Tuesday, July 31, 2018

You may be rejoicing that school is starting back up soon or you may be sad that summer is over, but either way… buckle up, people – you are in for a big change of pace!  Even if you aren’t a teacher like me (high school Spanish), the beginning of the school year is nuts!  It’s stressful to be a mom or parent at back to school time – can I get an “Amen”? Every year, I think I will do better and be better but every year it hits me like a ton of bricks, despite my preparations.  Here are some tips that I plan to employ and that might help you, too. 

Why am I qualified to write this? This will be my 12th year doing back to school as a mom and my 25th year doing back to school as a teacher! Check out my first back to school post here if you are so inclined.

Nowadays I’m really just responsible for myself in the mornings.  My twin boys who will be juniors get themselves up, make their own breakfast and walk to school.  They leave the house about 40 minutes before school starts and it’s about an 8 minute walk.  They like that morning time to chat with friends and let’s be honest, they also finish up a bit of homework, I’m sure.  I’m at the same school so they can ride with me if they choose and I leave about the same time, but they enjoyed their independence and a little bit of fresh air last year until about the end of October.  

Some Tips:

-Try to gradually make bedtime earlier – maybe go to bed 15 minutes earlier each night for the week leading up – depending on how late you had let the child stay up during the summer.

-Try to gradually get kids up earlier in the morning.  Maybe make early a.m haircut or vaccination appointments in the week leading up?  

-If your child is going to a new school, walking to school or riding their bike for the first time, do a dry run and time it with your phone.  I have found that people seriously underestimate how long it takes to get places. 

-It would be fun to time your child’s entire routine!  I bet elementary and maybe middle school kids would get a kick out of this.  You could even do it more than once and see if anything changes?  Hey, you’re out of activities at this point in the summer so why not?  

-We had a rule that our boys couldn’t exit their bedroom until they were fully dressed including socks and shoes.  This just left breakfast.  No screens were allowed until fully dressed, either.  You may want to have a no screen rule in the mornings period.  

-Lay everything out the night before. Insist that backpacks be fully packed and do as much lunch and breakfast prep as possible.  I do this for myself, as well.  I lay out everything I need the night before – papers, special items for a lesson, my clothes, everything.  Mornings are hard.  Make them as easy as possible.  You can even set a breakfast table.  Hey, I know it sounds very type A, but your morning self will thank you.  

-Homework:  I think you need to find what works best for your kids.  My kids walked home with me from elementary school (I got out an hour and a half before them – so nice!) and we stopped at the school playground every day.  This was great for them and we really stopped and played in all types of weather.  Also, I think my kids were in 2nd grade when I was obsessed with not getting the swine flu/H1N1 and I would make them take off uniforms right away to be washed when we got home.  (This also goes a long way to keeping allergens at bay and other viruses they pick up at school, IMO.)  So, our tradition has always been to immediately change into “cozies”.  I do this also to protect my nicer school clothes. Then, we would tackle homework while eating a snack.  

We are lucky to go back on a Wednesday this year.  As an educator and a parent, I think Monday start days are just wrong.  It’s better for all involved to ease back in with a shorter week. 

For the first week or two weeks, just think easy prep and/or freezer meals.   I am planning to stock up on frozen entrees from Trader Joe’s and Costco and give myself a break. The meals won’t be super healthy or creative, but we are in survival mode.  I will buy frozen meals for my lunch, too.  I will also buy some salad kits and individual serving packets to make life easier.  I will start doing online grocery shopping again as I don’t do it as much during the summer.  

If you can, try not to plan evening activities the first week back.  It will be all your kids can do to do homework, eat dinner, take a bath, and go to bed.  The long school day is really tiring no matter what the age of the children.  I hope that community youth sports don’t start right away and that schools don’t have evening activities the first week.  

Remember that you as a parent will have tons of papers to sign and fill out and you will be getting up much earlier, too.  I have a friend who stays up until 1 a.m. and then has to go back to bed after taking kids to school at 7.  This is no way to live, in my opinion.  The whole house needs an earlier bedtime and it’s an adjustment for everyone in the family. 

