For birthdays, milestones and holidays I like to celebrate in some way. It doesn't always have to be big or over the top but I don't want the day to go by without showing the girls that it's an important day and that we like to celebrate the special days in our lives.
Luckily I created this BTS Breakfast last year so I still had all the printables. So keep that in mind that the first year it does take some time to print and cut everything but if you store it, subsequent years are super easy. I only had to buy red paper plates, green apples and make the pencil waffles. The waffles are super easy to create. Make waffles as usual and then cut into a rectangle. Cut a piece of toast into a small triangle and top with a chocolate chip. At the top of the "pencil" place 2-3 raspberries. Breakfast was completed with Producer's milk that we dyed yellow. In addition to the printables I used a mason jar filled with alphabet letters and colored pencils.
My girls are still at the age where back to school is lots of fun. I dread the day they dread going back to school. Although my girls are very excited about school I have mixed feelings. I'm excited to have them out of the house but I'm not looking forward to having to be up and at of the house by 7:45 every morning. It's not that I ever sleep in but it's just a lot to get four people (self included) all ready by that time. I also wish I lived in a world where Summer lasted all year round. I love the warm weather, the play dates, the trips and all that Summer brings (minus the darn mosquito's).
So I have one hand tightly holding onto Summer and the other busily preparing for Back to School. I saw a meme that other day that said there are 5 seasons in a year: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and Back to School. It made me laugh and it's so true. There is so much hype around back to school and so much to check off the to-do list. There are subscriptions for just about everything now a days so why can't there be a biannual subscription for school supplies. Delivery would be in August and January to replenish all that has broken, gotten lost, etc. I'm going off on a tangent but maybe this is something I need to invent. Because it's a pain to online shop and run to several stores to get everything you need for your kids to be ready to go.
Until I invent a one stop shop for Back to School shopping you are left with the current situation. Since that's not the easiest and most convenient I've tried to make it much simpler for you and round up everything I think your children need and what is the best (all while staying affordable because that's my mantra).
How is it possible that we only have a few more weeks of school? Where in the world did the year go?!?! Since the end of the year is approaching very quickly I'm putting together our gifts for teachers, aides, buddies and other staff members. I am so appreciative of how hard school staff works to take care of our little ones and I think they deserve a small token to show how thankful we are.
You can find hundreds of adorable gift ideas on Pinterest and I've used several of them but then I started thinking about what teachers and staff would really like. Is a flower really cute with an adorable gift tag about growth? Yes, but is it something a teacher really needs? NO! Let's be real teachers want gift cards for something useful. I think you literally can't go wrong with a Target gift card because who can't find something at Target??? I also think restaurant gift cards, Starbucks, movies, etc. are pretty good as well.
Since Emily has started school I try to do a little extra special breakfast on the first day of school. This year I made it a little extra special just because. It was a Back to School theme and pretty simple to put together. I grabbed a few items from the dollar store and found the rest on Pinterest.
At the end of Summer we always look for new outfit, backpack, lunch pail and supplies for school. The girls adorable backpacks are from Viv & Lou which offers the cutest products that all can be personalized for free. The quality is outstanding, the options are endless and everything is very affordable in my opinion. My favorite part is the personalization is included!
Emily wears uniforms so clothes shopping is such a breeze. I've included below great uniform options from retailers you already shop at; plus the sales are great! Madi's first day of school outfit is a navy and white gingham romper from a local boutique. I just love it and was even happier she loved it. Last year was quite the power struggle picking out a new outfit whereas this year was a breeze. Some of my other purchases for non-uniform wearers are below. I picked out comfortable, affordable but cute options. I don't like to spend a lot on school clothes because they get worn very quickly. Plus you don't have to sacrifice style for price in my opinion.
The girls lunch pails are also from Viv & Lou and Emily is using the travel snack stack from Re-Play which hooks perfectly to a lunch box or backpack.
This post is sponsored by Nature's Bakery but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
Summer is always the time of year that flies by the fastest. I can't believe we're already preparing for Back to School. The kids are ready for some structure, routine and getting out of the house but I'm not exactly sure I'm ready for early mornings, packing lunches, homework and all that goes with the school grind. Does anyone else struggle with packing lunches? I do really well for awhile and then I feel like it gets to be the same thing over and over. It's extra hard because everything has to be kept cold and my daughter's preschool doesn't allow nut products so that takes difficulty through the roof! I've sat down and brainstormed ideas to make Back to School and packing lunches a bit easier. I wanted to share some ideas with you in hopes that it takes the guess work out. I also suggest making lunches the night before and have it all ready in the lunch pail in the fridge.
