Each summer I carefully plan activities for the kids and I to enjoy together. We visit our local pool and museums. We eat popsicles together on the porch, blow bubbles and sometimes we try to catch fireflies at dusk. It's fun for the first eight weeks of summer, then August rolls around.
At that point I spend almost the entire month imagining my children as pretzel sticks. Pretzels sticks I could dip in chocolate and roll in multi-colored sprinkles and devour. By August we're all kind of tired of waking up each morning, looking at one another and saying, "What are we going to do today?" Because I'm running out of ideas here.
The end is in sight though, and it came in the form of a supply list for the first day of school. There's not a lot I love more than the first day of school, and shopping for supplies only adds to that joy.
This little Randoseru is a Japanese tradition I wish we'd made our own. It's pricey, but I'm not one to put a price tag on adorable.
The more practical part of me is a huge fan of the Lands End line of backpacks. The Collegiate pack is durable, classic and affordable.
Of course, we're more likely to end up with a character backpack because in my son's world everything is better if it has a character on it.
I've got one more year of lunches at home with my kindergartner and I plan to relish our last year of solo time. We're going to need a lunchbox for my daughter, so she can take healthy food to school, eat three bites and arrive home starving.
I've been eyeing the Bento Box with great interest for a year now. I love the idea but fear it will only serve to bring into glaring focus my daughter's finicky eating habits and my uninspired use of whole wheat bread and peanut butter. Maybe she'll end up loving sushi and I can pack her soy sauce in these cute plastic pig soy sauce dispensers.
The insulated lunch box is quite popular at my daughter's school. Pottery Barn Kids makes a nice simple version called the Fairfax.
I'm not a fan of character items, but my kids are like most kids and love character items. It seems everything is better if it features a cartoon character. This might be a compromise I can live with. A classic metal lunchbox, decorated with stickers of your child's choosing. Or maybe I just need to ease up a little and buy that My Little Pony box. Or maybe not.
When you're mastering the art of handwriting, you're going to want something in your pencil box to make you smile.
My sister in law sent along these personalized pencils for my kids one year. Not a lot makes my kids happier than seeing their name on just about anything. I might even get them to eat chicken if I put their names on it. Hmmm...
These pixel pencils won't get lost in the dark reaches of a first grader's desk.
Scented pencils? In my day we only had scratch and sniff stickers and we liked it.
When you're learning that crazy new math, you're going to need a good eraser while you perfect your skills. These dessert shaped erasers may help ease the pain of erasing all your hard work.
I'm honestly not sure how I graduated from school without this gummy bear pencil sharpener slash eraser. But I'll tell you something: no child of mine is going to live without a gummy bear sharpener/eraser.
February is a time to think about love. But as a mom, I sometimes find it hard not to think about the loves I've lost.
Long baths, perky breasts...I miss you....
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French is a romantic language, you can say almost anything and it will sound romantic.
These notepads are proof positive. They sound romantic, but they're not.
You can find the translations at the bottom of each sheet.
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This notepad reminds us to appreciate dads because dads do important things.
They exercise, they have meetings, they make moms happy.
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Over the last three years there've been a lot of taglines.
Now you can hang them on your refrigerator and remember 4 o'clock is cocktail hour.
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To order, click here.