Let me get on my soap box for a minute:

Please remember not to complain about the new schedule, the papers you have to sign, the school supplies, how tired you are, how you are mad that they start before Labor Day, etc.  Your attitude is contagious and your kids really do feed off of you.  We are so blessed to get to give our children an education and to have teachers and schools who love our kids!  Learning should be fun!  Kids should want to go to school!  I still love going to school!  

O.k., stepping off of soap box…

What tips do you have for me or my readers?  
What did I forget?  

Remember to check out my first back to school post here!  

Best of luck as you start the 2018-19 school year!

Amy 

Friday, July 27, 2018

Happy Friday!  Linking up with Momfessionals, Mix and Match Mama, and

The Slaughters today.

Favorite #1)  Monday night’s work event for my husband!

This is what I wore.  I love these Loft pants and I paired this consignment blouse with it for the first time.  In the past I’ve only worn black with the pants.  I love these comfy sandals and of course, I have my tassel jewelry.  I forgot to take a mirror selfie and I didn’t take any pictures at the event.  I was comfortable and felt like I dress appropriately for the wine bar. 

Favorite #2)  This new to me lotion from Bath and Body Works!

This was my Bath and Body freebie with my coupon that I used a couple of weeks ago.  I put this on in the car for the first time and I was transported back to Spain!  Do certain smells do that to you?  I lived in Valencia, Spain for a semester in college and maybe it was the oranges we ate there, but this scent takes me back!  And, it’s called Happiness.  This is part of B and B’s aromatherapy line which includes:  Sleep (lavendar), Comfort (Patchouli and vanilla – I’m not a big fan of patchouli alone, but this works), Happiness (bergamot and mandarin) and I believe the last one is my Stress relief with ecalyptus.  I really love these scents and I’m thinking about having one of each in my classroom.  The students would love having this available to use as they enter or leave the room.  Wait, I can’t offer a lotion called “Sleep” – oops!  

Favorite #3)  This boy!

Look at this face!  He is such a good dog and a constant companion.  What would we do without dogs?  Ernie turned 5 in January and is already getting a little grey!  No!  

Favorite #4)  This boy!

He has started letting me take more pictures again.  He got the news from the orthodontist that he only has to wear his retainer at night, so that was exciting!  He had some book store gift cards to spend and I took him there and then we grabbed Five Guys for a very rare treat.  I eat probably less than 5 hamburgers a year.  If you are going to eat one, this is the place to go in my opinion.  I didn’t buy any books for myself because I’m still on a $0 book budget for 2018.  I did open up my library app and request the first and second Poldark books while I wait for season 4 to become available to me.  This guy has finished his summer reading but wanted to read some books for pleasure and to talk about with his English teacher.  How sweet!  I think he is ready to have a great, but challenging junior year with 4 AP courses.  

Favorite #5)  Watch What Crappens Podcast!

I’m a big fan of most of the Bravo shows.  I love Below Deck, Southern Charm Charleston and Savannah, Real Housewives of NYC and the OC, and Summer House.  I have all of these set to record and then I watch when I have free time.  I heard about this podcast and it’s pretty funny.  They recap the shows and comment or make jokes about what happens.  

Favorite #6)  New Work Computer!  

I got to pick up my new laptop for school this week.  I’m thinking about buying a nice laptop bag or at least a sleeve to use to put it in my school tote.  Any suggestions on a bag are welcomed!  It’s a really light HP.  

Favorite #7)  My other son’s acting camp!

He is finishing his two week camp today and he has absolutely loved it.  It makes my mama heart happy.  He wants to continue at this theater during the school year but we will have to see if we have time in addition to his courseload and his activities.  He has not finished his summer reading and will need to get on that next week but I think he is also ready to have a great junior year with 3 AP courses.  

Favorite #8)  Book Club Thursday night!

We had to cancel in June so I was excited to see everyone for the first time since May.  We read The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty which I read maybe 4 years ago.  I should have re-read it, but I don’t like to re-read books.  It seems like we can never have everyone make it but the food and conversation is always great.