When packing lunches for my girls I try at least one protein and two sides. Here is my full list of proteins and sides:
I wanted to point out Nature's Bakery Fig Bars as they are a new find for us. I'm always on the hunt for nutritious yet quick and convenient snacks for my kiddos. Sometimes that can be an oxymoron so when I find something that hits both categories it feels like a huge win. These are wholesome snacks that are made with real fruit and real grains. They are non-GMO, dairy-free, vegan, soy-free, nut-free and made with no high-fructose corn syrup. Those last two items are a huge deal for us since one school doesn't allow nut products and Emily is Fructose Intolerant.
Getting back into the swing of things for school can be utterly crazy and finding ways to make life and the transition easier are really important to me. Anything that makes packing lunches easier I'm all for. This is something I don't have to make or think about but just toss in without sacrificing the health of my little ones. Not only are these healthy but my girls think they are delicious so I know these will get eaten even though they are away from mom when eating their lunches.
Graham Crackers, Tortilla Roll-Up with Ham and Cheese, Grapes and Trail Mix with Cheese.
Cottage Cheese, Zucchini Muffins, Fruit and Hard Boiled Egg.
Greek Yogurt topped with Honey & Blueberries, Carrots and Hard Boiled Egg.
Ham & Cheese Sandwich, Apples and Trail Mix with Cheese.
One of the girls is out of school already and the other just around the corner. We are extra blessed with the best teachers around so they definitely deserve a token of our appreciation. Emily had a teacher and 3 aides and unfortunately I didn't snap pics of their gifts. For her teacher we put together a Teacher's Summer Fun Kit which included a gift certificate for wine tasting, a Uber gift certificate, her favorite restaurant gift certificate and movie tickets. For Emily's aides we gave them a movie ticket and dinner gift card. We did the same for Madi's two wonderful teachers and you can see pics below of how I put those together. Lastly, Emily had two buddies that we so sweet to her this year so we put together a movie gift basket that included candy, popcorn and a movie ticket. You can see the tags below.
Is it just me or does Kindergarten still sound young but First Grade sounds like it's meant for big kids?!?! How can it be that our first baby is going into First Grade. It's such a bittersweet feeling of joy, pride and sadness that our baby is long gone and growing up quickly. Emily just had her Kindergarten graduation ceremony which was a sweet event. The kids sang several songs for their guests and then received their diplomas from their teacher, principal and parish priest. We are absolutely in love with her school and feel so blessed to be a part of its community.
Holy Moly May has flown by and the busy level has been through the roof! We've had tons of fun activities, a birthday, school activities, graduation and just you know the normal life like work! I have lots of favorite things to share with you so prepare for an overload.
Visiting Creamistry has been on my Fresno bucket list for a very long time so when we were invited to come I was super excited. We headed over for an after school treat with grandma and got to experience the Creamistry difference. I've never seen anything like it where your ice cream is made right in front of you as you order. We chose our ice cream "base" of Premium but they have Organic, Vegan, Coconut or Non-Diary Sorbet. Next we chose one of 30+ flavors and 35+ toppings. If there are too many options for you to make up your mind you can select one of their popular designs. Liquid Nitrogren hits the base and it freezes extremely fast. Due to the speed there are no ice crystals and the result is a delicious, decadent and creamy ice cream. We loved it and will definitely be going back.
We tried to cram all the fun possible in the last few weeks of Summer break with lots of lake trips, and play dates. My girls are thrill seekers and love riding the jet ski or tubing behind the boat! Faster is the word on repeat. We're very blessed to have a boat and super blessed to have the best family friends with a boat and cabin.
Shaver:
Fresno Chaffee Zoo:
Millerton:
School may have slowed down the fun a bit but we're still enjoying life. We celebrated the first week of school with friends from Emily's elementary school! Mama celebrated surviving back to school with a girls night out and we got another lake day in with the best of friends!
Did everyone see the eclipse? Did you feel the mania? Emily's class was blessed with a solar telescope and so her class (and me) got to view the eclipse safely. Pretty cool since it doesn't happen very often.
Emily's school attends mass every Friday and today was the first mass of the school year. Madi, Voa Voa and I attended and I loved seeing the blessing of teachers and students and seeing Emily's class attend their first mass together. Emily was excited because they've been practicing how you behave in mass. I love what their teacher is instilling in them about manners. They line up girls to boys and have to hold hands. The boys have to lay the kneelers down as gentlemen and ladies always go first. We could use a little chivalry instruction in our society! God bless Emily and her classmates.
I want to get back to sharing some of my favorite things with you and not just our favorite activities over the past several weeks. Here's my current crushes:
Don't forget to use EBATES for cash back on all your shopping!
Fall Season Premiers
I feel like I've been waiting years for some of my shows to come back on. Is it just me or do they only run for 3-4 months and then they take the rest of the year off?!?! Must be rough!
Anyways I'm excited for:
DWTS
This is Us
Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers
American Housewife
How to Get Away with Murder
Blue Bloods
Madame Secretary
(I better clear out some DVR space.)
For Full Season Premier Calendar check it out HERE
