We officially have eight weeks of summer under our belts which means we only have two weeks left before the kids go back to school. How that happened, I do not know! Earlier this week we got phone calls from both of the kids’ new teachers, and when those phone calls came it made me realize just how close we are to going back. Needless to say, I went into full productivity mode this week. Jacob finished his summer homework, we did some back-to-school shopping, and I started making a list of everything else that needs to be accomplished before the big day.
Today I’m going to share a
few of our favorite back-to-school items with you because I know a lot of you
are in the same boat. With only a few
weeks to go, it’s time to get motivated, mommas!!
O N E – These Book Bags/Lunch Boxes
When Jacob started Pre-K 4
three years ago we splurged and bought a Pottery Barn book bag for him. They are not cheap by any means, but friends,
they hold up like nothing I’ve ever seen!
Jacob has used this book bag every single day for Pre-K4, Kindergarten,
and First Grade, and he will now be taking the same exact bag to second
grade.
This bag has been taken on
vacations, it’s been taken to sleepovers with the grandparents, it was taken to
school every single day for three years, it has been kicked around, thrown,
punched on, and left in the middle of the floor in the hallway at school… and
it still looks brand spanking new. BRAND
NEW. And I have never so much as washed
it. Come to think of it, that’s probably
pretty gross. Lol.
Anywaaaayyyy…
If you are looking for a
quality bag that will last for years, go ahead and grab one of these. We loved Jacob’s so much that we bought one
for Olivia a couple of years ago as well.
They come in so many colors and patterns (Disney Princesses, Hot Wheels, Mermaids, and Ballerinas) and and they have matching lunch bags, too… and the lunch bags attach right to the book bags, which we love! :o)
The only thing I would
suggest is to order darker colored bags because I’ve heard that the lighter
bags start showing dirt and stains faster.
Jacob has this Justice League one and, I swear, I do not see a stain on it anywhere. Olivia’s pattern has been discontinued, but
hers is a dark green with light pink flowers and trim and hers still looks
brand new as well. She hasn’t used hers as
much as Jacob has used his yet, though, so the true test will be this year.
In addition to these book
bags and lunch bags, we also use these containers to put in the lunch
bags. They fit perfectly in this style of lunch bag and I
can comfortably fit a sandwich, fruit, and a couple of other sides in there
without wasting a bunch of plastic baggies.
They are dishwasher safe, and they’re so affordable that it won’t break
the bank to keep several on hand. We keep
three on hand for each child so there is always a clean one… that way we don’t ever
have to worry about washing anything by hand.
We send the kids to school with those along with one of these thermoses
filled with water. The thermoses are
awesome because they keep cold stuff cold for 12 hours and
they fit right in the cup holders on the sides of the book bags or the lunch
boxes. They come in tons of colors and patterns and characters so just search Thermos Funtainer on Amazon to see what all they have!
Right now all of Pottery Barn's back-to-school gear is 20-60% off with free shipping, so now is your chance to get them on sale!!!!
School lunches made easy, y’all!
T W O – These Polos
Our kids are required to
wear uniforms since they go to a private school. We have two choices when buying the uniforms
– a) purchase them from the uniform company that the school uses, or b) buy
shirts from wherever we’d like and have the school seamstress add the school
crest to them. Well, since our kids are
so rough on shirts – dirt, spills, stains, paint, glue, etc. – we opt to buy
shirts on our own and have the seamstress add the school crest to them. She only charges $6 per shirt, so when we go
that route, it always comes out cheaper.
In the past, we have bought polos from Old Navy, but they honestly seem
to wear out pretty quickly around the collar area, so this year we ran to
Target and loaded up on the Cat & Jack uniform stuff. I can already tell that the polos are better
quality than the ones at Old Navy, and they were only $2 more apiece.
We still love Old Navy for
Jacob’s navy shorts and pants, but we have so much trouble finding them there
in his size. That said, this year we’re
trying out these from the Cat & Jack brand because our store had loads of his size in
stock when we went this past weekend! They
are sturdy and good looking, so I have a feeling they will hold up just as well
as the ones from Old Navy.
If you’re looking for
uniform choices (or just polos in general) check these out from Target!! They are much better quality than Old Navy,
but they are every bit as affordable! Target is also offering 20% off of all Cat & Jack uniform stuff for a limited time online with the code UNIFORMS so go buy them now!
T H R E E – Footwear
Since our kids wear
uniforms, they also have a dress code for shoes. They are not allowed to wear sandals or any
other type of open-toe shoe or any shoes without socks. They can, however, wear any type of tennis
shoe that they want, so we let them pick theirs out this year. Jacob has this pair of navy ones, but we
already have our eye on this pair of red ones when his wear out.
Olivia opted for these Nikes in white with a gold swoosh (she is her mother’s daughter!) and then we also
bought a pair of Mary Janes for her to wear on church days. I just ordered this pair and this pair from
Amazon earlier this week and we will decide which ones are our favorites and
send the other pair back. Free shipping
and free returns… can’t go wrong with that!!
If your child doesn’t have
restrictions on shoes, though, I am going to say yet another time that Natives
are AWESOME! They are lightweight and
cushioned, they’re water-proof, they are breathable, they don’t rub blisters on
the kids’ feet, and they don’t make their feet stink either. Both of our kids have these – Jacob has these red ones and Olivia has them in milk pink – and they love them!! If they get dirty, all you have to do is hose
them off! Our kids have worn theirs
nonstop this summer, and I SO wish they could wear these to school with their
uniforms!
F O U R – Amazon for School Supplies
Our school does the most
amazing thing with regard to school supplies… they offer school supply bundles
through a company so we do zero school supply shopping. ZERO.
All I have to do is go to the company’s website, put in our school’s
code, click the grades that my kids’ are going into, give them my kids’ names,
and pay right there online with my credit card.
The company then creates a box for each child containing every single item
on the school supply list for their grade and then they ship it straight to the
school.
Do you know how wonderful
this is?! This means that I don’t have
to set foot in a store, I don’t have to hunt around looking for extremely
specific things that I can’t find, I don’t have to fight with the
back-to-school crowds, and to top it all off – it saves us money!! And we don’t even have to carry giant boxes
or bags to school on the first day… it’s already there waiting for them! I mean, I will never shop for school supplies
again! Well, until the kids are old
enough to decide that they actually want
to pick out their own stuff. Haha. I know that was always my favorite thing, but
until that day comes for them, momma is taking the easy way out!
Anyway, we have utilized
this service for the last two years, but the first year that Jacob was in Pre-K
4 I got flat-out tired driving all over creation to find nit-picky specific
stuff, so I took all of my searching to Amazon – BOOM, DONE! They have great options and, of course, free
two-day shipping for Prime members. I
cannot even tell you how much I love being a Prime member… that membership is
worth every single penny.
If you don't want to search 18 different stores for an "oxford pink pocket & brad folder" <insert eye roll here> just head straight to Amazon and search comfortably from your couch. :o)
If you don't want to search 18 different stores for an "oxford pink pocket & brad folder" <insert eye roll here> just head straight to Amazon and search comfortably from your couch. :o)
F I V E – Gifts for Birthday Parties
With back-to-school season
comes… loads of birthday parties as well!
I recently came across this game and it would make the perfect give for
girls or boys of many different ages. Jacob
has played it at school and he said all of the kids thought it was so much
fun. It’s basically beer pong for kids,
so I’m sure this would be fun for adults, too.
Lol.
I always try to keep a few
gifts on hand for birthday parties, and this one is perfect for that. At less than $10 per game it’s easy to load
up!
Well, that about does it, y’all! What are some your back-to-school favorites?
And just quick reminder
before I go – my friend, Brandi, released her new novel today! I just received my copy yesterday and I can’t
wait to read it. You can purchase it
here.
Happy Friday, y’all!
*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.