What are you up to this weekend?  

My plans are not set yet, but I must have some summer fun!  

You will find out about it on Monday, I guess.  Did I or did I not have fun?  I hope you can stand it!  Thanks for reading!  

Amy 

P.S. – You may have noticed I didn’t buy anything this week – except groceries.  I talked about contentment yesterday here if you missed it and on Wednesday I did give a recap of my last week’s consignment haul here.  On Tuesday I talked about Costco tips – so if you are a member of considering joining, check it out here!  

P.S.S. – I did decide to try ThredUp’s Goody Box (a box of 10 second hand items for you to either keep or send back – no pressure.)  If you go to Modern Mrs. Darcy blog here, you will get a great review of this service and a discount so it will only cost you $10 which you can use toward one of the items.  I will review mine next week!  

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Thursday Thoughts – Being Content with your Current Closet

Today I’m going to talk about contentment in the area of clothing, shoes, and  accessories in your closet.  I don’t know that there has ever been a time in history like today where we are so aware of what everyone else has and wears. We see people on tv, in magazines, and on social media.   Comparison is the thief of joy or something like that?  

You know when I feel like my closet ISN’T enough?  It’s when I spend too much time reading fashion magazines or looking at fashion bloggers online.  

You know when I do feel like my closet IS enough?  It’s when I have reorganized it and realized how much I have.  Sometimes this just takes 5-10 minutes when I’m putting away clean clothes.  

I actually feel like I have more when I downsize and purge items that no longer fit me or my style.  It’s crazy, but it’s so true.  Less is more.  If you read about capsule wardrobes online, enthusiasts all seem to share this sentiment.  You know when you go on vacation and getting dressed is so easy because you have so few choices?  We really shouldn’t keep anything that doesn’t make us feel wonderful.  

Switching over to the non-slip black velvet hangers helped me, too.  If you don’t already have these, they are so worth it!  I also have uniform clear plastic and metal pants and skirt hangers and I never take the cheap hangers from a store.  Having room to look through the hangers and not have too much crammed in there is a great feeling.  I bought some at Costco many years ago and got rid of my mismatched hodge podge of plastic, wooden, and dry cleaner wire hangers.  I don’t waste a black velvet hanger on something I don’t love anymore!  

Figure out a new way to organize – by color or type of clothing or by use of clothing.  Maybe you could have a work section and a weekend section.  On Sundays, I try to group potential outfits together for the work week.  This makes the mornings easier.  

Think how much of your time contentment can free up, too.  I used to spend hours on an endless cycle of buy, return, buy something else, return, repeat.  Have any of you been on that merry-go-round?  

This may seem counterintuitive, but I think Pinterest has helped me find contentment in my current wardrobe.  I will look at pictures of outfits and see what I can find in my closet to come close to that color combination or style of outfit.  This was the original premise behind Sheaffer Told Me To’s blog.  Instead of making me feel like I need to go buy more, Pinterest has helped me work with what I already have.

Another fun way to feel like you have more is to try different color combinations.  I’m the daughter and sister of art teachers and I love color.  Take one piece of clothing in your closet and hold it up against other items and see how they look together.  Also, you can find color combination inspiration in artwork or home decor on Pinterest.  

Another thing you can do is to challenge yourself to wear every item for a given season in your closet before you repeat something.  

Now, I must admit, I wrote this as much for me as for you.  I’m going to work on contentment through the rest of the summer and into the fall.  It will be hard if I see a great bargain, and I might see a trend I have to try.  It really doesn’t take much time to shop online and the feeling of something arriving on your porch – Is there anything better after a long day of work?  We live in a treat yourself society and it feels like we deserve it.  But, isn’t it an even better feeling to be content and grateful with what we already have?

Let’s work on this together!  Gotta go – just got another inbox sale message that I have to check out!

