Tag Archives: back to school

Family

The Weekend Before We Go Back To School 2014

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So, I blinked and summer happened.  And now it’s over.  It’s the weekend before we go back to school!  Already.  Yikes!

Back to School Checklist

Back to school this year means:

1.   Monograms.  Lots and lots of monograms.  My new machine is getting quite the workout.  And I’m very excited about that.  While I’m doing a lot of the traditional monograms, this stacked monogram seems most popular this year with the boy Mommas.

Stacked Monogram

Girls are split between the traditional fancy circle and the preppier circle.  Which do you like?fancycirclemonogramcircle monogram

2.  Morning Routines.  I created these printables a few years ago and they are still in use around here.

morning rountine #2
Morning Printable #2
morning rountine #1
Morning Printable #1

The kids are expected to wake up, spend time alone with God, get dressed for the day, eat a good breakfast, make their beds, pack school bags and swim bags, and pick up any dirty clothes.  While our house was on the market, knowing the kids’ rooms were made up for day was so helpful!

3.  Lunches. This is always interesting.  We start off well, but by mid-October, it will be sandwiches.  Everyday.  5 days a week.  For the rest of the year.  I’ve turned to Pinterest for a few ideas this year.  Maybe we’ll make it to mid-Novemebr before we hit the sandwich stage! Follow Salinda’s board Back to School – Lunches on Pinterest.

4.  Printables.  I always love the printables we find at the beginning of the school year.  Check out this one for a great monogram.  These are a few of my favorite lunch box notes.

5.  Pictures.  Pictures.  Pictures.    Last year, I snapped a picture with my phone of the kids every day.  I uploaded them to instagram with a daily count.  At the end of the year, I found this great shop to print a collage for me.  Super quick too! It’s a fun memento from the 3rd and 6th grade year.  The kids are trying to think of something fun to do next year.

Being Creative, Everything Else

Go Back to School With PersonaliTy

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Big things are happening in my little shop!  I’m so excited to have all my sewing/embroidery gear in one location.  A friend was so generous to lend me space to sew for the past few months, but there is no place like home.

So, what’s new at PersonaliTy Children’s Clothes?

Well…for starters, there’s this bad boy!

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Woo hoo!

I’m so excited about upgrading to this 10-needle.  It allows me to multitask and stitch a jon jon while monogramming another.  It also makes it super-easy to personalize uniform shirts and backpacks and lunch bags!

Speaking of backpacks and lunch bags…

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These are just a few of the new items available at www.personalitychildrens.com .  I keep the preschool backpacks and lunch bags in stock.  I can order full-size backpacks if you need one.

And then…what little boy doesn’t need his own baseball cap!  These are the perfect finishing touch to a seersucker jon jon.

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So there you have it.  Just a few of the new things to get your ready to go back to school with PersonaliTy!

Everything Else

Is it Back to School if we’re starting Middle School????

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This happened today:

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We finished our summer and headed back to school!  3rd grade and 6th grade.  I don’t know if I’m ready for middle school, but she sure is!!

Here’s the traditional first day pic at home:IMG_7311

3rd and 6th grades.  Craziness.  (There are many group shots of the new sixth graders, but some Momma forgot her camera in the car.  Whoops.)

My prayer for the year is that the kids learn and grow and that she comes out of middle school just as sweet and witty as she is today!!!

 

 

 

Being Creative, Everything Else

The countdown is on and we’re getting our back to school routines ready!

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Topher's First Day of school

Only 7 more days!  Seven!  And these babies will be in middle school and 3rd grade!

We’re spending the week taking care of a few last-minute chores: the dentist, haircuts, shoe shopping, Six Flags.  We are also trying to get our back to school routines up and running!  Yuckola.

I’ve researched and searched and fiddled and hemmed and hawed to find a housekeeping/organizational system that works for me.  Basically, I’ve discovered it comes down to one thing:  JUST DO IT!  There is no quick fix and there is no magic bullet to a clean, organized home, especially a small one with a home-sewing business and two busy kids!  We’ve developed a pretty good system for chores this summer and I’m hoping to keep it up for this school year.  Here’s how we are doing it.  For now.

Master calendar:

master calendar

I use Google calendar for keeping up with everything!  Every.Thing.  But, the kids can’t easily access it.  So, this giant fridge calendar is our fix.  Adam and I only list the things on the calendar that effect our whole family (this means evening events only).  The kids have a place to record school deadlines, practice times, and such.  I also list our dinner plans.  No more “What’s for supper?”  Woo hoo!

Morning chores:

morning rountine #2 morning rountine #1

These haven’t changed must over the years.  Get dressed, talk to God, make your bed, pick up your clothes, eat some breakfast, brush your teeth, and be ready for the day.

Everything else:

Daily Chores

I use Confident Mom’s Daily Planner to keep track of housekeeping chores.  I like it because it reminds me to do the simple things too, like wipe down the light switches or clean the crumb tray of the toaster.   I do have to remember to extend a little grace to myself when I miss something.

Daily:

daily schedule

I try to get a load of laundry washed and into the dryer and dinner thawing out before I do much else for the day. The rest of the school day is spent working.  I give myself 30 minutes during the school day to do a few chores and the rest happen around 8 at night.

The kids’ chores:

The kids are responsible for unloading and reloading the dishwasher, dumping the compost, and emptying the personal trash cans into the large kitchen trash.  In addition, I vacuum their rooms on Tuesday.  If I can’t for fear of vacuuming Legos, clothes on the floor, etc, then they lose TV until the next Tuesday.  Really, as they only watch TV on Friday nights, this isn’t a loss, but shhh….don’t tell them that!

So…that’s it.  That’s the routine we are in and the routine that I’m hoping we can stick to this fall!

 

Being Creative, Everything Else

Where have I been this summer?

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Behind my sewing machine.  Almost everyday. 

First, let’s catch-up on everything I would/could/should have shared this summer if I’d just taken a moment to to stop and blog.  We’ve done all the usual summer fun:  mission trips and other church trips, camp, the blueberry farm, the farmer’s market, the La. Folk Festival, Summer League, State Long Course Swim Meet, VBS, golf camp, etc.  If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen all the pictures. 

And then there’s this:

I posted this one Saturday night on  FB:

June 8:  Market research please: what colors are your 5th, 6th, 7th grade girls loving right now? I’d really, really, really like to offer some custom pieces for our big girls that are flattering, trendy, modest, and age-appropriate, so I need to know what’d you think they’d like.

 

33 comments, 5 bolts of fabric, and 51 days later: