Friday Favorites {#219}: Back to School Edition

Hello and happy Friday!

I don’t think I ever feel “TGIF” like I do at the end of the school year and the start of the school year.

It’s always a difficult transition back to school as setting an alarm clock is painful, but it is nice seeing my colleagues again and getting my room in order. Today is another work day in our classrooms, and I’m ready to tie up some loose ends.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

This is a special “back to school” edition of some of our favorites for the school year.

New Faves:

Shay shared this planner, and I immediately ordered it. I loved that it’s a small planner, and it has “doodle” pages and trackers. It arrived, and it’s super cute. I want to use it to meal plan and jot down moments from the day. That being said, I might see if Hadley wants to use it for the school year. Who knows though…she likes to “wing” her way through life. haha

I’m using the smaller Happy Planner again this year. I love that the box comes with stickers, although I always buy additional sticker packs too. I use the stickers for the planner and my school desk calendar. I typically get my planner from Michael’s, and teachers get a discount.

Guess what! High schoolers love stickers on their papers just as much as elementary kids do. I ordered this pack for the year.

Hadley got these pens when we went school shopping at Walmart. I borrowed them to fill out my desk calendar, and loved them so much that I bought myself a pack from from Amazon. Teachers love their pens…and we’re pretty particular about them too!

Hayden has the navy version of this Under Armour backpack that he used for the three years of middle school. It held up nicely, but was kind of a mess…because Hayden is messy…haha! So, I ordered him the same backpack again, but he requested it in black.

Every five years or so, I get a new school bag. I’ve had the same bag from Target for quite a few years. I wanted a bag with a pouch for my computer, and I loved that this one was cute, spacious, and has pockets on the outside to hold my many beverages! I’ve been using it all week, and I love it. It comes in a few colors, but I got the gray one. There’s a 35% off coupon right now too.

I bet it would make a great diaper bag as well.

Old Faves:

I’m always nostalgic about the elementary days especially now that we are entering the high school era.

These cute lunch box notes were ones I used for years when packing the kids’ lunches.

Speaking of lunch boxes…

Hadley used this lunch box during 6th grade.

She only bought school lunch in 7th grade, but last year, she wanted to take her lunch sometimes, and we got her this lunch box. It comes in lots of colors.

This pack of note pads is one of my favorite purchases from a few months ago. I kept one note pad at home, took one to school, and then gave two to a couple friends. I use it most days at school for my “to do” lists.

I bought this wireless keyboard and mouse to use with my laptop at school. There are lots of color options, but I love my pink one.

Back to School Breakfast/Brinner:

During the kids’ elementary years, I always had a “Back to School” breakfast the morning of the first day of school.

Once the kids started middle school, I started making a “Back to School Brinner” the night or two before the first day of school.

I’ve always enjoyed this tradition, but as the years have gone on, it’s sometimes become more difficult to find a free evening due to late practices. The Sunday night before school starts usually ends up being a good option.

I’m not sure my plan for the high school years. I’ve honestly thought about taking them to IHOP because I think they’d enjoy that/appreciate that just as much. I guess I will see what they want to do 🙂

Favorite Mom Meme:

Of course this hits home, but Hayden’s been getting up very early the past couple of weeks for cross country conditioning. Hadley, had her team volleyball camp this week starting at 7:30, and it lasted all day. She was tuckered out!

I know she plans on sleeping in the next few mornings until school starts on Wednesday.

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

This memory popped up in my Facebook memories from 2015. My sister-in-law took this pic, and was wishing the kids a great start to kindergarten. She’d gotten them balloons and a cookie cake when the kids spent the night in Louisville.

Such a sweet memory. They were so excited to start school.

Share our Lives:

We have our monthly post on Monday! This month’s topic is…least favorite activities. Well, currently, for me, that’s setting an alarm. haha!

We’d love for you to link up with us on Monday.

Weekly Recap:

Here are my posts this week:

What are your weekend plans? Odds are I will be in bed by 8:00 tonight, but maybe not. I’ve enjoyed staying up late watching Primetime Olympic coverage, but 11:15 bedtime and early wake-up had me taking a solid nap yesterday!

Anyway, I’m not sure what we will do this weekend. I’ve been hoping to go to a movie all summer, and that hasn’t happened…and I’d love to get a little more pool time in this weekend since those days have been so sparse these past couple of weeks. We’ll just see, I guess.

I hope you have a great weekend,

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