Amy 

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

What have you done so far this week?  This is my son’s second and final week of an in town acting camp so it’s made me get up and out the door by 9 a.m.  I have enjoyed some free time last week and this week getting things together for the upcoming school year.  I have purchased some new school clothes for the boys.  We purchased two new pairs of shoes back in June so we’re good there.  We’ve ordered and started reading summer reading books.  I bought a bunch of 25 cent notebooks for the boys and I.  Target doesn’t have the major school supply bargains that they used to have, you guys.  I’m waiting to buy the specifics after the first day of school so that I don’t waste money on things we don’t need.  

Monday night, my husband’s wonderful company hosted an appreciation night for employees and spouses at a wine bar with heavy appetizers.  We stayed out until 9 on a weeknight!  

Tuesday morning after dropping my son off at camp, I met my former work neighbor (next door teacher for 17 years!) at a cute new bagel place.  It was great to catch up!  

Last week I had a chance to visit my three local consignment stores.  I don’t always find things and you hear me talk about going often because you really have to go frequently  to find good things.  The stock changes daily.  About a month ago, I mentioned that anything else I bought this summer would have to work for school.  Here is what I found:  

Our school colors include maroon, but maroon is also part of my fall and winter clothing palette.  I highly recommend deciding what your colors are and only buying these colors.  This is a Target brand long sleeve with a cute lace detail at the shoulders and at the hem. Sometimes when you are shopping consignment you will need to go up a size because things have been washed and dried.  I actually think this can be an advantage because you can see that it held up in the machine.  

$5

Here is another Target brand long sleeve top.  I think this will look great with white jeans.  This will be good if I’m supporting UK, my husband’s college team, too.  $6

This is a brand I hadn’t heard of but I like the boho chic nature and the light cornflower blue color.  It’s long sleeve, too.  I’ve already worn it!  $8. 

These were a little pricey, but you know how I feel about Hue leggings/jeggings from my post here.  These are full length, not capri length and I had recently thought I needed olive pants in my closet.  These were $15.  Original price would’ve been $30-40, I think. 

Finally, I found some shoes.  Now, I will say that the shoes I buy at consignment stores look like they have never been worn.  I know some people might be squeamish about used shoes.  Also, the clothes are oftentimes not worn more than once or twice and I just wash them right away.  I thought this shoe would be great for fall and it mimics my summer sandal at the top of the photo that I have worn a bunch.  Don’t overlook metallics in your wardrobe.  They are great!  So, this is almost the same but a different brand and a little more gold, but with a closed toe for when open toe no longer seems appropriate.  $15.

I also might add that I sold clothes to the consignment store and earned a whopping $8 to put toward these purchases!  

How do you think I did?  Just go into your consignment store or even your Goodwill or thrift shop with an open mind and see what you can find.  Don’t buy something just because it’s cheap, though.  Really make sure it fits your lifestyle, your needs, and your color palette.  Or, if you can’t get out easily, check out the online consignment options such as ThredUp.  I’ve heard of people finding great things.  

Happy second hand shopping!  I’ve gotta go and see what else is new at mine!

Amy 

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

Are you a member of Costco?  Have you thought about joining?  My husband and I just went this past Saturday and I looked at my membership card and was shocked that we have been members for 12 years!  

Do I think Costco saves us money?  Yes, but you need to be careful.  I also think you can waste a lot of money on things you don’t really need.  You kind of get swept up in the excitement when you enter a Costco.  I have learned a few things over the years and will try to share what I know with you.  

It’s important to note that they are awesome about returns.  I opened a 3 pack of deoderant and hated it – it felt like rubbing sandpaper on my pits!  I told them exactly that and they took it back and refunded my money.  I have opened up packs of socks that were the wrong size and they took them back.  

I have also learned that if you see something you like and it is a seasonal item, buy now and you can always return later because of their easy return policy.  I have gone back to get something seasonal and it’s been gone.  I don’t want that to happen to you.  

Here is a photo of a seasonal item that I took for you.  School uniforms won’t last long at 7.99 for the shirts and 8.99 for the shorts.  I’m not sure you would pay less at a consignment store or a school uniform sale.  

