - and a Pinterest Board (see it here).  The kids and I went through their closets last week, reorganized everything and made sure they were all set for school in that department.  Today I pulled all the supplies together and double checked the school's lists (missing one thing for each kid - urgh) - see that big pile of stuff?  I remember when all we needed for school was a pencil and maybe a Trapper Keeper :)

Then I labelled everything that I thought would need labels.  Supplies.  Backpacks (Sharpie on the inside with names and name keychains we picked up in Utah for the zippers).  Coats, etc etc.  And I made sure to bundle everything up and put it where we would need it - backpacks are now back on their hooks in the mud room (tight fit with the pool bags still out), supplies in grocery bags for us to take to Back to School night.

I even printed out some of the fun First Day of School memory/scrapbook stuff I've spotted online.

I will have the kids fill these out this week (printable can be found here)

And the kids will hold these signs for some of the First Day photos.

I even prepped a quick little First Day gift for the teachers.  (printable found here)

That just left lunchboxes.  I tracked them down, added new bottles of hand sanitizer, and put them in the pantry so they will be easily accessible when needed.

I fired up the printer one more time and added a few more fun lunchbox notes and jokes to my stash.  And I made myself a quick list of lunch ideas.  That's always the hard part - figuring out original but healthy ideas so the kids don't get sick of PB&J over and over. 
My list includes:
-sandwiches:  peanut butter with Nuttella as a treat.  Cut into shapes once in a while to vary it
-see if the kids will try wraps, even if it's just peanut butter on a tortilla
-make your own lunchables (crackers and cheese for Tyler, crackers and bologna or pepperoni for Kate)
-nachos
-waffles/pancakes
-french toast sticks
-muffins:  easy to do variety with these and the kids eat almost any kind.  The pumpkin/cake mix kind is a big favorite and pretty healthy.  Bran.  Sweet potato.  etc etc
-yogurt
-yogurt and granola
-trail mix/nuts:  these are good to add when the rest of the items in the lunchbox are low on protein
-nachos (this is more of a once in a while thing to add in some fun)
-smoothies: fruit, yogurt, milk/juice, even some veggies/spinach and the kids love them.  Can make ahead of time and freeze and the containers will thaw by lunchtime plus help keep the rest of the lunch cool
-tomato soup or chili for Kaitlyn (need to remember to try the hot water trick to see if it really does keep the thermos extra warm - she hates it when her hot food gets cold before lunch)
-chicken nuggets and maybe mac n cheese for Ty (he likes his food room temp so I don't have reheating issues with him)
-Kaitlyn will eat all fruits (and I mean ALL fruits - it's great) but Tyler sticks to apples (have finally been able to get him to eat them whole/with the skin on yippee), applesauce, bananas, carrots, celery (sometimes, with PB), and once in a while some grapes (thinking I need to try the trick of rolling them in jello mix and freezing them.  Bet he gobbles them up that way).
-raisins/craisins
-and mix up the drinks between milk, juice, water mix-ins (love these!), juice boxes/capri sun, and Splash (sneak in those veggies!)
I have pinned a ton of those cute Bento Box and Muffin Tin ideas that I want to work into the lunches maybe once a week.  Often enough to make the kids' lunch extra fun, but not enough that they complain when I just throw something together quickly and not made it cute :)

I think that covers everything - phew!  Now I can just sit back and let things happen.  First day of dance class tonight.  Back to school night for Kaitlyn on Wednesday.  Monday brings the first day of school for Kate and also the first section of the staggered entry stuff (can't believe it takes them 2 weeks to get the Kindergarten fully started!) for Tyler...
It's going to be a busy year!

What do you do to get ready for your kids to head back to school?

Back to School, Baby

Happy Dancin' going on over here! I love the first day of school, especially now that I'm not the one actually going to school :) Kaitlyn gets so excited the day before, all full of plans. And the morning of, she pops right out of bed and jumps right into getting ready for school. I love that, even on days like today where I wasn't fully ready to pop out of bed with her. My morning was a bit of a rush trying to fit it all in - the ABC pancakes that we HAD to have today since we did it last year

and making sure Kaitlyn signed the note on the treat for her teacher. Much as I thought about doing something super-cute I went with simple. Printed off a tag (printable found here) and attached it to a candy bar that I had Kaitlyn pick out on a quick grocery run yesterday. And then silly me forgot to make sure it was all ready to go last night.

And making sure we got a few photos before rushing out the door. Phew! Of course once we were out there we ended up waiting 20 minutes for the bus to show up. Turns out the list at the school was right and although they claim they didn't change the route, the pick up time is somehow later this year. I think it will take a couple more days of this before any of us will trust it though - bus times weren't very consistant last year and more than one child missed the bus due to someone thinking the bus being later a few times meant it was a permanent change. (don't get me started on bus issues - I'm not exactly happy with ours)

But once the kids were on the bus we all breathed a sigh of relief. And I ran home to finish setting up for my own back to school party :) A few of the neighborhood ladies were able to join me for a little brunch and a lot of chatting - so fun! It was a great opportunity to get to know a couple of the newer neighbors that I hadn't met yet. And you know me - I don't do a party without putting a little effort into it. So here are a few shots of the party set up
The drinks:

The table: I grabbed the floral arrangement from my bathroom and an apple from the fridge - easy!
The food table: I had the banner and everything left over from last year's party.

I went really light and easy with the food. Yogurt and granola (Sam's grandmother's recipe that we try to keep on hand), fruit,

and muffins. I've been experimenting with a few different recipes and have been happy to find some winners. Apple oat (perfect for school, right?), sweet potato (on a constant quest lately to get the kids to eat more veggies) and chocolate. You really MUST try the chocolate ones. They taste exactly like chocolate cupcakes (Kaitlyn says they're much better than the store-bought chocolate muffins) and all it takes to make them is a cake mix and a can of pumpkin puree (you don't taste the pumpkin at all, though you might if you tried a yellow cake mix instead of devil's food). I jotted down the recipe one day while watching Food Network, but I've seen variations of it all over Pinterest lately.

And that's pretty much it! The ladies were having so much fun they didn't leave until after lunchtime :) Then I took some of the extra muffins over to friends that hadn't been able to make it for the party and spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with them. Pretty much a perfect First Day of School :) Tomorrow Ty starts preschool and *shocker* I am trying out a preschool program after all. Fingers crossed it turns out ok, though with all the prep work I already have I fully intend to still use that and rely on the program more for the social part for him and a little break for me.
I'll leave you with one more back to school photo. Everyone say awwwww......

Linking to:






Gingersnap Crafts Back to School Party