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!

Linking to:
Party Bunch Linky Party

Surprises for the End of the School Year

**Reposted on my new blog, along with a few more fun variations of the Summer Fun in a Cup end of the year gift for teachers.  Check it out here!

Who is ready for summer?!  Last night at our first outing to our neighborhood pool for the year I was reminded again how much fun summer can be and started to get excited for those long hot days around the pool.

 I know a lot of schools are getting out next week - lucky.  My kids still have almost an entire month left but in the spirit of getting things done while I'm thinking about it (and if you're on Pinterest right now, how could not NOT be thinking about it? ;)  I see pins for teacher gifts ideas daily) I whipped up some End of the Year gifts for my kids' teachers yesterday.

 I started out with a trip to the dollar store and collected the makings for a little Summer Fun kit - daiquiri glasses, sunscreen, drink mixes, italian ice freezer pops, and qourmet-esqe chocolates.  (they're red velvet and yes I snuck one to try...yum)

 I topped them off with a cute tag, (found the inspiration and printable tag here)  a fun paper straw, and a tiny drink umbrella.

One, two, three, four - done!  The hardest part was finding the cute little umbrellas - I searched 4 or 5 stores before finally finding them at a dollar store in a different town from the one where I had found everything else.  I'm sure a party store would have had them, but I haven't been anywhere near one of those in the last couple of weeks.

While I was at it, I picked up a couple of little surprises for the kids and tied them together with some curly ribbon. I also did a quick google search for the clipart then just printed it out onto cardstock for a quick and easy tent sign.  They are now packed into a grocery bag and hidden under my craft table where I will hopefully remember to pull them out to surprise the kids with on the last day of school.

When do your kids get out of school?  Do you have any fun plans for the last day of school or vacation plans for this summer?

Almost Summer!

 It's June!  I know a lot of schools are out at this point and I'm so jealous!  For the last week or two all I have wanted to do is hang out with friends at the pool or in the back yard.  Forget the schedules, forget the Have Tos - just soak up the sun, enjoy the company, and watch the kids have fun! 
We've been going through the paces of wrapping things up - final dance recital, field trips, class parties, Kaitlyn's first time taking the EOG's (End of Grade tests - they are huge here UGH) and Friday was Tyler's Kindergarten graduation/awards/ice cream party (oooo he's getting way too big!).

We are down to the final week of school and I'm just as excited as the kids are.  (Someone remind me of this at the end of July when the kids are driving me nuts and all I want is a day of peace and quiet ;)  )  Since a lot of my time this week will be spent doing final prep work for our Girl Scout Bridging/End of the Year Party I thought I'd better get ahead of things and put the End of the Year School gifts together.  They came together pretty easily this year.  Weeks ago I ran across the After Sun lotion in the Target Dollar section and snapped up a few bottles, knowing I'd be able to use them for something.  Here and there I found the small containers of sunscreen and chapstick with SPF and then I spotted the double wall glasses at IGA for $3 and knew I had it made.  The thing I really like about these particular glasses is that they have the flip top instead of a straight straw, which means much less chance they will spill if you put them in a cooler or beach bag.  I may have to go back and pick up a few for myself!

I found the printable Summer Vacation tag here.  And that's it - quick, easy, cute, and not-too-expensive end of the year gift for the teachers!  The bus driver will be getting the same tag on a Toblerone.  So we're all set!  Now BRING ON SUMMER!