What I buy on the regular: (usually every 2 months or so)  

dog food – the price is great on the type of food we need to feed our dog

papertowels – Kirkland (store brand) select a size

Facial tissue – Kirkland brand

Toilet paper – Kirkland brand

kitchen trash bags – Kirkland brand

dishwasher tabs – Finish

laundry pods – Kirkland brand

Kirkland breakfast blend coffee K cups

grapefruit in individual containers for my husband

toothbrushes – great deal

toothpaste – great deal

Glide floss – great deal

I do think I save on all of these purchases and it’s nice not to have to put these things on your weekly grocery list.  You do need some degree of storage for these large quantities. 

What I buy sometimes:

King’s Hawaiian buns – the price is like half of what you pay at the grocery and I use these for my ham and swiss sliders

Rotisserie chicken – great deal – They are around $5 and they are the Arnold Schwarzenenegger of chickens as compared to the David Spades at the grocery store.  (First actors’ names to pop in my head – sorry!)

flour tortillas – great deal

bread – great deal

prepared spinach salad or other prepared meals

lunch meat

frozen organic chicken breasts

fresh organic ground beef

pretzel buns

frozen meals for convenience – my boys love the orange chicken

chips for lunches

breakfast cereal  – great deal

baking mixes – Ghiradelli or Krusteauz especially 

snack foods – nuts, jerky, cookies

gum – great deal on multi pack of gum that will last for a few months

clothing – great place to get my boys’ clothes and sometimes a cute item for me

birthday and Christmas gifts

I do not often buy the fresh fruits and vegetables because of the large quantities.  I prefer to get those on my weekly Kroger or Trader Joe’s trip.  

What I believe pays for the cost of my yearly membership alone: 

By the way, we have the executive membership which is about $120 a year but we get a check back based on our purchases once a year so it ends up being only about $40 a year.  There is a lower level membership where you don’t get cash back, too.  I’m sure someone talked us into this level and we just stuck with it.  

Christmas cards- You won’t believe the good deal if you like to send photo cards

Contact lenses – I think I saved half by ordering them at Costco instead of at the eye doctor

When to go:  

I usually go right when they open on a Saturday during the school year.  I don’t often bring my husband but sometimes he comes.  He is not a lot of help because the entertainment/technology section is right at the entrance and he is pulled in by the glowing big screen tvs calling to him.  Here he is Saturday gazing longingly at the section while trying to keep up with me and the cart.  

It does get crazy on the weekends.  Some people are all about the samples they have set up all around the store and you can hardly push your cart past.  This is why I like to go early.  But, you do you.  

I hope this helps someone out there!  I’m sure many of this applies to Sam’s Club, as well, but I don’t have personal knowledge of their products.  

What can you recommend to me?  

Thanks for reading!

Amy 

Monday, July 23, 2018

Hello Monday!  I’m linking up with My Glittery Heart, Lindsay’s Sweet World, and The Sirois Family today.  

Here is my weekend recap:

Mother Nature must be mad at us!  The concert and food truck event was cancelled Friday night so we just got Thai takeout (forgot to take a photo) and watched some telly.  It stormed and stormed and our power flickered several times but it didn’t go out.  We were lucky – we had some friends who lost power for over 24 hours.

I did try a new salad mix this weekend.  See if you can find this in your grocery.  I think the brand was Taylor Farms.  It was good!  

I also tried a new recipe for funfetti bars from a blog called Kleinworthco.com.  

Yellow cake mix, a small container of rainbow jimmies, one egg, 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 cup veg oil.  Mix all together and bake at 350 in an 8×8 for 25-30 minutes.  She also puts white chocolate chips, but I didn’t think I needed them.  These were delish!  

As promised in my Friday Favorites, here is my Strawberry Margarita mani that I did myself. 

Saturday morning I was able to check this item off of my summer bucket list and my hub came along.  

Here is my Farmer’s Market loot.  The foil contains a breakfast burrito. 

After that, I ran to the library to return a book and look what I found in the free magazine bin.  I also left a few to donate.  I will read these and put them back in the bin.  The Seventeen magazine is for research purposes for my job as high school teacher!

I talked about ordering another maxi dress in my Friday Favorites, too.  I’m not sure about this black/navy floral print.  What do you think?  

I tried this Pioneer woman salad on a stick.  Isn’t it cute?  I think this would be fun for entertaining or to take out on the boat.  

So, it rained Friday night, off and on Saturday day, and then Saturday night we decided to see if the weather would cooperate for Shakespeare in the Park’s Othello performance.  There was a rain delay, but we stayed for the first half.  It’s a really cool venue and it’s free.  I feel like I need a Shakespeare translator, though!

This is William Shakespeare’s tavern.  

We waited in line for some food truck food.  

Sunday afternoon, my boys had a friend over and I rented this movie to watch by myself.  I thought it was cute and I liked the meaning behind it.  There were some very funny parts that made me laugh out loud.  

After the friend left, I wanted to ride down to the river with my husband and we sat on a swing for awhile before it was going to start raining again!  So, no boating happened this weekend.

Did you have a good weekend?  What are you up to this week?  My son has another week of acting camp, we have orthodontist and dentist appointments, and I have a few things to cross off my list.  

Have a good Monday!

Amy 

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

This week I am spending more time in the car than usual!  My son who didn’t go to debate camp is doing a 2 week acting camp and I’m driving him there and picking him up and running all of the errands that I’ve been putting off since Pia arrived it seems.  

I love my current car and I’ve had it for a little over 2 years and it still seems new to me! I bought it used (as we always do now) and it is now 6 years old.  It’s my first black car and it’s a Dodge SUV.  It has all the nice features like bluetooth, a sunroof (my first!), heated and cooling seats – basically everything I never knew I needed!  I keep it as clean as possible and try to take good care of it because in our family we keep cars a LONG time.  

Before this car, I drove the same awesome white minivan for 11 years, people!  But, we will get to that… 

In my 30 years (what?) of driving, I don’t think I’ve had very many cars.  I also still remember each and every car my family had as I was growing up and maybe I should do that post another day!  

My very first car cost $800 and I found it myself at age 16 and begged my Dad for it.  It was exactly like the photo below except is was tan.  It was a Plymouth Champ 4 speed stick shift so I had to learn to drive it first!  That was an adventure!

I drove that all through high school but I went to college without a car.  I think it was my junior year that I made the argument that I needed a car again to get ready for student teaching.  My second car looked like the photo below except it was a darker grey.  I don’t remember it much because I only had it for maybe 2 years and I don’t think I liked it very much. 

I graduated from college and couldn’t wait to buy a new car – yes, I think I bought a brand new car.  It was a light blue 4 door Honda Civic.  I would’ve kept it longer than 3 years, but a lady pulled out in front of me and it was totaled.  

So, I upgraded to a sporty red 2 door Honda civic and I guess I had that for close to 10 years.  It was a peppy manual transmission again and I loved driving it!  I had this when I met my husband and he drove this when I had twins to transport and I drove his Suburban for a couple of years.  

I tried really hard to avoid the mom-mobile minivan by choosing this baby next when my husband and I decided the red Honda didn’t fit our family of 4 lifestyle anymore.  I wanted a white car and found this used and only kept it for 6 months. With 3 year old twin boys I finally admitted to myself and my husband that I needed a minivan with sliding doors and the space it offered with the ability to fold all the seats down into the floorboards.  This was a Chevy trailblazer and it drove like a truck.  

So, I traded it in for this bad boy below.  I loved the fact that I was high up but it drove like a car and was a much smoother ride.  What a good car for us!  I should’ve gotten it sooner! It went everywhere – Disney, D.C., Michigan – everywhere!  I still feel nostalgic about this car and I traded it in for my current car and have seen it around town a couple of times.  

So, that’s it for me.  I definitely like a car that sits higher off the ground and can’t see myself back in a sedan really, but you never know!  This was was a fun post to write and I hope you enjoyed it, too!

Amy